Preview: Cannon Brawl

Get ready to play the next evolution of the artillery genre! Cannon Brawl is a game we’ve always wished existed: a mix of real time strategy and artillery gameplay. Command the action from your airship to capture gold mines, plant outposts and build everything from cannons to lasers.

Pros:

• Bright cheerful colourful graphics.
• 360 controller support out of the box.
• easy simple controls.
• The gameplay is very much a cross between Worms and a tower defence game. Build your base up and make money from mines, Whilst trying to destroy the enemies HQ and defences.
• Unlock new weapons through the single player game.
• You have the ability to upgrade your defences throughout the game. These can be things like rockets fire further or shields have more layers.
• Fully destructible landscape, bases falling from a height sustain fall damage.
• Single player campaign is a decent length, beat a level unlock a level type. The story is present and adds humour and a sense of narration as you play. Usually it boils down to beating a guy with a new weapon then you take the weapon.
• You play as a pilot of a ship and fly around placing defences,mines and shields.
• You can unlock many other pilots who all have different abilities. Some give your defences a lower cooldown rate whilst some improve their damage or even heal them when in range.
• Any defences built have a cooldown timer after being used, this is where strategy comes into play.
• The tutorial is short but to the point and teaches you everything you need to know, so the game is very approachable. Any new units are explained within the levels themselves.
• Has 2 player offline play.
• Has online multiplayer and is where the true fun begins.

Cons:

• Some of the requirements for medals is a bit on the steep side, A better explanation of goals should be shown before the start of the level or be a lot clearer.
• Swapping between units is a bit fiddly especially in a big fight with a lot of units.
• Lacks any different game modes.
• Minor screen tearing experienced but usually in big fights.
• Rockets should be able to collide with each other and explode mid air.
• No customisable units or team. Even just changing the colours would be a nice touch.

In summary, For a beta of a game it is extremely well polished. With the developer being an active member of the various communities, feedback is getting heard and in most cases being acted on. The game is very easy to pick up and play and with full pad support is easy to jump in. Online is good fun and the community on the whole are a nice bunch. I only managed a handful of games due to a dodgy internet connection. The single player has a lot of meat to it and will more than justify the price alone. Its available on Steam now and that gets you instant access to the game as it is. You can look forward to a full review once the game is finished.