Last year we got word that the steampunk puzzler Cogs was coming to the iPhone. Not much more was known at the time about it other than the developers were working on a port, although later we found out that it was being published by Chillingo. Today we got a beta of the iPhone version in our hands for the first time, and it is awesome.
The basic premise of Cogs is very similar to games like Pipemania in that you are moving pieces around a game board to accomplish a task. These tasks can involve arranging gears to transfer rotational energy from one point to another, move bells around to create a chime that matches the target sound, or even move pipes around to transmit steam power from one place to another. These tasks combine in later levels to build contraptions such as this tank:
While it’s true there is no shortage of Pipemania spinoffs on the App Store, Cogs is in a class of its own when it comes to the amount of visual flare in the game. Everything is beautifully rendered in 3D with wonderful steampunk graphics, and the amount of animations and different flourishes that cover nearly aspect of the game from the puzzle pieces themselves to the menus is something I’ve never seen in another puzzle game on the platform. (Or maybe any puzzle game, for that matter.)
The version of Cogs we have comes with three game modes: Inventor mode, which starts with simple puzzles and slowly builds in difficulty in addition to two challenge modes which allow you to solve partially-completed puzzles you have unlocked in inventor mode with different goals. In time challenge mode, you have 30 seconds to solve the remainder of the puzzle, and in move challenge mode you have ten moves to find the solution.
Aside from the different challenges, your progress is tracked in each puzzle with a move counter and a timer. Completing puzzles fast enough and/or in a small amount of moves gives different awards. It even has achievements and high scores which are tracked by Chillingo’s Crystal which should provide a decent amount of replay value if you’re the kind of person who enjoys going for achievements or competing online.
Puzzles in game start as simple 2D puzzles, but quickly graduate to 3D monstrosities where you need to solve multiple puzzles on each face of a object which is turned by swiping with two fingers on the screen. A simple swipe moves pieces around, and overall the controls work very well aside from a few instances where the game though I was trying to spin the cube instead of move a piece– Although it’s hard to say if the game’s beta status or my fat fingers are the culprit.
The trailer for the PC version of the game will give you a good idea of what comes in later levels, and is worth watching just so you can get an idea of how good of a port this is. Here is some video of the first few puzzles in Cogs for the iPhone, just keep in mind that this is still technically in beta so things will likely be tweaked or changed prior to launch:
Cogs is due to be released sometime this month, and when the game comes out you can expect a full review. In the meantime, if you have a PC you can check out the free Cogs demo on Steam or buy the full version for $9.99.
I like this game. It's pretty loosely based on poker. Reminds me more of games like Chop Sushi, which I loved.
Game won't download, says item no longer available. Any ideas?
the title itself had me sold....
downloading as of right now (didn't even read the article o_O)
Probably the longest shot ever, but how amazing would this be with an online multiplayer? I would even pay another buck ;)
Purchase = Joy - It's great!
Hey TA, it's far easier to make and distribute flash games than e.g., iPhone games. FYI.
FYI, we don't care about flash games - that's why this website is for idevices gaming...
by the way, game's awesome - now please add a social network to it (feint, plus, agon, whatever) and add some achievements!!
purchased! what a cool idea!
I've been loving this game since the day it came out... Here's hoping they add more levels and other items in updates. I'd love to see them add more of a "free play" type feature against some random monsters.
Also, the tutorial needs to explain some of the special skills a bit more. The icons are so small and often times you have to use trial and error to understand what each of them do...
But even as is... It is a great game!
The presentation is awesome and the mechanics are entertaining without being too complicated. One thing I don't understand is what determines a valid placement and what isn't valid. I was presented with a play that would have given me two of a kind horizontally and vertically and yet it wouldn't let me play that move. Are there online rules somewhere? If the reason is in the manual, I haven't unlocked it yet. :(
Cards can't be placed anywhere. You start with nine cards already placed which leaves a "ring" of empty cells.
You place two cards down at a time on opposite sides of the nine starting cards. So if you place a card in the top left corner then you MUST put the other card in the bottom right corner. When placing a card all cells should dim except the row you are allowed to place your other card.
