Aesthetics

The NeatDesk for Mac and the Fujitsu ScanScan S1500M are both excellent units.  However, they differ significantly in terms of aesthetics, so this one will be up to your judgment.  The S1500M had a very corporate look to it – it very much takes on the appearance of an enterprise-level unit.  The NeatDesk, on the other hand, with it’s high-gloss finish and rounded edges, looks much more like a consumer device.

Design/Durability

Both units are durable and well designed.  However, the ScanSnap can be made to fit into less desk space due to it’s foldable nature.  In addition, I find that the ScanSnap feels more solid than the NeatDesk unit, although this may be somewhat illusory.  In terms of design, I have to give this section to the ScanSnap.  I believe that their unit has a far more logical (and interesting) design that takes more into account (especially the lack of a power switch).

Workload

The Fujitsu ScanSnap is faster and can handle a larger capacity of pages at once and the NeatDesk seems to be better geared to handle three sizes of paper at a time. So, they both get the win here – while both are capable of handling multiple size documents, the ScanSnap is more efficient with a single size of document, and the NeatDesk is more versatile with its simultaneous handling of several.

Software

The software factor will ultimately depend on what you will be using the scanner for.  If you plan on processing lots of receipts and invoices, the NeatWorks software is fantastic.  However, if you need a wide array of options with your scans, you’re probably better off with the software suite offered by Fujitsu.

Conclusion/Final Thoughts

I really enjoyed using each of these scanners.  In the end, I believe both to be excellent units – and it seems to me as though each is destined for a different audience.  The NeatDesk, with it’s extreme simplicity and excellent NeatWorks software, may be an ideal solution for a home user, or for a businessperson that has to track their expenses.  The ScanSnap is less adept at handling things like receipts, but it does and excellent job with documents and business cards, and it does provide the most features and highest level of functionality.

To sum it up, I believe each scanner has merit, and ultimately, neither of these scanners is for everybody.  Prospective purchasers are advised to thoroughly research and consider both options, and make the choice that is right for them, given the tasks they will be using the scanner for.

Update: This is Part 3 of 3 of our scanner series.  Parts 1 and 2 can be found below:

Part 1: NeatDesk for Mac

Part 2: Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500M

Related posts:

1. Review: Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500M (Scanner Series: Part 2 of 3)
2. Review: NeatDesk for Mac (Scanner Series: Part 1 of 3)
3. Review: Tech21 17″ Impact Wrap

First Glance

The ScanSnap struck me at once at being a very serious device.  It has a small desk-sized form factor, but folds out and expands to having full-sized paper trays both incoming and outgoing.  This thing is stylish!  Instead of having an on/off switch in the back, the machine is turned on by unfolding the top cover, revealing a bright blue rectangular light, which, in addition to serving as a power indicator, also fills a role as the unit’s scan button.

The device was also very easy to set up.  After installing the included software and checking for updates, everything just worked.  No calibration was necessary, no settings to tweak.  It’s very simple out-of-box configuration will be adequate for the majority of users.  Or, for those that desire more advanced functionality, the default “Quick Menu” can be turned of, giving rise to a feature called Profiles, which allows you to select exactly what you’d like done with the document after you hit the scan button.

Straighten Your Tie

Now, we mentioned that the S1500M is aimed more towards the professional audience, and there are two main reasons why: software and options.  Included in the box, along with the usual assortment of power and USB cables, manuals, and packing materials, is a copy of Adobe Acrobat Professional 8.0.  This ends up coming in handy, as the scanner does a very complete job of translating documents into searchable (and editable) PDF’s, and the included scanner management tools give you the option to import directly in to Acrobat.

Further, the included scanner management software sets this unit apart from most others in it’s class.  Instead of coming with a customized piece of database software, and using that exclusively (like Neat), Fujitsu gives you options.  They include a variety of tools, such as the previously mentioned Acrobat Pro, as well as a business card management tool.  They also included the native ability to scan directly into Office for Mac, scan directly to print, scan directly to email as well as saving things directly to a selected folder.

