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Archived: Game Review: Too Human - Too Hyped?

Gamers have not had much of a lull this summer as far as high profile releases have gone, and the eagerly awaited Sci-Fi RPG Too Human dropped recently to round out the end of the summer. Last week I bugged the hell out of my local Hollywood Video, calling several times a day to check for an available copy of Too Human (When I asked if they could just call me when they had a copy in as they had done previously, they said it was easier for me to call them. Boy were they sorry.) I finally got my hands on a copy Wednesday, and have been hacking my way through it ever since.

Alright, getting home and loading it up, I was brought to the main menu, which featured Single Player, Xbox Live Multiplayer Mode, Leaderboards, and other options. Starting a single player campaign, I was greeted with a class selection screen in which I got to choose the profession of my character: Champion, Berserker, Defender, Commando, and Bio-Engineer. The game gave a little description of each class, which actually wasn't too descriptive on the class features, but the names were straightforward enough. After a little indecision, I went with a Champion, figuring him to be the most well-rounded of the group. After giving my new personality a name, it was on to the action.

Personally, I was a little disappointed: I didn't read up a whole lot about Too Human, but I had heard it was a Sci-Fi RPG, compared to the likes of Mass Effect. After choosing a class and name, it was into the action. Nothing else right then. Garb can be changed later using different combinations of equipment; I found later that the equipment's color can be changed, but I will get into that later. For story purposes, the name you give to your character is more for you than anything else: No matter your name you are the Cybernetic God Baldur, one of Odin's Chosen warriors. That's right, Cyborg Vikings! How can that not be cool? But I digress...

I have to say, the very first thing I noticed about Too Human wasn't the graphics, the gameplay, or any other mechanic whatsoever: It was the atrocious control setup. The camera pans where it wants to, and the only control the player is given is to re-center it behind your character by hitting the left bumper button. Free look mode is available, but only while holding down the left bumper, which makes it impossible to utilize while fighting enemies. Guns are fired using the trigger buttons as normal, however sword attacks are performed with the right stick. No, that is not a typo. Pressing the stick in the direction of the enemy causes your character to slash at that enemy, or slide in their direction and give a hit. The controls alone made me want to put the controler down and stop, but I pressed on, telling myself I would get used to it. I have to admit that playing it tonight, the controls fit well, albeit took a little longer than most games to get used to.

So after breaking in the controls I really got into the game and started hacking and slashing, did some shooting, and even more hacking and slashing. The game has an auto-aim feature that I found more hindering than helpful; more often than not I was shooting a dead body while the troll in front of my was beating my skull in. Other times, I guess when I cursed it for locking me onto something mundane instead of what was in front of me, the auto-aim didn't work at all and I was shooting at a wall instead of at the enemy I was locked onto a second ago. Touchy, to say the least.

You are given a Tree to place skill points obtained by leveling up. The Skill Tree is tiered, and some abilities must be leveled up high enough before abillities underneath it unlock. The player is given three paths from which to choose from, as begining down one path locks out abilities from the others. A nice feature is the ability to reconfigure the tree at any time: If you find that the locked abilities seem useful to you, you can take all of your skill points back and begin all over again. I found that to be a nice addition, though I didn't feel the need to make use of it.

If you have played the demo, you know how this game goes: Shoot and slash your way through hordes of enemies and move to the next area. There are tons of pickups (which is good, because one achievement is to pick up 7500 items), and when leveling up I often found myself spending a minute or two allocating my new skill points, and twenty or thirty going through my equipment. The game does take it easy on you in that it has an auto-salvage feature, in which the game automatically salvages the lowest level equipment when your inventory becomes full (Someone call Mass Effect and see if we can get this feature added in as downloadable content. I will pay 5000 Microsoft points for it.). However, the inventory system still becomes rather unmanagable, and often I found myself spending money either crafting better equipment from blueprints or buying it, only to find that I had an already better item waiting somewhere else.

As for leveles, there are four areas, and each is separated into four or five levels within it. Problem is, you can never really tell when one level ends and the next begins, so saving and quitting may throw you back a little further than you would have liked. The areas are separated by some cutscenes and a trip back to Aesir, where you can get more of the story, spend even more time going through equipment, and repairing your weakened gear. One thing I kind of disliked was that there was no sort of tutorial level; I had to learn that equipment can break, along with a few other key gameplay features, from my friend. On the whole, the single-player campaign became rather monotoneous and boring rather quickly, and I only played the first area of it.

