Too Human Xbox 360 Review

Too Human Xbox 360 Review - Page 1 from TweakTown's online gaming review, article and guide content pages.

Published
Updated
Developer / Publisher: Silicon Knights
7 minutes & 31 seconds read time

Too Human Xbox 360 Review page 1


[img]toohuman_xb360_1[/img]When you're thinking up ideas for the setting of a new action RPG game, a 'cybernetic future based around ancient Norse mythology' has got to be pretty far down the list. Don't get me wrong, the combination is definitely intriguing and strangely appealing, but it's also a little 'random', so to speak. This is the concept that Canadian developers Silicon Knights settled on for their reasonably well hyped game Too Human, which saw release on the 360 in the past week or so. Unfortunately, the premise behind
the game remains its sole interesting aspect as this is basically as generic as an action RPG gets in today's gaming world.


Too Human places gamers in the shoes of the mythological god Baldur, son of Odin, who finds himself in the middle of a war that threatens the existence of humanity, which he and the clan of gods he belongs to, known as the 'Aesir', have sworn to protect. While the basics behind the story are relatively standard, i.e. good vs evil, Too Human adopts much in the way of Norse mythology in its cybernetic world, drawing from the ancient religion in many ways while also introducing some new elements.
The meshing together of these two creates a rather interesting, albeit sometimes hard to follow storyline, with a premise for gameplay that allows for both ancient style hand to hand combat and futuristic laser weaponry.


Before starting on your quest to save humanity as Baldur, the game asks you to choose from five classes for your character, which are more or less consistent with most RPG characters in similar games we've seen before. This includes the resilient and crafty Bio-Engineer, the gun toting Commando, the all-rounder Champion, the tough-to-bring-down Defender and the melee obsessed Beserker. As stated though, you control Baldur throughout the game so this initial choice isn't so much a character selection than it
is simply a trait selection, allowing you to define your strengths and weaknesses.


Of course, the one thing this initial selection will do is dictate how best you play the game. As mentioned, being a futuristic take on the Norse mythology grants Too Human the ability to feature both close range traditional combat with swords and hammers, while at the same time the ability to whip out a laser cannon and take down enemies from a distance. The result of this is combat gameplay that is very action packed and very consistent from start to [img]toohuman_xb360_2[/img]finish in the game, as you jump around slashing
and bashing while seamlessly grabbing for your gun on demand thanks to a control and auto-aim system which is probably the easiest to use in any action RPG to date, revolving entirely around pushing or even just holding the right analog stick towards the direction you want to swing your weapon, and holding down the right trigger to shoot at a target the game chooses for you.


Unfortunately though, the combat in Too Human has its weaknesses, and these really run deep into the game's design. Firstly, this very simple combat control system can really take the fun out of the gameplay, replacing it with boredom, which is quite an achievement given how much action the game will throw at you. To rack up combos in this game, you're best bet is to simply hold the right analog stick in the direction of enemies, which takes little if any effort at all. At times it seems you may as
well just be watching the computer do it all for you. And then comes the shooting, which is just as problematic with its simplicity. While you can choose targets yourself, it is often much more beneficial to just hold down the trigger and let the game choose the target for you, which is usually the closest. Besides the boredom that can ensue as a result of this very easy control system, repetition can also set in very hard, which really makes it a challenge to play this game for any extended period of time. From
start to finish, you're really only killing a handful of different enemies despite thousands being thrown at you, so not only is the control system unchanged throughout, but so is your tactics to a large degree. Even the boss characters you occasionally face seem to feature the same patterns, which become tired and tedious pretty quickly.


And it gets worse. Not only is the combat and hence gameplay terribly repetitive, but the simple fact is you can't really die at all in Too Human. Now, I'm no expert in Norse mythology, but it is my understanding that when a warrior's spirit is taken to Valhalla, he isn't instantly taken back to the battlefield where he was slain, as is the case in Too Human when you die in battle. What happens in this game is one of Odin's 'Valkyries' comes down from the heavens in all their angelic
metallic glory, collects your body, ascends you up, and then all of a sudden you respawn a few feet away from where you died like nothing happened. In an attempt to add some sort of detractor to dying in the game, developers Silicon Knights added a 'state' rating for all armor pieces and weapons, and when you die, anything you're wearing or holding will lose 'state' points, eventually rendering them useless. The problem with this is, at just about any point in the game, you can simply pause, return to the
Aesir, repair your armor and weapon state, and then return back to the battlefield where you left off. So basically, the whole 'losing state' thing is rendered pointless. This is a very perplexing mechanic in the game and one I can't imagine was thought through nearly enough.


