Too Human has been a long time coming, so long that it started development way back on the Playstation 1 and has since then moved to Microsoft’s next-gen beast, the Xbox 360. With Silicon Knights and Microsoft both hyping up this action game, it has a lot to live up to, and with the demo now available on the Xbox Live Marketplace, TGR took it for a test spin.
Too Human is an action adventure game with RPG elements that include leveling up, stats control, skill management, and other features you will see in any RPG. The game starts by asking you to choose your warrior. There are five different classes available in Too Human: berserker, which is skilled in close combat; defender, which has high hit points and can take considerable amount of damage; champion, which is an overall warrior that is moderately skilled in everything; commando, which specializes in rifles, demolitions, and explosives; and finally, the bio-engineer, which specializes in regeneration and healing. There is a soft voice explaining each class when you hover over them that will give vital information to aid your decision on which class to pick for the game. For the demo, however, only the champion is available.
The demo starts off with an impressive opening, with troops heading out to a mysterious signal they found on this icy planet (think James Cameron’s Aliens). The graphics are good, but I wouldn’t say they are amazing. At some points during the demo, the lighting, detail, and environments looked out of this world, but often enough comes a scene that looks bland and dull; hopefully this gets sorted out before release because other than that, Too Human is a visual treat. When you get control over Lord Baldur, the game’s player character, you start off at the entrance to this huge icy dungeon, and as you make your way in, you see for the first time these half-monsters-half-machines that you will later on fight.
After a bit of walking and chit-chat from allied troops, you get your first encounter with the creatures. The combat will take some getting used to: the two trigger buttons are for shooting your pistols and the right analog stick is used for the main sword. Maneuvering the right analog stick in different directions makes Baldur perform different sword strokes and swings. This is where the combat gets some getting use to, as Baldur will move automatically to the next enemy in a dash sort of movement. You get no real control on which enemy to go to next, unless you stop fighting all together and go to the enemy, but again, when using the right analog Baldur may still attack a different enemy. The combat is fast, but a bit too simplistic and easy for my liking.
Another little problem I saw while playing is the camera: you are unable to move it around. It’s on a fixed position and can only, by pressing the LB button, be centered behind Baldur again. When not in battle, you can hold down the LB button and look around using the left analog stick, but when moving, you are unable. This is certainly a problem that could cause some major frustration later on in the game.
The demo shows off some impressive cinematics and dialog, while features like leveling up and skill points weren’t really shown off, but there’s more teased at by Silicon Knights on what to expect from the full game. I will be honest and say the first time I played through it, it didn’t impressive me much, but after playing it a few more times, getting used to the combat system, etc., I thought, “Damn, this game is going to be awesome.” The demo is a little teaser on what to expect in the full game released in August, and I can’t wait.
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