Too Human's saving grace as far as gameplay goes came in the form of Multiplayer, which I played the majority of the game in. Multiplayer consists of you and a friend jumping into some coop action and going through the areas together. The cutscenes are absent, but everything else is the same. Any equipment\levels gained in multiplayer are present in single player and vice versa. All of the achievements are also available in multiplayer, which is great. I'm sorry, but there is just something fun about joining up with a good buddy on Live and trecking through the dungeons together. The multiplayer can also force a bit of strategy; having one player hang back and shoot while another charges forward and melees (Trolls are doomed!)

There is one thing that was a minor annoyance when I first started playing, but got almost unbearable towards the end and that was the death sequence: When your character dies, there is no real penalty. A Valkerye drops forth from the Heavens, picks up your body and whisks it away, and you are respawned (not always) near the combat. Great. The only problem? This Valkerye has all the freaking time in the world and it takes almost a full thirty seconds for you to be picked up. She has to float down, cradle your corpse in her arms, and float back up, all while a battle rages on around you. I mean, can we hurry this up? That has to be worse than any in game penalty; I found myself not wanting to die simply because I didn't want to wait to be picked up.

One last nice feature which I wanted to touch upon was the use of "Cyberspace Wells". These devices are hidden and not-so hidden throughout the areas in the game. Using them transport you to "CyberSpace" where you can use specially acquired skills to open doors and such, effectively opening new paths in the "real" world. Unfortunatley this feature wasn't utilized very often, which was sad because I thought it was rather neat.

Alright, there is the core gameplay, now for the graphics...I actually found the graphics to be rather bland. Some environments look rather nice, but they are taken away from by the same tired character models, and a few dull interiors. The game can handle a ton of enemies on screen at one time without any sort of lag or glitches, but they all look the same. One nice feature was the fact that any equipment your character was wearing is worn in the cut scenes, which I thought was a nice touch.

The audio was similarly subpar, though I have grown fond of the gospel like noise as you are revived from death. The main problem I found with the audio was that it got distorted and static bled through more often than not while in multiplayer. The voice acting was decent, but the dialogue was rather tired and by the end of the first area many players will be able to tell the outcome of the rest of the game.

As for achievements, I didn't find many of them difficult at all, and got most of them just from playing normally. Usually when I rent a game, before I even play it I go and check out the achievements on x360a, but I didn't even feel the need to do that this time. The achievements are well rounded; several gained through story progression, others for performing certain combat skills, some for killing a certain number of enemies or a certain type of enemy so many times, and still others for, of course, finding things. The achievements will force you to play through the game at least twice; one for completing the game as one alignment, and one for playing through as another. Another achievement requires that you reach at least Level 10 with each of the five character classes, which will allow you to get a better handle on the different classes. In a five day rental, I got almost 700 points without really trying for them, so fairly simple.

While Too Human may have been just a little Too Hyped, it is a rather fun experience. The whole game had a rather Phantasy Star-feel to it, so if you are into the hack and slash diablo-esque gameplay, then you will love it. If you are bored easy by this, then it is not your cup of tea. It may not be everything it was made up to be, but there is some fun to be had. Most of the achievements are quick and easy, so that at least warrants it a rental. Trust me when I say it is a good time to go through with a friend in coop. If you strictly play the single player mode, you may find yourself rather bored.

Altogether, I give Too Human a 6.7 out of 10. The controls feel a little clunky, and take some getting used to. The graphics are decent, if a little bland, and the entire game will take a decent player roughly fifteen hours or less to run through, but treking through the dungeons in multiplayer is some of the most fun I have had with a game in recent memory. While it may not be the best game to drop your sixty dollars on, its definitley worth while for you and a friend to rent a copy.

Great review Juggs! I am waiting for the price to go down on this one before I buy it.

best game i've played on the 360 yet. love the controls and love the concept. you get over the camera thing quick once you realize that your in 3rd person view with the ability to slide/attack 360 degrees around. the xbox hardware wasn't good enough to support 4 player co-op(tiered down to 2) and i'd say the same for the camera issue cause the system can't keep up(probably would be better experience on the ps3(if it were available) but i'm liking this game a lot -over 80 hours so far and i didn't even touch it this past weekend. just my 2 cents on it as everyone has different tastes-i prefer this type of game over any old cod, halo, gow style done it a million times fps's.

It's a shame this project took ten plus years to develop, and it showed. I wasn't impressed at all by the demo, but I still want to give it a rent. The funny thing is I am even more interested in what their, "so called sequel" will look like.

It didn't take 10 years to develop, the idea was around for 10+ years and it took 3-4 very rushed & pressured years to develop. Do your homework if you're going to spout.

You actually DO have more control over the camera--there are many viewpoints selectable by using the d-pad up and down, each of which have different points that the camera goes to since the right analog is used for melee combat. For instance, "iso" camera view gives you a nice far-out 3/4 view that only comes in close when the camera would clip through walls. "Strategic" will keep the view close to the action until you start taking long-range fire, in which case it will zoom further out so you can blast a Finisher or engage your ranged weaponry.

