Too Human = disappointment?

Since seeing God of War on Playstation, I’ve been hoping for a Xbox equivelant. When I read about Too Human a little over a year ago, I thought my prayers had been answered. An action RPG set in a futuristic version of Norse Mythology? Sign me up! Concept sounds fantastic, however the 10 year development time scared me. Too Human was originally slotted as a 4 disc Playstation game, which later moved to Gamecube but today was release for Xbox 360. The reviews have been mediocre to say the least (GamePro (4/5), IGN (78/100), Giant Bomb (3/5), GameSpot (55/100), 1UP (C-)).

Microsoft Product Line:
“Step into the world of Too Human, the third-person epic action game from renowned Canadian developer Silicon Knights. As the cybernetic god Baldur, players are thrust into the midst of an ongoing battle that threatens the existence of mankind. An ancient machine presence has forced the hand of the gods, and now Baldur is charged with defending humanity from an onslaught of monstrous war machines bent on the eradication of human life.”

Having not played the full game yet I am obviously not the definitive source on whether this game is good or bad. I did however play the demo from Xbox Live and I really liked it. I did find certain things to be tedious and some quirks in the combat system frustrated me, but overall I enjoyed it, which is why I played through it 13/14 times.

A 30 second death animation is my first complaint. This beautifully crafted animation where a Valkrie comes down and lifts Baldur to the sky makes you want to put your head through a wall after the 2nd time you see it. No skip button? Why?

The general slow speed of Baldur’s running is the other frustration. It would help the pacing (most reviews’ major complaints) of the game if Baldur could sprint or just move quicker overall. More on this later.

The melee combat is fast and entertaining. The finishing moves and spider perks add an interesting mechanic to the mix. I enjoyed the juggle aspect, but found it difficult to toss the enemy in the air and then quickly jump and attack before they had already hit the ground. I mostly used it when facing a particularly annoying foe like a rocket troll or a boss in single combat.

There’s a small issue with targeting as I rarely found Baldur shooting or swinging at nothing, even when an enemy was close at hand. Another quirk is after killing a foe in ranged combat the reticule does not move to a new enemy unless you aim to a different place with the right analog stick. I sometimes found myself still shooting a dead enemy.

Recently they unlocked the Commando class (gun and explosives expert) in the demo and I found the gun combat harder to control and survive. In melee you are able to quickly slide from one enemy to the next and rarely do they have time to defend themselves or strike you. In ranged combat, enemies close the distance quickly due to lack of gun range, and reload times are slow (manual reloads and later skills shorten this time). Again, if Baldur was able to run faster or perhaps leap away to add some distance between his foes, maybe even push them back, it would make ranged combat more plausible.

I planned on playing the Commando class because I like to play as a ranged fighter, but after my experience in the demo I’m leaning towards the melee focused Berserker. I will try to give the Commando some more attention though.

This is not a review of the Too Human, but more of a preview based on my limited experience with the demo. I plan on renting the game as soon as possible and adding further insight.