More Than Meets The Eye

The S1500M is not your average garden-variety scanner.  It is different from most other scanners in fundamental ways.  One such difference: Customization.  The ScanSnap is infinitely customizable, and can be quickly and easily configured to work with almost any off-the-shelf scanner utility.  You can even set up a profile for those programs.  I found this particularly useful, as I sometimes like to use the scanner for organizing my receipts and documents (for which I configured the scanner to work with NeatWorks for Mac), but also have the occasional need to scan straight to email, or scan in particularly high quality for advanced editing.  The ScanSnap S1500M makes both of these main scanner functions a snap, and even a pleasure to perform.

Performance

I’m just going to come right out and say this: The Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500M is the best performing ADF scanner I have ever handled.  It’s extremely fast – In real world “set it and forget it” usage, I managed to achieve an average of 19 pages per minute in standard quality scanning.  The includes the performing of nearly flawless OCR operations.

The S1500M is also smart.  It can tell if it’s pulling two sheets through the scanner, and can alert you in case it was done in error.  Or, in case you stapled a receipt to an invoice or something, you can instruct the scanner to continue with the scan as if nothing ever happened.

For these reasons and more, the S1500 truly is a “set it and forget it” scanner.  I would feel perfectly confident in setting it up, inserting 30 pages of invoices, pushing the shiny blue button, and leaving to meet with a client, having every reason to trust that the scanner will do a perfect job scanning, analyzing, and filing every last page correctly.

Value

For the price, you don’t get better than this.  For the price ($495), it’s affordable enough for most anyone to use.  It’s inclusion of a license for Acrobat Professional 8 adds significantly to that value.  Long story short: For the features, speed, power, and included software that comes standard with the S1500M, I would think it something of a challenge to find a better value in a desktop scanner anywhere in the market.

The Best of Both Worlds

It’s not very often that an ideal computer peripheral comes along – A device that’s easy enough for an average consumer, but powerful and feature-rich enough for enterprise use.  However, I believe that the Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500M is that peripheral.  Straight out of the box, it’s the perfect consumer desk scanner.  With a little customization (and I do mean a little – I set it up for everything I could ever want to do in about 10 minutes), it becomes a fast and powerful enterprise-level document management solution.  Also important is the fact that it natively interfaces with popular consumer and professional software suites, including (notably) NeatWorks for Mac, Office for Mac, and Adobe Acrobat Professional.

Conclusion

I love the ScanSnap.  It’s stylish, smooth, fast, accurate, and very capable of servicing all of my paper-based needs.  It’s easy enough for a consumer to use, yet powerful enough for a dedicated business man.  It includes features that other scanners just do not have, it easily interfaces with whatever scanning software you might already be useful, and it does all that without costing a fortune.  For all of that, we give the Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500M our highest recommendation, and award it a rating of 5/5.  For more information, or to purchase the ScanSnap S1500M, visit Fujitsu online.

Update: This is Part 2 of 3 of our scanner series.  Parts 1 and 3 can be found below:

Part 1: NeatDesk for Mac

Part 3: Comparison and Thoughts

Related posts:

1. Review: NeatDesk for Mac (Scanner Series: Part 1 of 3)
2. Review: DiskWarrior 4.2
3. Review: MacKeeper

What is NeatDesk?The NeatDesk for Mac is a compact ADF (Automatic Document Feeder) document scanner offered under the idea that by digitally scanning your documents, business cards, etc into a database, you’ll be able to file or discard the paper copies, but still be able to quickly and easily access their digital counterparts.  It’s a nice idea – but does the NeatDesk deliver?

First Glance

When I first received this unit, I hastily unpacked it and proceeded to follow the directions to get it working on my computer.  The setup procedure is fairly simple, and I was up in running in no time.  I scanned my first document – A Wal-Mart receipt.  It looked great, and the built-in OCR detected all of the text, and automatically created a database entry using the total price, and the items purchased.  I then scanned a full-sized invoice – And my hopes were crushed.  The scanner cut off the sides of my document.  I tried another document, but achieved the same result.

After some hasty research, filing a support case with Neat, and emailing my press contact there, it was determined that my unit was defective, and I was rushed a second unit.  The second unit worked very well, and did not include this defect – but I was concerned about my initial experience with a Neat Co. product.  Perhaps companies should ensure that their press units are free of defects.

