Cannon Fodder was
not a "mouse-driven
Gauntlet", nor was it "
Lemmings with guns". It was a mouse-controlled mission-based
shoot-'em-up for the
Amiga (which was later ported to every format under the sun).
Cannon Fodder was aptly titled, as your little squaddies (you could have four under your control at a time) were very expendable. However, it was possibly one of the most thoughtful shooting games ever made: each of your men had a name and rank, and after each mission you inducted new recruits from a queue that stretched off into the distance. The hills would slowly be dotted with white crosses as more of your men died. After each mission your surviving men would be promoted.
The tabloid press, being very stupid, tried to stir up some outrage towards the game (which featured the Poppy emblem of the Royal British Legion prominently), and towards the magazine Amiga Power (both Sensible Software and Amiga Power had a certain Stuart Campbell on staff, who even features as one of the first soldiers - Stoo - to get mown down in the game). The R.B.L. mounted a characteristically feable legal battle against the game.
While this notoriety is largely forgotten, one other aspect of Cannon Fodder remains timeless: the excellent theme tune. I have reprinted the main bit of the lyrics below, as holloway makes a bit of a hash of it* in the Cannon Fodder Theme node. (The sequel's theme tune was even better.)
WAR! - never been so much fun
WAR! - never been so much fun
WAR! - never been so much fun
WAR! - never been so much fun
Go to your brother
Kill him with your gun
Leave him lying in his uniform
Dying in the sun
*OK, so he didn't really, but I love the song and I'm not going to let a little detail like the fact that it's been noded already get in my way. War is hell.