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Cognition - An Erica Reed Thriller Episode 1
A 2GB large
(but only about 5 hour long) adventure game heavy on graphics and
dialogue but light on challenges and not particularly compelling. I
gotta rule this one for big fans of the genre only.
Phoenix Online Studios has teamed up with Reverb
(publisher of the excellent game Dungeon Defenders) to create Cognition
- Episode 1, a thrilling adventure game starring Erica Reed, an FBI
Agent and "Psion" who able to use psychic abilities to help track perps.
One very interesting tidbit about this game is that it was partially
funded by pledges from over 600 backers on kickstarter.com - with so
much support, this game suggests high expectation. Adding to that, the
adventure genre has enjoyed fewer releases over the years, but a number
of high quality releases in that time. That level of competition can
create a make-or-break situation, so read on to find out whether
Cognition makes the grade.
One of the first things that strikes you upon starting up
this game is the visual quality - a great deal of effort has been put
into producing beautiful digitally painted backgrounds, while characters
and items are portrayed in cel-shaded 3D. The result works at least as
well as that of the average adventure game as far as realism is
concerned, but no better - characters still often look goofy and bizarre
as their faces move around in comical caricatures of human expression.
Overall, the looks aren't bad.
Probably the high point of the game is its music. The
soundtrack is really quite well done, providing haunting melodies that
fit the theme. The game's dialogue is entirely voice acted as well, but
a lot of it is pretty poor. "Corny" is definitely a word to use, but the
storyline is thankfully not marred too much by cheesy dialogue.
Speaking of the story, it's really not bad - but as the
title "Episode 1" would imply, it's short. In order to lengthen play
time, a lot of filler busywork has been added - go here and get this
item to continue, now go back here, okay go back there and get an item
to continue. This is traditionally how adventure games work, but at a
certain point it's clear that it's just too much nonsense between the
exciting moments in the plot. There are a few good puzzles in the game -
two or three. In the end, the story is compelling enough to make up for
it, but it takes quite a while to ramp up to that point.
Overall, Cognition Episode 1 is a pretty standard
adventure game that will appeal to crime buffs, but it's fairly short
with little feeling of reward and the episodic nature makes solving it
even less satisfying. If you love adventure games or crime-solving
games, you'll probably have a good time with this one - otherwise, I'd
suggest you look into some of the top adventure games of recent years
instead.
-
Josh Waters
Gameplay: 7
The HUD and
controls fit their purpose well, but annoying load times before every
action you perform reduce this score a bit.
Graphics: 6
The graphics
have a lot of love put into them, but that doesn't make them great.
Sometimes better results are achieved with older technology. Still, not
terrible.
Sound: 7
The game's
got a solid soundtrack, but has some corny/flat voice acting.
Value: 6
It's cheaper
than most, but more expensive than a lot of extremely good indie games
out there. If it weren't for the rest of the episodes being included as
they come out, I'd have to drop the score hard.
Overall: 6.5
A 2GB large
(but only about 5 hour long) adventure game heavy on graphics and
dialogue but light on challenges and not particularly compelling. I
gotta rule this one for big fans of the genre only. |
