"Hey look, it's Angry Bir...I mean, Cannon Cadets!"

Yes, Angry Birds is an awesome app that everyone and their second cousin twice removed to the tenth should get.  If you have it and have gotten bored of it, though (blasphemy, but whatever), XMG Studios Inc. has decided to give a new skin to our beloved birds, replacing perilous fowl with cute astronauts in none other then Cannon Cadets.

Cannon Cadets is, as I said earlier, an Angry Birds clone.  For the five of you who have never tried Angry Birds before, the basic concept of the game is to destroy the pigs by any means necessary, even if it means wrecking the structures surrounding said pigs.  In Cannon Cadets, you try to destroy the aliens while rescuing your friends who are caged in steel boxes.  Big difference?  Nope.  The usual features of a level score, achievements, and level selector are all present, as are several different astronaut types that each bring a different skill to your cause.

If they just left it at that, though, the app would probably fall into the never-ending abyss of the app store, never to be seen again.  No, XMG decided to do something a bit different, making use of a few features that even Angry Birds could use to copy.  First of all, hats off to XMG for implementing a level design feature, as well as the ability to download the designs of other human players.  This expands gameplay by a ton, and is definitely one of the highlights of Cannon Cadets.  The editor itself is pretty deep, and you'll probably wind up sinking a good deal of time into it if you're one of those people who like to come up with maniacal ways how to annoy prospective players to death.  Secondly, the graphics of Cannon Cadets look crisp on the iPhone/iPod Touch's retina display, which is a big bonus.

With that being said, though, it should be noted that without the level design feature, the game itself is pretty mundane.  There are a few levels that can allow players to enjoy themselves, but in an overall sense, much of it is just, well, easy.  You will fly through this game if you have any skill at all.  Also, while the musical score tries to go with a techno type of feel to compliment the space atmosphere, it ultimately gets annoying once you've spent any amount of time with the game.

At any rate, if you already have Angry Birds and want something a bit different to keep satisfying your itch, you may want to check out Cannon Cadets, if only for the level design editor.  If you were looking for something a bit more, you may be disappointed.

3/5