Review – Too Human

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Silicon Knights
Platform(s): Xbox 360
Genre: Action-Adventure, RPG

Rating: Teen
ESRB Content Descriptors: Blood, Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence

The Scoop: Released back in 2008 to lukewarm reviews, Too Human, Silicon Knights’ long overdue baby, was deemed a failure because of an overall lack of interest from the consumer. Hyped up by game director, Dennis Dyack, as an action-rpg hybrid with an intuitive control scheme and camera, expectations rose to an unachievable level and when the title launched, well, lets just say Microsoft didn’t make the 80 million dollars that they put into the development of the game back. But this is my review. I don’t care about sales or critics. What matters is my own opinion and I think Dennis Dyack and company made a damn fine product that’s marred only somewhat by poor design choices.

The Setup: Too Human’s story is rooted in Norse mythology, a rich prehistory that boasts a variety of powerful gods and fantastical creatures. You take on the role of Baldur, one of the aforementioned gods who has been charged with defending mankind from an onslaught of machines who wish to eradicate all human life.

What’s Hot:

• Original Setting: The thing that I thought was really cool about Too Human wasn’t the mythos that it takes inspiration from, but the sci-fi spin it puts on it. Everything, from the characters to the environments, is flavoured with a technological design, while still managing to stay true to the source material.
• Intuitive Control Scheme: Unlike most action games, Baldur’s attacks are controlled by the analog stick rather than being mapped to the face buttons. Holding the analog stick in the direction of an enemy will allow Baldur to slide across the terrain and smite his foe directly. Alternatively, you can squeeze the triggers to have Baldur pull out his firearm(s) and lay waste to goblins from a safer distance. The controls are easy to pick up and surprisingly rewarding.
• Loot Whores Dream: Too Human is brimming with loot. You will not come out of a level without having garnered at least 100 different types of weapons and armor.
• Audio: The tight gameplay is complimented by a sweeping orchestral score that always got me pumped before a battle. Voice-acting is solid throughout. 

What’s Not: 

• Story: Although the setting is aching to tell an engaging tale, what Silicon Knight’s has given us is disjointed and utterly forgettable. And don’t even get me started on the game’s “cliffhanger”.
• Graphics: While not terrible, Too Human fails to impress with ugly animations and some framerate issues.
• Longevity: There are only four levels in Too Human. Four. That number is insulting, especially for an rpg. Hell, even for an action game that’s unacceptable.
• Co-op: This could have been the definitive feature in Too Human. Unfortunately, Co-op ends up just feeling like a watered down version of the single player campaign. Why didn’t Silicon Knights allow 4 player co-op rather than just 2?
• Unintuitive Camera: With a third-person action game, it’s expected by players to have full control over the in-game camera. That’s not the case with Too Human. Silicon Knight’s decided to be all fancy and incorporated a system which allows the camera to work independently. For the most part, it doesn’t work.

Final Verdict: Too Human is a great game that could have been a masterpiece if it weren’t for the lacklustre story and some botched gameplay decisions. Despite that, I still play the damn game, even 2 years after it’s release. It always manages to draw me back in with it’s deep customization and addictive combat. A sequel can easily rectify all the problems I’ve had with it, but until then, I’ll continue to enjoy Too Human.