Cosmic One

In space, sound doesn't propagate. There's no air to support sound waves. It's the same situation with Cosmic One. While there's a decent concept in play here, there's not enough to support what could be an entertaining game. The vacuum of space has sucked up all of its missing features and leaves a shell of a game at a cheap price.

Cosmic One has you flicking a dial to match shapes as they fall from the top of the screen. Three shapes - circle, square, and triangle - drop at increasingly short intervals. A box in the upper right informs you of which shape is destined to arrive next, which helps in preparing to move the circular dial located at the bottom. You only have to deal with the three shapes, which means you're only flipping among three points on the dial.

What the game lacks in complexity it makes up for in challenging reaction-based gameplay. A glance at the top of the screen lets you know how many shapes until you reach the next level, at which point the tempo increases. As the shapes descend on the screen at ever-rapid rates, the challenge lies in flicking the dial quickly enough to make the matches. You're also scored for stringing together matches with longer combinations netting you more points. Incorrectly dial in a shape and the combo ends, not to mention puts you at risk of losing the game. Three incorrect matches in a row and it's game over.

The fundamental issue with Cosmic One lies in its limitations. There's only one mode of play and there are absolutely no options of which to speak. Now, it's easy to overlook some shortcomings given the price, but it's inexcusable on the part of the developer to not incorporate some basic options within that mode.

Chief among our complaints is the fact you have to start each and every game from the first level. You don't have the option of starting at a later level, as you do in Tetris for example. Let's say you reach level 10 and then lose. Starting up a new game would set you all the way back to level 1. Being able to start at a later level would do much encourage jumping back in the game. If you've cleared an earlier level, having to slowly slog through it again is hardly appealing.

An ambient soundtrack supposedly accompanies the action, although that's a questionable description of the score. Cosmic One attempts to make each click of the dial and completed match a musical sound that combines with the sparse score to form an interactive soundtrack. Sadly, it's a failed attempt that sounds more akin to a two year-old throwing a tantrum on an electronic drum kit.

For £0.59/$0.99, Cosmic One is an okay purchase. It isn't compelling nor all that memorable, yet if you're desperate for something to pass the time it fits the bill. Just don't expect anything stellar.