Performance

The NeatDesk, and it’s bundled NeatWorks for Mac software were a pleasure to use – they are visually attractive, well-designed, and easy to use without headache or incident.  The scanner itself is quite nice, however I wish it were able to handle a larger stack of everything.  I was able to fit about 12 typewritten pages, 15 receipts, and 23 business cards into the machine at once.  If I was reorganizing my office, I might want to process more than that in a single sitting.  However, for most users I don’t feel this will be a significant issue.

Another thing might, however.  Neat Co might bill this as a “set it and forget it” solution, but in reality, it is not.  In my usage, I had to correct the built-in OCR on numerous occasions, requiring me to monitor the scans as they came through.  In it’s current state, I wouldn’t feel comfortable allowing it to scan a massive stack of receipts while I was on lunch break.  If the product were slightly more reliable in it’s implementation, then someone could just let it process a huge stack of business cards or something, while resting assured that it is was doing the job perfectly.

However, I did have some difficulty stumping the machine entirely.  It was very good at detecting text on the surface and making it extractable.  There are two exceptions: First, it doesn’t like documents with multiple columns.  Second, it does sometimes have issues with highly graphical business cards.  Although in it’s defense, I had to process over 50 business cards to find one that it couldn’t easily handle.

Does it “Just Work?”

Yes and no.  While it does tend to work quite well straight out of the box, I did have some slight software-related issues when swapping out my defective unit for a working one.  Notably, I had difficulty getting the NeatWorks software to automatically launch and begin working, and it got caught up in a habit of opening OS X’s scanning utility every time I hit the scan button.  Even after I foxed that, I had an issue with immediate and automatic scanning.  Further (and this may or may not be Neat Co’s fault), the NeatWorks software crashes every time you use fast user switching (or in my case, a “lock my mac” app that utilizes the same function).

NeatWorks for Mac

I love NeatWorks.  As is often the case in these types of products, the software makes all the difference.  NeatWorks for Mac is the slickest and easiest-to-use scanner software (and miniature personal database) I have ever had the pleasure to use.  It’s fast, it’s functional, and it does it’s job in style.  Further, NeatWorks for Mac, available separately from Neat, also works for other scanners, including, notably, the Fujitsu ScanSnap series (more on that later.)

Conclusion

The NeatDesk for Mac is a great scanner, and the combination of the hardware and the included NeatWorks for Mac software makes everything work together quite well.  While there are some kinks in the system, and while the NeatDesk could use some improvement (of course, all products can improve), we feel it’s a good  choice for most consumers, and we give it a rating of 4/5.  For more information on NeatWorks or NeatDesk for Mac, please visit Neat Co. on the web.

Update: This is Part 1 of 3 of our scanner series.  Parts 2 and 3 can be found below:

Part 2: Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500M

Part 3: Comparison and Thoughts

Related posts:

1. Versa Battery VS190 Review
2. Review: Unusual Studio’s Embassy Series
3. Review: DiskWarrior 4.2

First Glance

Version 4.2 of DiskWarrior includes several new and useful features compared to versions of the past.  Among those features are Snow Leopard support, and the fact that it now comes as a universal binary capable of servicing both PowerPC and Intel macs.  At first glance, it doesn’t seem as though DiskWarrior will do much – that is, until you actually use it.

Why Do I Need This?

DiskWarrior is like an insurance policy of sorts.  Besides checking for physical malfunction on your drive, It performs a number of critical functions on your Mac, with the ultimate aim being that of preventing drive damage and slowing, and helping to prevent data loss.  However, it can also handle emergencies such as recovering corrupted data, or pulling data off of a damaged or failing drive.  In addition, it can help your hard drive to run much faster by evaluating and rebuilding your directory system, and intelligently monitoring your permissions.  In short, since directory and permissions problems are the leading cause of malfunction in Macs, you need this because it WILL save you.  It will save you time, it will save you data loss, and both of those things save you money.

How is DiskWarrior Different?

