I believe the last mass produced 2x2x4 was the Rubik's brand, which wasn't a very fun puzzle at all. This version uses a similar mechanism, but is superior in every way. There are only two issues. First, sticker quality is a bit lower than I would have liked. Shades are nice, but they're already peeling. Second, the top and bottom layers, by design, are VERY loose. They just loosely hook into the middle layers, so tightening up the tensions doesn't really help very much. Adding a bit of thick lube helps to gum things up just enough to make the puzzle controllable.