Cellblock Squadrons is a space-shooter, and the first offering from independent developer Super Furious Software. The game's setting will undoubtedly seem familiar to veteran gamers. It's hundreds of years in the future, and humanity is engaged in pitched battle with numerous alien races. Naturally, you would expect to take the role of some young hot-shot pilot, keen on getting revenge against the aliens for past atrocities. Instead, Cellblock Squadrons gives the premise a bit of a twist. You see, rather than wasting the lives of military personnel in the deadly space-wars, the UED (United Earth Defense) have charged humanity's prison population with the task of defending the Earth. Amnesty International must have had a fit. Dangerous criminals, who once threatened their fellow man, are now being hurtled into space, armed with powerful laser cannons, and sent by the hundreds against the enemies of Earth.
In Cellblock Squadrons you take the role of one such prisoner - one with the unenviable task of working off a $500,000,000 dollar debt to society. I know what you're thinking; that's a lot of license plates. Thankfully, it's the future, so you'll be able to pay off your debt by risking your life in deadly space-battles against warlike aliens. You will be forced to take part in one battle per week until you either pay off your debt, or die trying. Your prison is the UED ship "Pyrenees," and you won't get to see any of the ship other than the inside of your cell. Your cell is not without amenities, though. It boasts a futuristic PDA system, complete with email. However, despite technological advances like shields, teleportation, and intergalactic travel, the UED still haven't been able to come up with effective spam-blocking software, so every now and then you'll get email about medical supplies, or even online gambling. Another bonus of your cell is the ship's automated psychologist, which will ask you questions like: "How do you feel about your mother?" Unfortunately for you, UED doesn't much care about the mental health of their prisoners, so, no matter what your answer, the automated psychologist will still cheerfully declare you, "Fit for duty."
On the surface, gameplay will seem familiar to anyone who's played a space shooter in the past 10 years. After launching from your capitol ship, you must hunt down shifty enemy fighters, engage them in dogfights and ultimately destroy them. Cellblock Squadrons adds to this classic formula by including medium class enemy ships, and a large variety of enemy capitol ships, with which you'll grow quite familiar. The latter are something of a letdown in the game. Though each capitol ship has its own unique strengths offensively, they can all be destroyed by simply firing your weapons at any area of the ship's hull. Weak points that you might target, such as engines, shield generators and the like, don't exist in Cellblock Squadrons, which gives limited depth to capitol ship battles.
You'll be very familiar with all manner of enemy ship by the time you've completed Cellblock Squadrons, as there are 100 levels in the game. These levels are all randomly generated, something for which I give Super Furious Software credit, as it certainly adds some replay value to the game. Another interesting feature is the "Top Pilot" system. The distinction of Top Pilot is awarded to the top scoring inmate at the end of each battle. Being named Top Pilot allows you to choose between five special ships and decide which one of three different battles your squad will fight next. These battles range from easy to hard, and the more difficult the battle you choose for your squad, the more money you'll earn against your debt to society.
Visually, Cellblock Squadrons cannot be called impressive in comparison to other contemporary space-shooters. It is actually more visually comparable to space-shooters of the late nineties. One drawback to Cellblock Squadron's system of randomly generated levels is the monotony of the space environments each battle takes place in. You'll quickly begin to ignore the configurations of stars, planet, nebula, etc. Focusing instead on the battles themselves. Space is a theme where the right environment can visually dazzle the player. Unfortunately, Cellblock Squadrons fails to reach those heights with its levels. Also disappointing is the look of both player-controlled and enemy-controlled ships. Player-controlled ships are all a dull-grey in color (one assumes that is because they are being controlled by the inmates of an intergalactic prison) and get boring quickly. Enemy ships are more interesting, and range from blocky-shaped ships, to glowing spheres, to rounded, almost organic looking ships. While some of these are more interesting than others, they cannot compete with vessels found in other contemporary space shooters. I must say though, that I was surprised at how well the game is presented, and the overall polish of the product.
Fans of space shooters haven't been blessed with a ton of titles in recent years. The mid-late nineties boon of space shooters has dried up, especially thanks to the death of Origin Systems. So, if you're a big time fan of space shooters, and you want a good challenge, go ahead and pick up Cellblock Squadrons. The game lacks a lot of the features of more big-name shooter franchises, but still manages to provide hours of entertainment.
I’m a 23 year old game developer. I’ve been into video games since I played Nintendo at a friend’s house when I was 5. I grew up in a small city in Canada, so I guess naturally that means I’m really into hockey, too (damn NHL strike!). I also really enjoy reading and writing fiction in my spare time.
I’ve always been pretty good at all genres of games, I like some genres more than others; but I play pretty much all of them. I was recently into MMOs but haven’t been playing much of them lately since I can’t find PvP that I enjoy anymore, (UO spoiled me).