DiskWarrior, at it’s essence, uses a different approach to the matter of directory repair than other available programs.  Instead of checking and patching the disk directory, it actually rebuilds the directory from the ground up (using information from the original directory), achieving a faster and more sustainable result than the alternative.  This means it may be able to recover data that other programs cannot.

Let’s Get Practical.

So, we’ve mentioned all of the great things that Disk Warrior can do – but the lingering question to many of you will be usability.  In my usage of DiskWarrior, I have found that not only is it much easier to use than other similar utilities I have utilized before, it’s also fast!  In terms of practical usability, I would say that DiskWarrior absolutely takes the cake.  It’s fast, it’s easy to use, it’s very effective, and it can provide benefits that no other program I have used can provide.

Conclusion.

In conclusion, Alsoft Disk Warrior 4 is a reasonably-priced application that does everything it claims to do – and it does so very, very well!  Disk Warrior is fast, easy, effective, and incredibly useful.  If you own a Mac, you should use DiskWarrior.  If you don’t, add it to your list.  For more information, or to purchase DiskWarrior (Cost is $100), please visit the Alsoft product page on the internet.

Related posts:

1. Review: Radioshift
2. Review: MacKeeper
3. Review: Jimmy Pataya

What is Radioshift?

Radioshift is a small, simple program that takes you back to the days of Radio.  The program allows you to locate and listen into live public radio stations across many states, countries, and genres of radio programming.  It even has several comprehensive search features, including searches by area, genre, frequency, and title, that enable you to find any radio program or station that you are looking for.  It even lets you record radio programs on a schedule, so you never miss your favorite.

At First Glance

When I first opened up Radioshift and began navigating my way around, I really wondered how such a program could be useful.  In a world where podcast exist, what need is there to record radio?  Despite my initial concern here, however, I found the app to be very easy to use.  The interface is really simple, and even fun to use, and the feature set is very complete.  Further, the program takes up very little system resource, and can be used as background noise when using other apps – even games – without any noticeable decrease in performance.

Who really needs this?

A lot of people, in my opinion.  Although at first I was of the opinion that it wouldn’t be very useful at all, I have come to realize that I actually listen to quite a bit of radio, mostly in my car, and a lot of that content just isn’t available on iTunes.  Using Radioshift, I can actually listen to my regular radio shows and actually hear everything instead of being distracted by my car and everything around me.  The program will even wake itself up (and your computer) in order to record programs you have scheduled.  So who needs this?  Anyone who listens to non-podcasted radio!

Conclusion

In my opinion, Radioshift is a Mac essential for any commuter or radio enthusiast.  It encompasses an impressive set of features for a program of it’s kind, is light on system resources, provides usefulness that most people don’t already have, and does so for a reasonable price.  Radioshift sells for $32, and is available from the developer’s site.  For more information or to purchase, visit Rogue Amoeba on the web.

Related posts:

1. Review: MacKeeper
2. Review: Jimmy Pataya
3. Review: Ecoute

MacKeeper takes on the ambitious goal of being an all-in-one suite of (file) maintenance tools.  It’s primary concern is maintaining your data, but isn’t concerned with your permissions, system preferences, etc.  Most of the tools that it does include perform well, with a few cautions that I will cover later.  For the price of the app, a mere $40, it does present an excellent value.  For instance, it includes a comprehensive, web-based anti-theft feature – similar services, such as those provided by Computrace’s LoJack for Laptops – are billed on an annual basis, and at a much higher price.

Another particularly impressive feature in this large collection of tools is a service-based feature called Geek On Demand.  This is one company that takes customer service very seriously.  Visible on all pages of the application is a toll-free number that allows you to receive comprehensive technical support for your product.  This service is included with the price of the app.  And they do not restrict your questions to just their software – they encourage you to call in with any mac-related questions.  In my opinion, this is an incredible added value – some companies pay significant monthly fees for services such as this.  They also allow you to send them emails, with replies given within 24 hours.  Live web chat is also available.

This utility also contains a large number of space-reduction features.  It can clear your caches, delete duplicate files, show you how long files have been on your machine (deleting those three-year-old unused files may recover some space, right?)  It also has a tool to cut the binaries on your machine.  Run an Intel mac?  Then you won’t need the PowerPC portion of your universal binaries. and MacKeeper is happy to remove that for you.  It can also help you delete language packs that you don’t use.

