Review: Cogs HD
by Staff Writer
April 10, 2010
Overview
Cogs HD is based upon the PC game Cogs, and you can read all about it in our review of the iPhone version.
Features
The iPad version is practically a direct port of the PC version giving you fifty levels of sliding puzzle fun to arrange pipes and gears. The game is native iPad resolution which is nearly the resolution it runs at on the PC rather than scaled down like the iPhone version.
Each platform it runs on Cogs gives you 50 levels in inventor mode, and then in challenge mode you play those same fifty levels, but have a goal in completing them in a certain time or number of moves. Every level is scored based on solution found, time taken, and number of moves. Crystal is included providing online high scores and achievements.
The Good
Cogs is an amazing game to play no matter the platform it’s running on. The iPad version combines the looks of the PC version with the easy touch controls of the iPhone version giving you an overall better experience on the iPad.
This is the same amazing Cogs that may be the best puzzle game in the App Store, and it plays great on the iPad. It’s like no other experience on the idevice as you tinker with the inner workings of machines guding various gears, and pipes in a sliding puzzle. No level plays the same with each providing a unique challenge from guiding gears on a 3D object to a two sided one.
The game looks absolutely brilliant running on the iPad at full resolution. There is a sheen to the gears and pipes, and it’s amazing to see the inter connectedness of each. The included soundtrack is subtle, and fits the methodic tinkering theme of the game perfectly.
The iPhone version of Cogs costs $0.99 for 10 levels, and each additional set of 10 levels costs $0.99 making it $5. Cogs HD is $5, and it's the same game except a different pricing scheme, and of course the distinction is the visuals. The iPhone version at 1x is manageable in terms of controls while the 2x looks ok, but relatively worse because this is such a magnificent looking game.
The Bad
This is an exceptional game on the iPad, with basically no flaws. Minor complaints are that controls are still somewhat off so a few times it picks up as a tap sliding one tile rather than swiping to move multiple tiles at once. As you get into the later levels past 20 you really can get stumped, but go to the other modes to earn more stars to unlock new levels.
Lazy 8 Studios may have made the game too well on the iPhone, so it's not too big of a deal running the iPhone version on the iPad. It plays the same, looks a little worse, but if you payed $5 for this game already, no need to do so again.
The Verdict
Cogs HD is one of the best iPad games you can buy, and for the same price as the iPhone version, and half the PC version it’s a great deal. It’s an experience like none other which has you really using your brain while you're overwhelmed by the beauty of it. The game takes the best of the iPhone incorporates and the PC visuals giving you a uniquely iPad experience that is the best version yet.
If you’ve bought each level pack in the iPhone version it’s not recommended, but for newcomers to the game Cogs HD is a must buy. A great game where the iPhone version works fine on your iPad making the game itself a must buy, but overall the HD is worth considering. There’s also a lite version to try.
