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Too Human Demo Impressions
Techtree News Staff, Jul 21, 2008 1126 hrs ISTOur impressions of the Too Human demo, available on the Xbox 360
Too Human -- a project by Canadian developers Silicon Knights was originally conceived in 1999 as an action adventure title for the PlayStation 2. The game is finally set for release this August on the Xbox 360 console; after changing over two platforms, several publishers and game engines.
True to their pedigree, the developers have created an intriguing world where cybernetically enhanced Norse gods are at war to fulfill their role as protectors of human race -- as humanity's survival is threatened by invading forces of machines. The beautiful irony in this plot is introduced by humans and the Gods using machines to enhance their strength, while the machines are harvesting human blood and flesh to become more human. The story in the game will unfold through the eyes and actions of Baldur, son of Odin, who is criticized by other Gods for refusing to indulge too much in cybernetic enhancements -- hence the name Too Human.
We played a demo that was made available on the LIVE Marketplace a few weeks ago, these impressions are based on our playthroughs with this demo. A single run with the demo lasts just over one hour.
Although the game does not offer a lot of choice with the protagonist, there are five different classes the player can choose from. However, since this is only a demo, only three character classes were playable -- the Berserker with high melee damage and low armor, the Commando specializes in ranged combat and finally, the most balanced class of the game, the Champion. The full version of the game should feature two more classes -- the customary healer and buffer in the form of Bio Mechanic, and a high-armored tank called the Defender. The game also offers co-op play in the full retail version, a feature not available in the demo. Co-op is supposed to be over Live only, no local play, and has been scaled down from an initially planned four-player, to the current offering of two-player co-op.
Primarily, the combat system is primed as a button masher with emphasis on speed and racking up the combo count. However, the developers seem to have taken pity on the X360 controller and have come with a unique combat control using mainly, the two analog sticks. As you can imagine, this may feel a little awkward at first, however, once you get the hang of it, you may come to appreciate the design as we did. To add a bit of complexity to the combat system, the game includes special character abilities like spider mines, battle cry, auto-turrets deployment, and so on.
The demo offers enough run-time to introduce the character customization options available through weapon choices, armor pieces, charms, runes and item creation blue prints. All of which offers considerable depth and more options with character customization than we are used to seeing with games in this genre. If you like collecting loot in games such as Diablo, this game offers immediate appeal.
The gameplay itself is a very mixed bag. While the sticks go a distance in bringing the click-fest nature of RPG-combat in games such as Diablo and Titan Quest, the animations are woefully inadequate and the final presentation is found lacking. The voice-acting does not impress either, and coming from the devs that gave us the excellent Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen, and Eternal Darkness, the result is very disappointing indeed. Also lacking is good audio feedback during combat -- weapons lack the punch and the oomph that a good audio lends, and thus come across as weak.
Generally, the game feels like a rushed product at this stage. Lack of polish is clearly evident through aspects such as poor animations, poor camera-work during cutscenes, and through minor but irritating things such as the audio cues when you change tabs within your inventory system (it's a really grating sound!). We do hope that the retail game is more polished in these aspects because the game shows a lot of promise. The combat is satisfying, if let down a bit by the animations and sound effects. It is enhanced however, by the aspect of enemy drops and loot -- there is a lot of goodies with which you can arm, and armour yourself. Add in the element of socketed weapons, and runes that give stat boosts, and you have a system with which you can play away many a weekends. We like that about this game and would hope that other pieces of the game come together smoothly to not dilute a good thing.
The gameplay also introduces the concept of a 'cyberspace' where Baldur can collect intel, more loot, and solve puzzles which unlocks doors -- literally, in the real world. The cyberspace introduces its own sets of skills such as a "force push" which can be used to move objects and open doors.
