The Cannon (XBLIG): "Intense Immobile Cannon Conflict"

The Cannon is a 1-4 player shmup type of game with an overhead view that features a unique combat system. It has both single player, and multiplayer modes with multiple options, and unlockable content. This simple looking overhead shmup style shooter is anything but simple. You will face intense waves of enemies in the quest to save your country's most prized possession, 'The Cannon' ...

I actually sought out the developer for a full review code of this game. The trailer I watched did seem a bit simple, but the gameplay looked very interesting to me. After downloading the game, and starting the 'campaign' I was immediately taken to the tutorial. The tutorial offers humerous audio instructions given by 'Brigadier Sasquire', the military mind behind 'The Cannon'. Sasquire brings the game, and tutorial to life with his British accent and humerous comments. In the tutorial you'll learn the mechanics of 'The Cannon', as well as strategies for taking out the various types of enemies you'll encounter. The game features 4 unlockable backgrounds, an unlockable settings feature, and 50 medals in which to unlock them with. Music in the game is both unique, and well orchestrated. The enemys' voices also add a good bit of quality to the game. There is definitely a lot more to this game than I initially thought.


The controls in the game are much more simple than they appeared in the trailer of the game. For some reason (that I can't recall ...) I thought it was going to have tank like mechanics where you had to rotate the cannon, and the base of the cannon. I was definitely glad this wasn't the case. To move the cannon you will use the 'Left Thumbstick'. I found that aiming the cannon in a precise direction can get a bit complicated at times due to it's loose rotation. The cannon itself fires 4 different types of shots. The 'B' button is used to shoot fire, 'X' is used to shoot ice shards, 'Y' is to shoot electricity, and the 'A' button is used to launch the vine grab weapon. The ice shard, and fire shot can be charged by holding down the appropriate button. The vine grab is used to sling enemies around by rotating the Left Thumbstick. To release the vine grab weapon you have to press the 'A' button.

The enemies in the game come in a diverse variety. There is even a secret enemy to be found later on in the game. The initial enemies in the game include pirates, ninjas, monkeys, zombies, and robots. Each enemy requires a different tactic, and weapon to defeat them in the quickest manner. One such example would be that the fire shot can burn off the pirates legs, and slow them down. The electric shot will take down a robot in one hit. It's pretty easy to figure out what will work best with each enemy, but the tutorial will also help you out if you need it. When the enemies in the game reach your cannon they will cause damage to it. You can heal your cannon by frying bacon that is drop by random enemies with a fire shot. This adds to the humor I mentioned before.

Single player mode features four different types of play. These include the Campaign, Timed, Waves, and Survival. The Campaign features 15 levels of progressively more difficult waves of enemies. You can set the difficulty at the main menu to Easy, Normal, or Hard. I actually found Normal to be rather difficult, so I didn't attempt Hard. Timed is a 'Time Attack' sort of mode where you try to survive waves of enemies in 5 minute rounds. Waves is a mode that puts you up against progressively more difficult waves of oncoming enemies. Survival mode is my favorite out of all the modes. You basically try to survive wave after wave of enemies, and get the highest score. All of the modes in 'The Cannon' are score based. I was unable to test out the multiplayer due to lack of participants, but I assume it is score based as well. I did notice that multiplayer is co-op.

After trying out everything except for multiplayer, I found the game to be a solid experience. It is a lot more difficult than most shmup shooters out there. The fact that you control an immobile cannon does add a good bit of difficulty to the game. I liked how the developer was able to apply different types of shots/attacks to the gameplay. I also liked that the game required some serious strategy when facing the game's enemies. Elemental Focus, the developer of this game did a brilliant job in delivering a quality experience. The extra features like the medals, unlockables, music and recorded gameplay statistics really made this game more involved. The game does require some getting used to, but don't let that scare you off. For the 80 msp ($1) asking price I'm sure this would make a fun little party game. I didn't get to play the multiplayer which was unfortunate, but I honestly think that will be the game's strong point.