“Be great in act, as you have been in thought.”

-William Shakespeare

Too Human (sometimes known as Too Human Pt. 1)

Platform: Xbox 360 | Developer: Silicon Knights | Publisher: Microsoft | Released: August 19th 2008

There is one universal truth when it comes to telling a story, and it applies to all forms of media: Compel your audience to care about the characters. This rule becomes infinitely more important when you, the gamer, aren’t just passively reading about or watching a character, but projecting yourself into their world. You’re controlling the action, steering them to a final outcome, and on occasion your decisions have an impact on the final series of events.

Digest the above, and keep it on tap as you examine our impressions of “Too Human,” the newest Action-RPG from acclaimed developer Silicon Knights.

Now, let’s tackle two important issues:

1: If you’re clinging to a preconceived notion that Too Human should be the pinnacle of video games because of it’s alleged 10 year development cycle, throw that notion away. Silicon Knights’ cyberpunk-meets-Norse Mythology Action-RPG saw it’s inception ten years ago, but less than half of this time was actually spent in development. However, The Knights’ extended pregnancy with this game shows, in both positive and negative ways.

2: If you’re well versed in Norse Mythology, you’ll discover that while bending some of the traditional lore, Silicon Knights remains relatively faithful to the tales and character traits of the Norse gods, so most of the plot won’t come as a jaw-dropping surprise. But we’re not planning to reveal any spoilers.

Norse Mythology meets Deus Ex meets The Matrix

In Norse mythology, Odin is the Allfather of the Aesir people, but in Too Human’s universe he’s not merely a superhuman, but a supercomputer, dubbed “Organically Distributed Intelligence Network” which is one of several neat twists in terms of character personalities. Too Human puts you in the shoes of Odin’s favored son Baldur, an Aesir god tasked with protecting the human race. In order to commit to this eternal struggle against an ancient machine race hell bent on destroying human life, the Aesir have embraced technology, incorporating nanotechnologies into their human flesh.

During the first 45 minutes of gameplay (which was chosen for the Too Human Demo), you feel disconnected and out of touch with your abilities, your weapons, and your general driving purpose. Initially this soured my experience, but the meat of Too Human begins where the Demo ends. Shortly after your initial trek outside the walls of Asgard, a key story point is unveiled which should spark an “A-Ha” moment in even the most critical gamer.

Earlier I referred to Silicon Knights being “pregnant” with this title for 10 years. That’s important, because Denis Dyack and his team have been dreaming, building, planning this game (slated to be a trilogy) and it’s universe for a very long time. Nowhere is this more evident than the massive environments you traverse. These are fully realized, lovingly crafted landscapes which don’t skimp on beauty and details. Some are haunting and bleak, some are breathtaking, but all four locations feel imaginative and immersive, and will hopefully be explored further in the upcoming sequels.

I wish I could say the same about our Aesir heroes.

Make Me Believe

For everything Too Human does well in terms of graphics and imagination, there’s an equal failure, and character development is at the top of the list. We’re teased with a massive story scope and introduced to characters like Idunn who are deemed “the most important of all the Aesir” according to the instruction manual, even though we only interact with them for 3 minutes. We’re tossed nuggets of Baldur’s backstory but not enough to empathize with his dilemma. A love interest is introduced early on, but stays stagnant for the remainder of the game. The villains are certainly pure evil, but we aren’t witness to their turning point - that one defining reason they’ve turned against the Aesir - so it’s difficult to truly despise them.

To make matters worse, the Aesir chant and ritualize their role as protectors of the Human race, but seem to treat them with disdain. Their cries of fear to Lord Baldur on the battlefield are gone unanswered, and at one point an entire squad is practically decimated after facing almost a thousand gruesome creatures, leading up to a climactic boss fight. At which point Baldur says impassionately “Wait here, this is Aesir business.” For being our protectors, they aren’t very compassionate.

I’ll wrap up my thoughts on Too Human’s story this way: I found it impossible to connect with the characters. My gut instinct tells me that Too Human is trying to tell a story similar in depth to Metal Gear Solid 4, but all the wrong parts ended up on the cutting room floor. Sometimes when you’re so familiar with a story, you forget that you still have to be a storyteller.

Now, this is an Action RPG, so let’s discuss the most crucial component: the action!

For the Love of Looting

If you spent over 100 hours on either Diablo II or Phantasy Star Online, then you already own Too Human. For everyone else, it may take some convincing.

The campaign mode finds you flying solo, with a choice of 5 character classes. For close combat, The Berserker is a blast to play with. He can dual wield melee weapons like swords and hammers, at the cost of reduced health. The Champion is your “everyman” warrior, representing a good balance of ranged and up-close combat. I played the entirety of the game with The Commando, who can deal insane damage with rifles and other ranged weapons, but in the thick of battle comes up short at hand-to-hand.