Silicon Knights seem to have an epic story to tell and as such they have decided to spread it across three releases in all. Going by the demo, it seems that the story will be revealed to the player with flashbacks and non-linear cut scenes. The studio has a history of great story telling and great game play; however, we were not completely sold by the game demo and will wait for the August release of the game -- with fingers crossed.
True to their pedigree, the developers have created an intriguing world where cybernetically enhanced Norse gods are at war to fulfill their role as protectors of human race -- as humanity's survival is threatened by invading forces of machines. The beautiful irony in this plot is introduced by humans and the Gods using machines to enhance their strength, while the machines are harvesting human blood and flesh to become more human. The story in the game will unfold through the eyes and actions of Baldur, son of Odin, who is criticized by other Gods for refusing to indulge too much in cybernetic enhancements -- hence the name Too Human.
We played a demo that was made available on the LIVE Marketplace a few weeks ago, these impressions are based on our playthroughs with this demo. A single run with the demo lasts just over one hour.
Although the game does not offer a lot of choice with the protagonist, there are five different classes the player can choose from. However, since this is only a demo, only three character classes were playable -- the Berserker with high melee damage and low armor, the Commando specializes in ranged combat and finally, the most balanced class of the game, the Champion. The full version of the game should feature two more classes -- the customary healer and buffer in the form of Bio Mechanic, and a high-armored tank called the Defender. The game also offers co-op play in the full retail version, a feature not available in the demo. Co-op is supposed to be over Live only, no local play, and has been scaled down from an initially planned four-player, to the current offering of two-player co-op.
Primarily, the combat system is primed as a button masher with emphasis on speed and racking up the combo count. However, the developers seem to have taken pity on the X360 controller and have come with a unique combat control using mainly, the two analog sticks. As you can imagine, this may feel a little awkward at first, however, once you get the hang of it, you may come to appreciate the design as we did. To add a bit of complexity to the combat system, the game includes special character abilities like spider mines, battle cry, auto-turrets deployment, and so on.
The demo offers enough run-time to introduce the character customization options available through weapon choices, armor pieces, charms, runes and item creation blue prints. All of which offers considerable depth and more options with character customization than we are used to seeing with games in this genre. If you like collecting loot in games such as Diablo, this game offers immediate appeal.
The gameplay itself is a very mixed bag. While the sticks go a distance in bringing the click-fest nature of RPG-combat in games such as Diablo and Titan Quest, the animations are woefully inadequate and the final presentation is found lacking. The voice-acting does not impress either, and coming from the devs that gave us the excellent Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen, and Eternal Darkness, the result is very disappointing indeed. Also lacking is good audio feedback during combat -- weapons lack the punch and the oomph that a good audio lends, and thus come across as weak.
Generally, the game feels like a rushed product at this stage. Lack of polish is clearly evident through aspects such as poor animations, poor camera-work during cutscenes, and through minor but irritating things such as the audio cues when you change tabs within your inventory system (it's a really grating sound!). We do hope that the retail game is more polished in these aspects because the game shows a lot of promise. The combat is satisfying, if let down a bit by the animations and sound effects. It is enhanced however, by the aspect of enemy drops and loot -- there is a lot of goodies with which you can arm, and armour yourself. Add in the element of socketed weapons, and runes that give stat boosts, and you have a system with which you can play away many a weekends. We like that about this game and would hope that other pieces of the game come together smoothly to not dilute a good thing.
The gameplay also introduces the concept of a 'cyberspace' where Baldur can collect intel, more loot, and solve puzzles which unlocks doors -- literally, in the real world. The cyberspace introduces its own sets of skills such as a "force push" which can be used to move objects and open doors.
Silicon Knights seem to have an epic story to tell and as such they have decided to spread it across three releases in all. Going by the demo, it seems that the story will be revealed to the player with flashbacks and non-linear cut scenes. The studio has a history of great story telling and great game play; however, we were not completely sold by the game demo and will wait for the August release of the game -- with fingers crossed.
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,Leeds, on Jul 21, 2008 02:12 PM
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