Too Human Xbox 360 Review page 2


[img]toohuman_xb360_3[/img]Perhaps this reality of being unable to die was designed to emphasise Too Human as a story driven experience with some mindless action thrown in between the cut scenes, which are reasonably well done by the way, but even the storyline can't carry this game much further than its generic and bland gameplay. As it happens, the story really doesn't get very far in Too Human, and while I don't want to spoil anything here, the ending is so disappointing and uneventful, that I reckon this entire
game and its storyline could have been summed up in a five minute intro sequence for Too Human 2, which one has to hope features much more meat to the storyline if it is to be made. I mean really, the amount of repetition and mind numbing combat you have to endure in this game only to get to a crappy ending makes the whole experience pretty much pointless. Hell, if you take away the fact the game lives off of throwing the same enemies over and over and over at you time and time again, not to
mention half of your time is spent wandering around walking to your next fight, you would probably only find 5 minutes of substance anyway.


The only real break from the seemingly endless repetition in Too Human's gameplay comes in the form of 'cyberspace', which Baldur can enter at various points in the game, represented by water wells sprinkled throughout the environments you fight in. Cyberspace, besides being a rather confusing and odd inclusion into the gameplay, provides a peaceful place for you to frolic around in, solving a few basic puzzles based on abilities you have in cyberspace such as pushing and setting fires. This then
typically allows you to explore cyberspace further, usually coming across installations that feature items for your collection, sometimes quite rare ones. The thing is though, besides when the game wants you [img]toohuman_xb360_4[/img]to go into Cyberspace to unlock a section that somehow also unlocks a section in the real world, this is not a part of the game you really have to engage at all. While you will find the aforementioned rare item or two, I found most special items collected in Cyberspace couldn't be used by the
time I finished the game anyway as the level requirement was much too high - in the 40's, where as I finished in the 20's. The game does allow you to take finished character through again, but honestly, one game through Too Human was more than enough for me.


There are a few elements to the game however that aren't quite as bad as others. The RPG implementation, for instance, is reasonably solid. This of course includes collecting loot and leveling up with skill points across various attributes, not to mention a large degree of control over armor pieces, weapons, and runes you may add to these items to enhance their ability. The game also has one feature that I absolutely love and that's the ability to save anywhere at any time independent of checkpoints or anything
like that. I guess it isn't so much of a big deal given the fact you can't really die as outlined already, but I still appreciate being able to save whenever I want to in games. In a round about way, the ability to save probably serves its most use combating the game's draining repetition, allowing you to save anywhere to take a break, and pick up again without losing any progress.


Visually the game is just about as average as everything else in the game. It's good to see all major items such as armor and weapons you attach to Baldur uniquely represented visually, but from a detail point of view Too Human is nothing to write home about. The environments are particularly drab and bland, featuring repeated textures and settings basically from the very start to the very finish. While the environments can be quite large, perhaps even unnecessarily large at times, the design is
extremely linear, relying on lame objects like knee high building ruins and invisible walls to restrict access. Once again, I'm not expert on Norse Mythology, but I'm pretty sure a god of Baldur's caliber has the ability to climb what effectively are preschool grade playground equipment grade obstacles.


Overall, the problem with Too Human it just doesn't stand out in any meaningful or significant way. While stuff like the graphics, controls, gameplay and inventory and item system each seem satisfactory on their own, collectively they combine to produce a generic RPG that doesn't really seem strong in any particular aspect. The premise combining Norse mythology with a cybernetic world is somewhat interesting but the lack of any real character development in the
storyline beyond the typical "evil guy vs good guy", not to mention a terribly disappointing end, results in the game's potential strongest point, i.e. the story, to only being a notch or two above mediocrity itself in implementation. If you're the type of gamer who is easily had by RPG's in your quest to level up, then Too Human will probably keep you occupied from start to finish, but even then you can do that with a rental. For everyone else, go play Mass Effect instead.

[img]toohuman_xb360_5[/img][img]toohuman_xb360_6[/img]

PRICING: You can find products similar to this one for sale below.

USUnited States: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.com

UKUnited Kingdom: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.co.uk

AUAustralia: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.com.au

CACanada: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.ca

DEDeutschland: Finde andere Technik- und Computerprodukte wie dieses auf Amazon.de

Nathan founded Hardware Avenue and 3DAvenue in 2000 and 2003 respectively, both of which merged with TweakTown to create TTGamer in 2007. Nathan can be usually found composing articles and reviews from the PC gaming and hardware world, but has been known to venture into the realms of console gaming as well (but he insists he doesn't enjoy it as much!). As a senior gaming editor, Nathan's responsibilities are much the same as they were with 3DA; reviews, articles and ideas.

Newsletter Subscription
We openly invite the companies who provide us with review samples / who are mentioned or discussed to express their opinion. If any company representative wishes to respond, we will publish the response here. Please contact us if you wish to respond.