And are you really going to fault this game for your not being able to look through your own inventory, even after the game already offers to delete gear of whatever quality level you wish? If you are wearing nice blue or red gear, all you have to do is set auto-salvage to sell anything below that level.
Unfortunately, after that point, you do sometimes have to look at the stuff you pick up if you aren't willing to keep an eye on the left corner of the screen where it TELLS YOU EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE PICKING UP and even plays special sounds when you get something awesome.

Despite these flaws, this is a pretty good review, and other than the fact that you can't try every class (Commandos really do play different from 'Zerkers, and Bio-engineers are awesome online but not as fun single player) the demo should let you know if you would enjoy the full game.

If you already know you don't have the patience to manage your inventory and alternate between combat types depending on what you are fighting, then why would you bother grabbing a game that is made for exactly that? Go buy Halo, jeez.

I don't mean to take this so personally, but I can't understand why Ninja Gaiden got away with the camera from hell that gets you killed repeatedly when Too Human's is just an occasional annoyance, and Mass Effect had the worst inventory system I have ever seen for a AAA title and yet people are willing to deal with it because critics gave it a sparkling rimjob?

I feel like Too human does deserve the 6.75-7 ratings it gets, but not for having the same elements that 9 and 10 titles have. Too Human isn't a perfect game because it doesn't hold your hand and you actually do have to invest some time and energy to learn how to play it. MUCH like Ninja Gaiden and Mass Effect, which for some reason didn't get blasted nearly as hard.

Sorry I should have been more specific....the game should have been out on the PSOne.... this is taken from IGN.com

PSOne Era:
The year was 1998; developers were well into the 32 and 64-bit generation. Silicon Knights, Canadian-based developer of 1996's Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, announced an incredibly ambitious new project spanning five, yes five, PSOne CDs. The scope was practically unheard of and, though details were as vague as the title, Too Human hinted at an action sci-fi setting with RPG elements and an epic storyline. The original concept was spawned way back in 1994, but it was decided that the concept was far too complex for the hardware currently available, and it was put on the shelf - a development grey-area that Too Human would eventually grow irksomely familiar with.

At 1999's E3, Silicon Knights' then-Project Producer Denis Dyack removed the veil surrounding Too Human. Graphically, it was pushing the limits of what the PSOne could render - running in a comparably high resolution of 520x240 - and the CG cutscenes were eye-popping. The story was drastically different from what it would become; players took on the role of a cop in the far-future, seeking revenge on a cyborg that offed his partner. The similarities to a certain mid-80s Ridley Scott sci-fi film were clear - even references to large corporations and the morality of man-versus-machine were evident. Still, the premise was intriguing and the promise of five discs of game, story and cutscenes had eager gamers watching this developer closely.

At this point in the story's development, ideas of the threat of technology had already begun to surface. Likewise, the protagonist's abilities were customisable via cybernetic enhancements - another element that has persisted in the game ever since. However, the game was being scaled back in scope - 4 CDs, but with multiple endings. As the PSOne began to wind down in the build-up to the PS2, murmurs of cancellations and platform-ports began to circulate.

Then, by 2000, things went very quiet - and with good reason. Silicon Knights had earlier been picked up by Nintendo as a second-party developer, quietly working on its next console. The status of Too Human was still up in the air, but as the Gamecube loomed closer, a teaser trailer was shown at Nintendo's Spaceworld product show and the game began to make its way across to Nintendo's platform.

Just thought I would back up my spout. And furthermore I was one gamer who walked around 24/7 with a boner because I heard the game was going to be released this year, then I saw the demo, and my jaw dropped. Come on now it looks like a PS2 game graphically at best. I still want to experience it, but lets just say I lost my hard-on because of the demo....

Yeah, I feel you 100% here.
To be perfectly honest, I had only barely heard about the game before it came out, so I was very blown away by the stuff I did like, and get all pissy when people point out its shortcomings (as I said, the game DOES deserve it, it just makes me buttsore :*( )

I would definitely say you should rent it if it sounds appealing still, as playing a bit about on the different characters is fun. But the "$60 value" remains to be seen for 99% of the population. To me, it's worth it. To many others, I don't even think it would hit the $40 mark. Now, it it buckets down to like $30, I'd yell at more people to grab it

I'm definitely going to give it a fair rent and not hold any reviewer's scores against the game when I play it. I believe every game deserves a try, even if it's the worst, or greatest game to ever hit the shelves. I barely passed it up for Mercenaries 2 this past weekend during my trip to Blockbuster. When I do rent it are you down for some Co-Op META?