Sensible Software‘s classic point-and-click shooter, Cannon Fodder, was ported by Krisalis Software and released for 3DO systems in 1994 by Virgin Interactive. And it is a playable and accurate port of the original, but unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be any mouse support – you can only play the game using a gamepad. Which is a little disappointing because Cannon Fodder was designed to be played with a mouse. Thankfully it still works okay with a gamepad*.

*= It works okay with a gamepad until you reach levels that require fast pointer movements (like, for example, when you’re facing off against multiple rocket-launcher enemies), in which case there’s little you can do other than “try harder” not to die, or give up and go play a version with good mouse controls instead (like the Amiga original, or the MS-DOS version, or even the Super Nintendo version).

The graphics in the 3DO version of Cannon Fodder are excellent, and – like the Atari Jaguar port – the view window is wider than in some other versions (ie. it shows a bit more of the scrolling landscape than the original).

Play-wise: 3DO Cannon Fodder is good. It plays well enough, but it’s much harder to play as efficiently and as intensely with a gamepad as you can with mouse controls.

The 3DO version of Cannon Fodder provides the live-action promotional video to “War (Never Been So Much Fun)“, the classic reggae song that famously accompanies the game, and also the CGI-based cut scenes that were made for the CD32 version of the game. While it’s fun seeing the Sensible Software boys, at that moment in time, in a silly, poorly-encoded music video, the CGI cut scenes are barely even worth watching, they’re so bad.

Overall, the 3DO version of Cannon Fodder is good, but the lack of mouse support can only bring it so close to the Amiga original, without it falling slightly short of “great”.

More: Cannon Fodder on Wikipedia
GOG: Cannon Fodder on GOG.com