''MILO'' is a first-person

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

puzzle A puzzle is a game, Problem solving, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together (Disentanglement puzzle, or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to arrive at th ...

computer game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

that challenges the player to solve 14 puzzles based in the world of MILO, an artificially intelligent computer. The game was developed by Crystalvision Software and released in 1996. Released in the wake of such titles as ''

Myst ''Myst'' is a graphic adventure/puzzle video game designed by the Miller brothers, Robyn and Rand. It was developed by Cyan, Inc., published by Broderbund, and initially released for the Macintosh in 1993. In the game, the player's character t ...

'' and ''

Pandora's Box Pandora's box is an artifact in Greek mythology connected with the myth of Pandora in Hesiod's c. 700 B.C. poem ''Works and Days''. Hesiod reported that curiosity led her to open a container left in the care of her husband, thus releasing phys ...

'', ''MILO'' was billed as a multimedia game and as an early example of 3D gaming. The 16-track ambient soundtrack is composed by noted

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

musician, Warren Dale.

Development

According to Four Fat Chicks, this game is an example of "minute titles, released to less than no fanfare, inexplicably floating around on Ebay, unrecognized and forgotten".

Plot

The player is placed in the abandoned planet of an ancient and highly advanced civilization. This civilization had discovered the Keys to the Gateway of the Universe and as a consequence they had abruptly left their planet in a state of enlightenment to travel and search the far corners of the universe for even greater mysteries. The one thing this civilization left behind was MILO - the sentient artificial intelligence designed to act as caretaker for their planet while they were gone and guard for the Keys to the Gateway. MILO has existed now for centuries, patiently awaiting the return of his creators. The lack of interaction with life during the intervening centuries, however, has been difficult for MILO on a mental level. By the time of the player's arrival on the planet, MILO has unfortunately lost much of its normal function and is now quite mad. Your task as the player is to unlock the Library which holds the Keys to the Gateway. To do this, you must solve a series of 14 puzzles often taking the form of a 2-person logic game with MILO (acting remotely through the electronic world) as your opponent. Upon completion of the all 14 puzzles, the player meets MILO face to face, and escapes the planet.

Gameplay

Gameplay sees the player access seven different worlds from a central hub, with puzzle completion leading to progression through the game. The backgrounds are static slideshows.

Reception

The game was well received by critics, earning praise especially for its graphics, sound, and replay value. The reliance on luck rather than logic in some of the puzzles, as well as the near-total lack of documentation accompanying the game, however, was criticized. The sound effects were also criticized (apart from the musical score) as lacking in quality and substance. Four Fat Chicks likened the game's look and feel to '' Gord@k'' and ''

L-Zone ''L-Zone'' is a 1992 video game published by Synergy Inc. Gameplay ''L-Zone'' is a game in which the player explores the setting in the far future, in a valley by the deserted Dome City of No Name. Reception Tony Reveaux reviewed the game for '' ...

'', and recommended the game to fans of puzzle adventure games such as ''

Jewels of the Oracle ''Jewels of the Oracle'' is a 1995 adventure game developed by ELOI Productions and published by Discis Knowledge Research Inc. It was released on Macintosh, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and Windows. A sequel developed by Bardworks and published by ...

Cassandra Galleries Cassandra or Kassandra (; Ancient Greek: Κασσάνδρα, , also , and sometimes referred to as Alexandra) in Greek mythology was a Trojan priestess dedicated to the god Apollo and fated by him to utter true prophecies but never to be believe ...

,'' or ''

.'' Michael J. Bertrand of World Village praised the New Age background music as one of the very few enjoyable aspects of the game. The Adrenaline Vault's Hermann K. Peterscheck felt the game ripped off puzzles from ''

and'' ''

The 7th Guest ''The 7th Guest'' is an interactive movie puzzle adventure game, produced by Trilobyte (company), Trilobyte and originally released by Virgin Interactive Entertainment in April 1993. It is one of the first computer video games to be released only ...

.''

References

External links

*{{moby game, name=''MILO'', id=/milo 1995 video games 1996 video games First-person adventure games Video games developed in the United States Windows games Windows-only games