There is a caution, however: This is new software still being updated regularly, and some features do have bugs.  For instance, the binary cutter caused some of my apps to have errors (Particularly my new Adobe CS5 collection).  It can also cause some apps to not update correctly.  This is a feature that needs some fine-tuning.  Additionally, the Wise Uninstaller, while it does work for the majority of Macintosh applications, was unable to completely remove the HP Printer Software from my old HP Photosmart.  I had to remove portions of the software manually.

All-in-all, this is an excellent application, and well worth the low cost of $40.  It is packed with great features, and has a simple, intuitive interface.  It does have some features that are buggy, and one that isn’t even implemented yet, however, this program is still in its infancy, and continues to improve at a rapid rate.  And those features that do work well make it well worth the purchase – particularly the excellent service and support offered by ZeoBIT!  This app won’t be replacing programs like MainMenu for me any time soon, but it does add some useful functionality that I did not have before.

Related posts:

1. Review: MainMenu
2. Review: CleanMyMac (Coupon Inside)
3. Versa Battery VS190 Review

The game features rich, bright graphics that are energizing and fun to look at.  This game is at least as interesting visually as it is to play.  The game is difficult enough to be challenging, but not so difficult that you get frustrated and want to give up.  It seems to maintain that important balance of fun and challenge.

Also noteworthy is the fact that this game is built under OpenFeint. OpenFeint allows you to share thoughts about the game, as well as your game scores with other players.  It’s free to participate in and extremely easy to use (any for those naysayers, it is also completely optional) and, in my opinion, really enriches the overall gaming experience.

In conclusion, Jimmy Pataya is a well-built game that is visually appealing, fun, and fast-paced.  I enjoyed reviewing it, and I hope that you will find it interesting and enjoyable.  To learn more about Jimmy Pataya, or to purchase it, then follow the iTunes link here: Jimmy Pataya.

Related posts:

1. Review: Flaboo
2. Review: WIFI HD
3. Review: Nintaii

The battery itself is artfully designed.  It contrasts well with the Macbook Pro hardware, and can very conveniently be set underneath or beside the Macbook Pro to rest.  The size of the battery is also very well-considered.  It is small enough to fit in your laptop bag without making it too bulky.  The machined edges of the battery’s casing also make it appeal more to the design of the Macbook Pro.

More important than the looks of the product, however, is how it functions.  According to the manufacturer, the Versa Battery is capable of providing 6 additional hours of power at full processor load with an external high-res camera attached.  They also claim that you can use two of the three power ports (12v, 19v, 5vUSB) at the same time, with no decrease in performance.  To test these claims, I first determined how long my Mac would last in a certain situation – it turns out that if I use my Macbook Pro to broadcast 1080P video footage to an HDTV (in this case, I was broadcasting Star Trek via VLC), I get 2 hrs, 21 minutes of battery life.  The fans run at just over 3000RPM, and the processor load is over 60%.  With the Versa Battery, however, I was able to broadcast continually for an impressive 7 hrs, 49 minutes.

The next test was continually using two ports at the same time.  I just happened to have a 12v portable DVD player, which I plugged in to the unit alongside my Macbook Pro.  I set both tasks to activities with high power draw, which worked flawlessly for the life of the battery.  USB draw also provided excellent results – this battery can power my iPhone for a seemingly infinite amount of time!  It also (rather importantly) provides an auxilary USB port to use for power – in case you have a high-draw USB device like some USB hard drives, you can use it without monopolizing all of the drives on your MBP.  It seems, then, that the product is true to it’s manufacturer’s promises as far I as can determine.  This is unsurprising, as the unit not only seems well-built from the look and feel, but also sports the appropriate hardware – a 190Wh battery (The new MBP’s sport a 77.5Wh battery, meaning this, by spec alone, more than triples battery capacity).