Unfortunately, the remaining two classes are worthless in the single player game, and while they’re assets in the online co-op mode, they lean towards the boring side of the fence. The Bio Engineer is a healer, and The Defender is a walking tank - without all the ammunition. And since Too Human only supports 2 player co-op mode, my guess is that most of you will prefer to get your fight on and choose the more action-oriented classes.

Here comes the good news: Battles are a spectacle. The game employs a dual stick/dual trigger combat system which takes about 30 minutes to master. Simply flick your right stick in the direction of the enemy to attack with melee weapons, and use both your triggers to independently fire pistols. With rifles and canons, the left trigger acts as a destructive missile attack while your right trigger fires a stream of slug, plasma, or laser rounds. Key to your survival will be learning to slide into each enemy, launch them into the air with your hand to hand weapons, then continue firing on them while they hang, helpless, in mid-air. More advanced fighting techniques and the use of special abilities (a mechanized spider can act as a defensive turret, Battle Cries temporarily enhance your skills and the skills of those around you, and Sentient attacks do massive radius-based damage) are introduced as you level-up, and this is where the RPG elements enter the fray.

It’s no exaggeration that Too Human contains tens of thousands of weapon and armor variants, with highly entertaining names like “Stout Maul of Launching” and “Pure Dreadnought Sword of Carnage.”  You’ll be forced to spend a few hours within your equipment menu, making good use of it throughout the course of the game to hold your own against the hordes of robotic goblins and dark elves. Their strength is in numbers, and when you see over forty of them bearing down on you, be prepared. You’ll also have access to a skill tree that uses skill points obtained while leveling up to add new special abilities and powerup attacks. I had some complaints about the slowness of the menu transitions, but nothing that would negatively affect my overall review.

[Battlefield Sidenote: When you face off against your first Troll, you may spend a second too long admiring it's sheer size. These enormous warrior robots have to be broken down one piece at a time, and their tenacity increases the farther into each level you travel. By the way, the amusing naming convention extends to some of the mini-boss battles. When I first squared off against "That Which Vomits Diseased Brains" and "She Who Suckles The Dead," I had to compose myself before diving in.]

All told, the graphics engine is amazing to watch with dozens of enemies onscreen at once, fluid animations, and no stuttering or slowdown whatsoever.

Half-Truths

I’m sure criticisms will be leveled at Silicon Knights for what eventually becomes slightly repetitive gameplay. At one point in the 3rd campaign, you will literally fight about 1000 enemies and walk through what seems like 50 miles of hellish terrain. But isn’t this the core of an action RPG? I personally sank over 100 hours into Phantasy Star Online because of it’s addictive nature and the endless quest for new and improved loot. Interestingly, these criticisms would be half correct.

You see, you’ll reach the end of this game through perseverance rather than skill. The only penalty for dying is watching a beautifully rendered Valkyrie descend, take you in it’s arms, and deliver you to Valhalla. Why is it a penalty? There’s an achievement called “Valkyrie’s Folly” for dying 100 times, which I did. This meant watching the animation 100 times, which became an exercise in patience. Aside from that, you’ll respawn nearby, and the surrounding enemies will still be as injured as you left them. Simply put, if you devote the time (about 12 hours) you’re going to beat Too Human without much of a challenge. Aside from the fragmented story, this is the game’s biggest flaw.

Because of some unexpected network issues, I didn’t have an opportunity to explore the online co-op with much depth, but my initial impression is that it will appeal to fans of dungeon crawlers, and completists. This is evidenced by the fact that I finished at Level 27, and there were still several weapons, armor, and pieces of tech I couldn’t yet equip.

The Verdict:

Despite the twists and turns this game has traveled before seeing the light of retail shelves, it’s a solid experience. The intended audience for Too Human, however, is going to be segmented more than Silicon Knights would have liked. Admittedly, had we not received a review copy, I would have avoided it based on my experience with the Demo. Fortunately I can report that overall it was an enjoyable and visceral experience. The cliffhanger ending made me anticipate Too Human Part 2, and hopefully we’ll be treated to a more fleshed out and comprehensible storyline, with some expanded combat mechanics. While I’m making a wishlist, a Vs. mode with playable Trolls and bosses would be a dream.

But, as far as Too Human Part 1, I guarantee you’ll devour this game if you’re a fan of Diablo II and games of it’s ilk, and to you I say it’s well worth full price. For the gamer looking for a thrilling action game, an immersive and detailed world, and a compelling 12 hour experience, it’s well worth a rental before dropping the $60.

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