I am a fan of Cognition. After playing the second episode there were a lot more questions than answers as Erica Reed's main case was left in limbo. In the third episode though things start to slowly come together, piece by piece, pulling together parts from the previous episodes and intertwining them into a believable story.
This case picks up the same place we were left off at the end of Episode 2 and brings Erica to The Enthon Towers. In fact, pretty much the entire case takes place here. Once you enter you'll never leave. That is the makings of any ominous thriller. But that's alright because even though the entire story takes place here it not the only time it takes place. In this episode we finally get something that was sorely lacking in the first two episodes, character development.
When this series began I was a bit disappointed that Erica was pretty much the only character with any substance. This is remedied by the developers introducing a new power but also an enigmatic cast of characters. Making a more prominent return is Cordelia, a mysterious woman Erica befriended in the first episode, as well as Agent McCoy and McAdams but also some new faces are introduced through past events. This story isn't only about Erica anymore as Cordelia plays a prominent role as well.
Like the previous episodes you have a number of puzzles to figure out that are challenging enough to be very rewarding when you uncover them. Rose replaces Erica's dad as the hint system but for a psychic she was hardly any help and gave incredibly vague responses like "Keep going and you'll figure it out." Kudos though to the developers for making puzzles that made sense.
While we finally find out who the Cain killer is in this episode there were a few things that didn't make sense. Hopefully things that will be rectified in the last episode. But for someone who could see the past and partially the future, the way things came to a conclusion you have to wonder that if Erica was such a good cop she should have seen some things coming. If the player realizes who's the killer three steps ahead of the main character and the character sorta just does the actions the same anyway it's a bit defeating the whole purpose of being able to see the future when you can't change it.
Cognition maintains the high quality of adventure we've grown to love and definitely keeps the suspense up when they need it most.
Story: (^__^) - Like all great mysteries this one builds up a lot of suspense and never lets you down. Great until the end. Not to mention the characters that are introduced fit even this late into the game.
Graphics: (>__<) - Overall the same as the first two games but for some reason this episode had some strange lighting in certain areas that were just too bright, and no it wasn't my computer. Also some floating elements that clearly were out of place.
Gameplay: (@__@) - Smart puzzles that actually fit with the story. Some were a bit of a challenge and I swear just refused to work properly until I tried the same thing 4 times. Frustrating as hell, especially with a hint system that didn't give hints. However, that made it all the more rewarding.
Overall: ^__^ - Solid adventure game delivers. And even though you're left with a few questions at least this episode tidies up a couple of answers by the end.
You can find Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller on Desura, Phoenix Online Studios website and vote for it on Steam Greenlight.
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