The other rule is that when placing your two cards to complete a row that row MUST make at least one pair, otherwise it's invalid (even if you end up completing additional line in the process)
You can also hit the little gear in the top left when on the dungeon screen and check the playing manual.
Hope that helps!
That explanation helped me, I was just about to ask the same question.
I'm loving this game! Hope they keep adding on to it.
Yes, that helped a lot. This game is great! I love how the game's features evolve and unlock as you play.
Great concept!
Oh, and put me down for a possible multiplayer option in a future update. That would just make a good thing even better.
There already is a multiplayer option. Do you mean wifi or online?
Online would be great! I have a large number of friends all around the world and we play various games online almost every day (it's a wonder I ever get anything done ;-)
So far we haven't found a good turn-based online Touch game, and we would really enjoy that.
this game will be much more better if developer will add some kind of free play mode and also make option to speed up animation because sometimes it's a bit slow.
This may well be the game of the year. OK, so it's early. :) In any case, this game is super fun. Try the lite and it's likely you'll buy it. Best of all, the further you get in the game the better the game gets! I can't recommend it enough.
This reminds me of Puzzle Pirates... Ahhh the good old days!
I picked this game up after seeing the title, but I probably wouldn't have seen it if it wasn't for Touch Arcade.
Eli, your reviews are always accurate and always point towards awesome games.
For $0.99 good god buy the damn game!
This game has seriously damaged my productivity.
That said, it's not perfect. The difficulty curve is pretty poor; it seems to actually get easier as you go along - until you meet a boss. And, please, please, can we have some settings to speed up the tediously slow battle animations. Especially when you finish edge lines, it really drags.
Very fun game but extremely frustratingly difficult on the later boss fights, if you have problems losing (a LOT) in video games steer very very clear of this one.
All I can say about this game is that I have played it non-stop since I tried the lite version. For only $1, you couldn't possibly do better. Sooooo awesome! :D
This is one of the best games for the iPhone I've played recently...
1) Relatively unique
2) Decent presentation and polish
3) Incredible game balance and nuance... the swords/shields/spells are quite well done and provide a good deal of strategy and forethought... the "end of round" require some planning (to either score big or fail and get slammed).
I would happily have paid $7-10 for this game. $0.99 is a no brainer.
MinervaDreaming,
In the latest version, if you put the in-game music to 0, it will seamlessly play your existing iPod music session... just start the iPod beforehand in the UI or double click your headphones to continue after starting the game.
I am really digging these mashup games that are gaining steam now.
They bring a unique angle on the old and standard gameplay.
My current favorite is www.KingdomOfGnester.com - Mario meets Bejewelled - site doesn't do the game justice - it is a great time and they are adding new levels and content all the time. Worth the $2 to check it out.
how lame! this game has gone from .99 to 1.99 to currently 3.99! i guess they realized they had a good thing. i wish i would've bought it in the beginning. guess i'm gonna pass now.
Now my favourite iphone game. It's seriously additive and fun. Reccomended to anybody!
Pretty cool game, something perfect for the iphone platform. The single player is deep and very long. I played the two player mode with my girlfriend, very fun, anyways she is hopelessly addicted to the game now. Very unique game overall, but very easy to understand.
Great game.....bust can someone explain to me why even after passing the whole thing and having MEGA bucks left over I cannot get access to the last few items in the shop???? This is a serious flaw as you should be able to purchase all the weapons shields and bags? Please explain!!!
Poker sword? I barely even know 'er sword!
The thing is once you get the chaos powerup it gets really easy if you use it with a weapon that paralyzes. It's not that hard to get a straight every time with Kotatsu, for example, while it's even easier to paralyze with Excalibur. You should be winning almost every game with ease and speed once you get the chaos powerup and one of those weapons.
Does anyone else think that the combination of Excalibur and the Chaos ability is overpowered? I can complete most levels without any enemies even getting a turn (unless they are immune to paralysis).
Can't download game, unavailable. Where can I get it?
Why on earth is this game gone from the app store? It was easily the best game out there!
Agreed... where'd it go.. I remember playing a flash game of 5 by 5 poker and being addicted to that! This seems like a souped up fun version of that.
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gameis definitely missing, why