Cannon Legend

Although the Android Market is plagued by clones, it sometimes doesn’t hurt to ride on the coattails of a popular game.

Cannon Legend’s market description proudly claims that it has graphics that are almost as impressive as those seen in Blizzard’s world-beating MMO World of Warcraft, and the comparison is sure to win the game a few intrigued glances.

Indeed, Cannon Legend does share many thematic similarities with the aforementioned fantasy epic. Both take place in a realm of orcs and goblins, and both boast colourful, stylised 3D visuals.

However, there the connection ends. While World of Warcraft is about questing, forging new relationships, and building your character, Cannon Legend is about shooting things. Repeatedly.

Using your trusty piece of military ordnance, you must repel wave upon wave of monsters. You’ll face bloodthirsty warriors, flying pigs, and mutant vegetables as you manfully defend the people of your kingdom from the oncoming horde.

There are three worlds to fight in, and each is divided into several different waves. In-between these waves you can use the points you’ve accrued to purchase upgrades and bolster your strength and vitality.

During each contest, you can also use your points to restore your health, which proves to be a vital move on some of the tougher stages.

Your cannon can be upgraded, and after defeating certain boss characters you’ll earn alternative shots to use. You also have special magic that improves your chances - for example, one spell casts a protective barrier that lasts for a few seconds, while another temporarily increases your rate of fire.

Cannon Legend’s snappy visuals and instant challenge make it an appetising mobile release, but it isn’t without its niggles. When there’s a lot of action on the screen, the game starts to creak and groan under the strain.

You might assume this is down to the host hardware, but we tried Cannon Legend on a brand-new Galaxy Nexus (1.2GHz dual-core CPU) as well as an older Sony Ericsson Xperia Play (1GHz single-core), and while the former did offer slightly smoother gameplay the same slowdown afflicted the game on both phones.

To make things worse, the controls are problematic. Two interface methods are offered: touchscreen and tilt. The former is more accurate, but it takes some getting used to, while the latter is so awkward that it's unplayable.

Unfortunately, the aforementioned slowdown impacts the precision and responsiveness of the controls, too, making Cannon Legend quite frustrating to play during its more intense moments.

Cannon Legend could have been so much better, but it’s not totally without merit. If you’re kind-hearted enough to overlook the technical hitches and persevere regardless, then you’ll gain a lot of enjoyment.

It’s a little on the short side, and once you’ve conquered all of the levels there's precious little incentive to return, but the fact that it’s being offered free of charge makes it easier to take the rough with the smooth. Don’t go expecting a life-changing experience, but Cannon Legend is worth at least a casual look.