Publisher: Microsoft Studios
Price: $4.99
The current state of Xbox Live on Windows Phone 7 is a work in progress. As of now, Microsoft is mostly concerned with achieving an even playing field, allowing a huge amount of ports from the best titles that iOS and Android have enjoyed for a while now. I can understand this movement, but in terms of ingenuity and exclusivity, WP7 is mostly not ahead of the curve.
I say mostly because even though the majority of games are just a retread of past endeavors on other ecosystems, Microsoft has given us a reason to be excited. There are a few glimpses of greatness, of ingenuity, and of pure enjoyment. Titles such as Fable: Coin Golf, The Harvest and Flowerz display something above the norm, and something that you can only find on WP7. Even then, as great as those titles are, the real zenith of Xbox Live on WP7 has to be given to Southend’s ilomilo. If you want cleverness, charm and an aesthetic prowess, one need look no further.
ilomilo stands as the bearer of what is capable on WP7, and gives meaning to an experience that you can only find on this side of smartphone wall.
Gameplay
ilomilo is a puzzler. A good one at that. You’re tasked to find a path between two little creatures, ilo and milo, through a puzzle world that twists and turns and has no sense of direction. The maps that you play on are truly twisted in the literal sense. These maps are composed of blocks that connect here and there forming branching paths that can be blocked off by obstacles impeding ilo or milo from reaching each other. Compounding the puzzle is the fact that ilo and milo can sometimes be standing on totally different planes of direction. Think of the maps existing in the vacuum of space, where there is no up and down and no actual base of reference to place a true sense of direction. With that in mind, you will often find both creatures standing on opposite sides of the map in completely different planes. The goal is to find a way for these two to face each other in the same plane. Simply put, this set up is brilliant.
Along the way there are special blocks that you can pick up to open up, complete, or create a new path. Other blocks have a special node that help you switch what plane you’re standing on. These nodes allow you to continue walking in that direction by rotating the map. Case in point, some of these nodes are placed at the end of a particular path. With no more blocks to keep walking in that direction, one in normal circumstances wouldn’t be able to go on, but with the node, instead of heading off to nothing, the map changes perspective for you and you are allowed to keep walking. What once was a vertical edge, now becomes the ground. Every map is littered with these nodes, and its up to you to utilize them to find a way to each other.
There are other special blocks that allow you to jump in one direction over an empty space, or one that allows you to lift your partner up to a previously inaccessible location. The combination of all these allow for a truly mind-bending puzzle game that will challenge most of us. The maps start off easy enough, allowing you get a sense of the game play, but in later stages, they can be harsh. In all, there are 40+ levels to conquer.
This isn’t going to be an easy game. You will encounter puzzles that feel impossible, and sometimes I had to walk away just to breathe a little. However, the best puzzlers always had you coming back, and that’s exactly what I would do. ilomilo always challenges you, trying to give you a beast of a time, but also a satisfying sensation when you complete a puzzle. It’s great.
Graphics, Music, Presentation
Aiding the way is the fantastic art direction and graphical muscle. ilomilo is beautiful. It combines a charming fairy tale world with great visuals. Blocks are nicely textured, backgrounds are livid, and the musical accompaniment fits the style Southend was going for. The package is perfect and truly shows off what WP7 hardware can pull off.
I would say that this is probably the best looking game right now, and its encouraging to see that at launch, WP7 can create such beautiful looking games. It’s a double edge sword of course, since most other games out right now don’t stack up well against ilomilo, but it raises the bar to all other developers out there.
As far as the music goes, it reminds me of the French film Amelie. It’s very accordion heavy, but it just oozes with character that I couldn’t see this game with any other soundtrack. It’s charming and unobtrusive, just the way music in games should be.
Achievements, Extras, Etc.
On the cheevo’s side, they offer the regular challenges that you’d find in this sort of game. Nothing out of the ordinary, but the one achievement that I believe is worth it and can only be obtained by completing the entire (first) chapter is the “Safkas are saved” achievement. It will reward you with 20 points, but the satisfaction of reaching all the levels to have access to the Safkas is worth the effort.
The extras are actually amazing, too. Originally, ilomilo came with one chapter, and 28 levels. However, Southend recently released a second chapter for the price of free. That’s right, you get to almost double your fun for no cost at all. The second chapter brings in 23 additional levels to master, although there aren’t extra achievements to obtain.
In Closing…
You can’t go wrong with ilomilo. This is the best WP7 game out there, and one that can stand toe-to-toe with anything that iOS or Android has. It’s a visually appealing puzzler that engages you to master it. The puzzles are clever, and the going isn’t a frustrating journey, but one that requires patience and a little gray matter thinking.
In the end, we can all feel good that a game such as ilomilo exists on WP7, as it raises the bar on everyone else that thinks that WP7, at is current state, is just playing catch-up. If we can forecast how well Xbox Live will be in the future based on this game, then things might be looking a little brighter thanks to ilomilo.
Without a doubt, this is a must for anyone with a WP7 device.
Buy it.