Now, to discuss usability.  Before using the battery (which ships completely drained), you must charge it to 100%.  In my test, this took over 4 hours.  However, another way to look at that is an “overnight charge,” since you can’t overcharge it by leaving it plugged it.  The battery also comes with a large number of adapters, as well as a modified Magsafe cable for usage with a Macbook Pro.  The included tips work with the majority of laptops on the market.  It also comes with extension cables, which provides additional usefulness.  As a freelance computer tech, I can see myself using this all the time when working with people’s laptops.

To conclude, I have some difficulty finding a serious fault with this product.  It performs as promised, delivers incredible amounts of extra power, is stylish and well-designed, and is portable enough to easily slip into a backpack or briefcase.  I give this battery a high recommendation, especially for the price ($350, plus a nominal shipping fee.)  For more information on the Versa Battery, or to purchase one, check out the product website.

Related posts:

1. iPad Battery Replacement
2. Review: Zefyr
3. Review: Twelve South’s BassJump

The Xbox’s twin-stick shooter, ‘Geometry Wars’, started something (besides making plagiarising Eugene Jarvis’s seminal Robotron acceptable). It showed that retro could be pretty, beguiling – nay, even sexy.

Spirit, by Marco Mazzoli continues this trend. At first glance you’d be forgiven for thinking this was Geometry Wars.

1. Black background? Check.
2. Deforming gridded play-area? Check.
3. Neon palette? Check.
4. Vector-styled graphics? Check.
5. Randomised waves of enemies? Check.
6. Gutteral, particle-filled death animation? Check.

So far, so very, very familiar.

But that’s where it ends, for in Spirit your primary activity is drawing, not shooting.

Gameplay

Your little Eve-inspired ship appears in the middle of the screen which slowly fills with enemies.

As you move you leave a small distortion field and subtle trail behind you. If you make a loop you’ll cause a little rift in space to open up sucking all enemies within its borders into oblivion. The rift remains on screen for some time, allowing you to drop rifts in front of enemies as well as simply creating one around them.

You gain bonuses for collecting several enemies in one go, or for looping an enemy before the previous loop has fully dissipated, making score-bolstering combos possible.

The waves are heavily randomised, so you’ll face different enemies and attack patterns if you play several games in a row. There are several different types of enemy: some drift randomly, some actively seek you out, some stick to grid-lines and others appear as part of a geometric attack group like a phalanx or circle, and some shoot back.

Every so often you’ll encounter a bonus wave where, for example you gain points for killing red enemies and lose points for killing yellow ones.

Sometimes you’ll come across a tiny version of yourself tethered to another enemy. If you kill the enemy without flushing the mini-you, you’ll be able to pick up the latter for an extra life.

Collide with an enemy and you lose a life.

Many early waves are defeated by simplty drawing a massive loop around the screen, making the waves almost pointless. Once edge-hugging enemies appear this ploy stops working and the game gets a lot harder.

While games have to end some time, I can’t help thinking that this is one game that would have benefited from re-thinking the old ‘collision=death’ mechanic. Once the enemies get more numerous the difficulty spikes alarmingly and it’s easy to lose all your lives in the space of around 20 seconds.

Controls

Unlike most games of its type, Spirit does not give you a soft-joystick to fumble with, but instead uses a curious ‘relative’ movement system. Effectively, the whole screen is one big joystick. If you find your thumb is occluding your view of the game, you can shift your finger-position to a different part of the screen without breaking your flow.

The experience is incredibly fluid and seamless. It just feels right, and no amount of screen-shots can do it justice.

And that’s it – that’s all you do in Spirit. No secondary shooting mechanic. No tilt/shake weapon or other distraction.

Graphics

Though the style is borrowed from another game, it has been borrowed very well. The look demands the author to provide a lot of movement on-screen to add interest and Spirit does this is spades. The deforming grid ebbs and ripples, making the game feel more like it is set underwater than in space. The rifts pulse and throb beautifully as they slowly shrink down to nothing. And everything glows. It makes me want to get out my old roll-sleeved suit and listen to the Miami Vice theme.

Overall – it’s really very pretty and kinetic, if not original.

