Mike: 6
Cogs is a glorified sliding puzzle game. In my case, that’s not a good start since I’ve never really liked that kind of thing. When I find these puzzles frustrating in the real world, why on earth would I want to slide tiles around in a virtual one? Lucky for me, Cogs does everything right once you get past the concept. There is great diversity in the puzzles. You’ll start on simple 2D grids but graduate to 3D contraptions. While most puzzles revolve around Cogs (of course!), there’s some good variety thrown in with steam pipes, gears and other building blocks. The graphics are nice and clean and the music is soothing. If you like Rubik’s Cubes or Sliding Puzzle games, Cogs will be right up your alley. If you prefer blasting aliens over sliding puzzles, Cogs won’t convert you.

Andrew: 6
Although it seems like a simple twist on the standard sliding puzzle, Cogs soon becomes a brain-busting experiment in patience. On either a flat board or a 3D cube, you must move tiles around to connect gears, direct the flow of steam, activate a music box, and do all sorts of things that involve, well, cogs. Though the ability to rotate objects adds enormous depth to the variety of possible puzzles, the flat, bland textures and the drab brown, yellow and gray color scheme may turn off those who aren’t immediately pulled in by the challenge. And trust me, there is plenty of challenge here. The fewer moves you make and the more quickly you complete a puzzle, the greater you get rewarded. Unfortunately, a lacking presentation may be too much to overcome.

Ashley: 7
Cogs is a unique puzzler that resembles a steampunk rubik’s cube with varying devices that you have to put together in order to advance. It’s a unique take on a puzzler and the old genre of pipeline games, providing a fresh experience that’s well worth the cash if you enjoy this kind of mindbender. Of course, the graphics aren’t exactly revolutionary, but for a puzzle game they get the job done. You won’t find yourself confused by your pixelated parts.

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