"Cogito (1) think, ponder, consider, plan"

I’m a sucker for anything Latin, which is how the name of this otherwise obscure puzzle game caught my eye. Having a word that means “to think” as the title could not be more appropriate in this case, because Cogito is a true mental workout capable of taxing the brain cells of everyone--geniuses included.

Cogito is 22 levels of hardcore, non-arcade, no-fluff puzzle-solving. The idea is simple. There is a large square divided into many smaller squares, with bumpers along the perimeter that move a row of squares right, left, down or up depending on which way the bumper’s arrow is pointing. At the beginning of each level some beads are scrambled up inside the square , and you must use the bumpers to arrange them into a given pattern. The first few levels are fairly easy to beat but after level 7 the difficulty level increases exponentially as different fiendish variations are thrown into the mix. For example bumpers suddenly work backwards (pressing right actually causes the column to go left) or in inversion (pressing the outside down bumper causes the inside upper column to move). Or moving one row causes another row to move as well, or the opposite way, or in mirror image. Or certain bumpers don’t work at all.

Never has a single small idea been pounded away at so thoroughly and single-mindedly as in Cogito. Unfortunately the game is so obsessed with exploring every possible variation of bumper movement that it doesn’t take the time to make itself very interesting or fun. A lot more could have been done with the patterns you’re supposed to recreate. As it is, there are only two different ones in the game: a boring square, and a slightly more interesting though still boring rectangle. Because of the high degree of difficulty, 22 levels seem like a lot, but actually it isn’t. I couldn’t help feeling that the game ended rather abruptly after giving me only two different patterns.

The graphics do a nice job of trying to break the monotony. There are four different backgrounds to choose from, each quite colorful and very cool in its own way. My favorite was the alien background, which features a big green slimy thing that looks like it’s trying to break through the computer screen. There’s another sci-fi themed background with planets, and two fun backgrounds called happyland and ludyland (ludyland seems to be some kind of Lego rip-off). The color of the beads and square change with each level. Sound-effects were almost non-existent; there were precisely two of them. A small trumpet fanfare for completing a level, and a “kung” sound every time a bumper is pressed.

Cogito is so hard that when you finally do complete a level it will give you a huge sense of achievement. But enjoy it while you can because you won’t be experiencing it very often. Each of the 22 levels can be accessed by a password given to you the first time you beat it, making it possible to start on any level you want. Also, the beads are reshuffled randomly each time so that it’s possible to play the same level an almost infinite number of different ways. That is, if you want to.

Personally I didn’t find Cogito to be all that addictive. Its high degree of difficulty and ingenuity are to be commended, but they come at the expense of a high fun factor. After a while the variations get predictable and the whole game just seems repetitive. A very, very high level of brainpower is required to get maximum enjoyment out of this game. Play it if you’re one of those people who is doggedly determined to complete the rubix cube after everyone else has given up.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 09/09/02, Updated 05/06/03