I think there comes a time in certain gamers lives where more of them same, is just not acceptable anymore. More of the same First Person Shooters, more of the same Role Playing Games, and more of the same multi-million dollar titles being marketed and shoved down our throats as if we gamers don’t have a choice. Well we do! Which is why I will now be going out of my way to find and help promote unique video games from independent developers. Indie game development is how the game industry started and I feel like indie games is what will keep this industry alive and thriving when it comes to innovation. Indie games like COGS, from developers Lazy 8 Studios.
I didn’t even have to search at all for this game, COGS. Honestly, it just fell in my lap. (lap meaning: someone sent me an email giving me a heads up about it) It just happened, and I’m glad it did. I saw this trailer for COGS and as soon as I saw the trailer, I knew I had to try this new 3D puzzle game out. In fact, the trailer intrigued me so much, it finally got me to download STEAM in order to download the demo and eventually purchase the full retail version. COGS is what got me to download STEAM and start playing a PC game. Yes, an experienced console only gamer did not decide to download to STEAM to have access to big PC titles like Left 4 Dead, Warhammer or Team Fortress 2. I’m not even a PC gamer! I decided to download STEAM in order to get access to games like COGS. I think once you see the trailer, you too will want to give this game a quick spin. (Literally, you can spin some of the puzzles in 3D. Quite intuitive for the everyday game artist/modeler/designer)
In COGS, the object of the game is to slide tiles around in order to build a machine. Maybe move some pipes around to provide steam to inflate a balloon or slide tiles around with gears (cogs) on top in order to move wheels on a vehicle. There are 50 levels to this game but I have not finished all of them yet because some levels, admittedly, have got me stuck. Some are difficult, some are a bit easier. Some puzzles I’ll beat in a few short minutes, others can take closer to 15-20 minutes. Either way, it’s good quality fun and it makes you think. COGS is quite different from the mindless violent and blood soaked games I am so used to playing. Not that I’m going to stop killing Zombies on my 360 or anything, but COGS is just the right change of pace I am looking for right now. It may be for you as well. With the help of a beautifully artistic steampunk style(anyone notice how popular steampunk is becoming in games lately?) to the outstanding music that compliments the gameplay and the completion of a machine, COGS is most definitely worthy of a purchase. The last game I said that about was Peggle, and COGS is definitely up there in that level of greatness and I hope to see this game ported to as many other platforms as possible.
One of the coolest parts about this game, and I hope they will pursue this feature more in depth, is the option to create your own puzzles. I don’t know if they have this set up for any Joe Shmoe to come in and make more puzzles (they specifically say there is no visual editor), but if you know what you’re doing, you can probably figure out how to make your own. (If I find some extra time, I just may accept this challenge to make one of my own and blog about the process. We’ll see.)
From some of the comments I’ve read on the YouTube page of this trailer, I can see comments mentioning Bioshock when it comes to comparing what this game is like. Not the game Bioshock itself, but the extremely annoying hacking feature in Bioshock that drove me absolutely insane. I couldn’t stand that part of the game and is one of the features that convinced me the game wasn’t even worth finishing. Say what you want Bioshock fans, that feature could have easily been left out and the game would have been praised just the same. After saying that, COGS is so much deeper than what gamers remember from Bioshock. Lazy 8 Studios takes that idea, implements it better and runs with it. Personally, I think they are running in the right direction. When you consider the fact that Lazy 8 Studios consists of only 2 guys (Rob Jadnow and Brendon Mauro) and COGS took 5 years to complete, you realize how impressive this game really is.
So from the trailer above and from what I’ve wrote about this game so far, what do you think about COGS? Is it for you? If you end up downloading the game or trying the demo out on STEAM (It’s free!), please leave me some comments and tell me what you think.
Lazy 8 Studios, job well done and good luck to you in the future!
The Gamer Report 