ilomilo is one of the most charming and sickeningly sweet games I have ever had the privilege of playing. Also the third entry into the Games for the Holiday promotion available for 800MS points. A puzzle/platformer that has a simple, but sweet story and can be more challenging than than most games in the genre, ilomilo caught me, pulled me in and never seemed to let go.
The story is simple, ilo and milo are best friends, but have a bad memory. They spend everyday together, but only if they can make their way to each other. Every night when they are finished playing they go home and the next morning have a hard time getting back to each other. That’s were you come in. You are thrown in a map where you must collect memory fragment and make your way back to your best friend. You control both ilo and milo and even though the two are almost constantly separated, team work is the only way to get the two together again. You have certain assets per level including blocks, bridges and flying cubes that will assist you in this task. When first playing the game it seems like and easy enough concept and something that will be easy to pick up and go. Not till you get in later levels do things start to get complicated.
The game seems to progress in difficulty as you go and due to in most any level past the first one gravity has no factor in any level. Due to magic carpets pinned on certain corners you can walk on, under and on the side of almost any map. In every level there are side items that you are encouraged to pick up. Gallery items and music tracks are just some of the bonuses you will find when combing across the level trying to find the best way to get back to your friend. The levels do a great job of changing drastically to keep things fresh. The problem is later in the game all the puzzles become really really complex. It gets to the point that you will send a fair amount of time on most of the later levels. So when you become stuck it gets increasingly irritating. So keeping the levels fresh with scenery does not really help when all the levels in one chapter all look the same. Honestly that is one of the only problems I fund in the game with the exception of the straight forward goal of playing the game can get repetitive.
As with all the other games in the Games for the Holidays promotion, by unlocking achievements in Raskulls and A World of Keflings you will be to change ilo and milo’s costume to the respective title characters. The game also has multiplayer. You can play local, but not over Xbox LIVE. The achievements in the game will most likely be got by progressing through the game. It also supports avatar awards, including an avatar pet that is ilo and milo. The graphics and sounds are a nice touch to a good game. As your playing the look and sound of the game all feel natural. All in all ilomilo is a good game, but will not carry a great replay value.
