MILO is a first-person

First person (video games)

In video games, first person refers to a graphical perspective rendered from the viewpoint of the player character. In many cases, this may be the viewpoint from the cockpit of a vehicle. Many different genres have made use of first-person perspectives, ranging from adventure games to flight...

 adventure

Adventure game

An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...

-puzzle computer game 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

Myst is a graphic adventure video game designed and directed by the brothers Robyn and Rand Miller. It was developed by Cyan , a Spokane, Washington––based studio, and published and distributed by Brøderbund. The Millers began working on Myst in and released it for the Mac OS computer on September...

and Pandora's Box

Pandora's Box (video game)

Pandora's Box is a 1999 video game created by the designer of Tetris, Alexey Pajitnov, for Microsoft.In the game, players must travel around the world to different cities solving various kinds of puzzles to capture the seven "tricksters" - Maui, Puck, Eris, Coyote, Monkey, Anansi and Raven. Each...

, MILO was billed as a multimedia game and as an early example of 3D

3D computer graphics

3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...

 gaming. The 16-track ambient soundtrack is composed by noted progressive rock

Progressive rock

Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...

 musician, Warren Dale.

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

Insanity

Insanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...

. 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.

Cheats

To alter the difficulty levels for the game's puzzles, the game's save file (in TXT format) must be edited. Each save file will contain a line that includes a long number with many 3's (e.g. Save Game File100000000000000003333333333333333). If all the 3's except the last are changed to 1's (e.g. Save Game File100000000000000001111111111111113), then the puzzles will be reduced to their easiest level.

Other tips

If a player loads the game without the CD in the drive, after clicking OK and Continue, it will ask for the Director files. Several files can be selected that are not run by the game during normal game-play but that allow the player to access additional content.

• Chix.dxr - The tree puzzle but with chickens.
• Launcher.dxr - Replay any of the puzzles without finishing the game.
• Level.dxr - Change Level of Difficulty.

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.