Sound

The sound consists of some melancholic down-tempo synth music and the appropriate ’80s-inspired effects. The mood evoked is suitably dark and sinister; the spirits of Robotron and Defender are definitely present in the sound design, and this is a good thing.

Overall

Spirit takes the good parts of other games, adds a dash of its own originality and wraps this all up in a very attractive little package. At $0.99 it’s a steal… but expect some frustration as the difficulty spike prods your sensitive bits and makes wish you hadn’t had that third espresso.

Available on iTunes for $0.99 (iTunes Link)

Related posts:

1. Review: Cogs by Lazy 8 Studio, Published by Chillingo
2. Review: Nintaii
3. Review: Monopoly Here and Now (iPhone)

I’m crying right now. Big, manly tears, but tears nonetheless.

I’m playing Cogs and it is genuinely elegant. It’s possibly the first steam-punk puzzle game, and this core creative decision has an impact on every part of the game.

Gameplay

At heart, Cogs is simply a classic sliding block puzzle of the sort you played with when you were 6, surreptitiously trying to spell out rude words. Now, in the magic world of your imagination, replace those letters with gears and pipes and you’re 90% of the way to imagining Cogs.

But…

…that’s like saying Star Wars is a film about a big metal ball being bombed by a man with a bad haircut. The elegance is all in the execution, and the inventive stretching of this basic premise.

Each puzzle has a clear aim, usually along the lines of ‘ring the bell’ or ‘get this big cog to turn’, ‘or pipe the steam into the balloon’. These become increasingly challenging as you go further down the list of puzzles. Suddenly, you’re asked to get the wheels to turn hammers which strike bells which play tunes… in time. If you make a mistake you’re going to have to do some fancy switching around to get back into synchronisation – not an easy task.

Rather cleverly, the puzzles aren’t always played on 2D surfaces. Sometimes the puzzles form sizes of a cube, or a two-sided surface. In some cases these faces are independent, while in others, they have to be solved as part of one continuous puzzle, or worse, simultaneously.

As an aid to re-playability, each level has additional challenges associated with it. You are awarded stars for completing the puzzle in a small number of moves or in a short time. Completists (or those with a predilection for having cigarettes stubbed out on their tongue) will have a great deal of fun trying to beat the challenges set by the team. I swear I’d have to grow additional opposable thumbs to do this myself. Being only bi-thumbed, I have gained the full 10 stars on only the first puzzle.

Controls

The controls are very simple. Tap a block and the row or column of blocks will move to fill the empty space. Swipe two fingers across the screen and you can rotate around the puzzle. That’s it. Very simple. Very iPhone. Very responsive. Very good.

Graphics

I’m not particularly keen on games that use 3D merely so they can trumpet, “Look it’s like in Free Dee an everyfing!” like mindless howler monkeys. Cogs uses the 3D cleverly. Without it, some of the puzzles would simply not have fitted on the screen, so instead they are folded into elegant (see, that word again) 3D forms which seem quite natural. All of the menus are also rendered in 3D, swinging smoothly into view, folding up and rotating out toward you much as you’d expect Heath Robinson’s morning breakfast tray might have. Maybe.

All the elements of the game are rendered in wood and brass, a golden brown palette that is reminiscent of sepia photographs of men with pocket-watches and women with infeasibly large posteriors. Not a piece feels out of place. You’re in Cog’s world, so sit back and enjoy the ride; even if it is in a strange horseless carriage.

Sound

Clank! Hiss! Whirr! Ping! This and many more suitably mechanical sounds can be heard throughout the game. The music is also suitably serene and reserved; violins and bells playing waltzes which add to the general atmosphere and conviction of the whole piece. It fits – like everything else.

Overall

It’s not often that a game comes out and feels quite so ‘together’ as Cogs. Lazy 8’s love for their inspiration oozes through every pore of the experience.

The game is relatively inexpensive at $0.99/£0.59 for the first 11 levels. It is, however, one of ‘those’ games that charges an additional fee for extra content: in this case $0.99/£0.59 for each subsequent pack of 10 puzzles purchased.

This seems more than fair considering the quality of the work overall, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this to someone I wished to respect me thereafter.

Victoria would have been amused.

Available on iTunes (iTunes Link)

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