- Too Human
Infobox VG
title = Too Human
caption =
developer =Silicon Knights
publisher =Microsoft Game Studios
distributor =
designer =
composer = Steve Henifin
resolution =720p
series =
engine = Silicon Knights Engine (Proprietary ) with Havok Physics [ cite web| title=Too Human powered by Havok: | publisher=Havok | url=http://www.havok.com/content/blogcategory/29/73/| date=| accessdate=2008-06-30 ]
version =
released = vgrelease|NA=August 19, 2008cite web|url=http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=140006|title=Too Human finally given a date|work=Eurogamer.net|accessdate=2008-08-25] vgrelease|EU=August 29, 2008
genre = Action RPG, Action-adventure
modes =Single-player ,Online Multiplayer , Online co-op
ratings = vgratings|ESRB=T
platforms =Xbox 360
media =DVD-DL
requirements =
input =Gamepad "Too Human" is a
video game produced by Canadian developerSilicon Knights for theXbox 360 . It is the first installment in a planned trilogy and was released in August 2008.tory
The player takes on the role of
Baldur (voiced byCrispin Freeman ), one of theAesir . In "Too Human", theNorse gods are cybernetically enhanced humans. Baldur, son ofOdin , is one of these gods and it is his duty to protect the human race from an onslaught of an advancing machine presence determined to eradicate all human life.The story chronicles the ongoing struggle between cybernetic Norse gods, the invading machine presence and mortal men, featuring many Norse gods and characters from
Norse mythology includingThor ,Loki ,Odin ,Tyr ,Heimdall ,Freya ,Hel , andMimir .Yggdrasil , the Tree of Life, acts as a gateway to an alternate world known as Cyberspace that is accessed through the advanced technology of the gods. The human gods are using cybernetic implants to supplement their own abilities, thus becoming more machine like. Conversely, the advancing machine army is harvesting human blood and limbs in an attempt to become more human. Baldur, the main character, is viewed by the other Norse gods as being insufficiently enhanced, thus "too human". [http://forums.xbox-scene.com/lofiversion/index.php/t499063.html "As the game deepens, the hero is pressured to add mechanical parts to survive since he is "too human" to prevail."]Gameplay
Too Human is a one-person action adventure role-playing game like "
Champions of Norrath ". It features twitch gameplay in the form of fast-paced melee and ranged combat while also maintaining RPG elements including skill tree progression anddungeon crawl ing.As a third-person action adventure game, "Too Human" has two notable features: melee combat being controlled dynamically by the right analogue stick and a camera system that is controlled by Auto Targeting Systems. The right-analogue stick-controlled combat resolves the issues of three dimensional depth perception during combat while the AI-controlled camera system allows for a cinematic experience while also being an aid to the story telling.
The RPG elements of "Too Human" include its story, five different selectable classes, customizable weapons, armor and cybernetics, skill tree progression and item hunting. The game has 15 different weapon classes, including two-handed swords, hammers, polearms, pistols, rifles, lasers, dual-wielded one-handed swords and staves. The character is able to customize their armor in terms of color and its effectiveness against certain forms of attacks while also being able to swap armor sets. The game features skill trees unique to all the various classes that can be customized to the player's liking, which when combined with the fact that it also includes item hunting like "Diablo", greatly increases the game's replayability. As part of a planned trilogy, this game features a leveling system which allows the player to progress from level 1 to 50 in the first game, then continue on to the second game with the same character and level up from level 50-100, and in the third from 100-150.
Online and multiplayer
"Too Human" will allow two players to connect over
Xbox Live for cooperative play. [cite web|url=http://kotaku.com/5008865/too-human-co+op-scaled-back-to-just-two-humans|title=Xbox 360 Spring Showcase: Too Human Co-op Scaled Back To Just Two Humans ] This includes a drop in/out system so people can join no matter where they are up to in the game. It is expected that co-op players will be able to take advantage of class combinations to defeat difficult enemies and gather rare items. The player can use the same character in both the solo and co-op mode, so experience points, skill points, weapons, and armor acquired in the solo game can be used in co-op, and vice versa. The media releases of gameplay footage have shown an increasing emphasis on teamwork and cooperative gameplay.Classes
There are five classes available in "Too Human", with more to be added in downloadable content. Each of these classes has its own direction in the skill tree, although this can be changed by the player to produce unique classes. Similar to the skill trees of "
Diablo II ", a player cannot max out all the stats of his or her character. However, players will be allowed to 're-spec' in order to get the most out of their characters without having to create a new iteration of the same class. Denis Dyack, the game's director, has said there will be downloadable classes in the future and that "(his) favorite class isn't even in the game yet." [http://toohuman.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=211&Itemid=2]Alignment
There are 2 different alignments featured in "Too Human." The Human alignment deals mostly in skills that increase a character's speed in melee and ranged combat. The Cybernetic alignment deals mostly in skills that increase a character's strength in melee and ranged combat. While it is possible to 're-spec' the skill tree, like the classes, once an alignment is chosen it cannot be changed. Certain armor and weapons can only be used by a character with a certain alignment. After an alignment is chosen, the character also gains access to an enhanced 'Ruiner' attack when the combo meter is at level one or higher. And while the Human alignment has access to an extra skill that allows the character to summon his spiritual companion as his 'Ruiner', the Cybernetic alignment gains different enhanced 'Ruiner' attacks from the weapons he has equipped. The Cybernetic alignment allows the player to use cannons, which are usually much stronger than pistols and rifles. The downside to the cannons is that they significantly slow the character's movement while being used, and they have a much longer reload time. Alignment is not chosen when the character is made, but is instead chosen after the first part of the game is completed.
Development history
"Too Human" was originally in development for the
PlayStation as a 4-disc action-adventure game. It was shown atE3 1999cite web | author=Sam Kennedy | date= May 5, 1999 | title=New Too Human Screens and Info | url=http://www.gamespot.com/news/2451246.html | accessdate=April 20 | accessyear=2007] , and a teaser trailer was shown atSpaceWorld 2000 showing what appeared to be a re-building of the PlayStation game. Development halted whenNintendo announced an exclusive partnership with Silicon Knights, and the game was moved to theNintendo GameCube in 2000. Prototyping for the game took place on the GameCube, but the staff at Silicon Knights soon devoted their efforts towards two other releases, ' and '. [cite web | author=Kohler, Chris | date=July 26, 2005 | title=Silicon Knights' Denis Dyack Goes 360 | url=http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20050726/kohler_01.shtml | work=Gamasutra.com | accessdate=2008-09-02]In the May 2005 issue of "EGM", Silicon Knights announced a partnership with publisher
Microsoft to develop a trilogy revolving around the "Too Human" universe exclusively for theXbox 360 . The game was originally being developed using Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3, but is now being developed using an internal engine. On July 19, 2007, it was announced that Silicon Knights was suingEpic Games due to "breach of contract", including "inadequacies" of Epic’s support, service, and cooperation with Silicon Knights concerning Unreal Engine 3. [cite web|url=http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=16868|title=Video Game Features, PC Game Features ] [cite web|url=http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=14759|title=Gamasutra - Breaking: Silicon Knights Files Lawsuit Against Epic ] On August 9, 2007, Epic Games countersued Silicon Knights, claiming that they were using their engine as they pleased without any cost. If Epic wins the case, Silicon Knights would be forced to pay in excess of $650,000.Promotional film
As well as releasing many other promotional videos [http://www.gametrailers.com/game/2207.html
GameTrailers : Too Human] Silicon Knights have also been involved in the making of a fictional documentary titled, "The Goblin Man of Norway". [http://kotaku.com/tag/the-goblin-man-of-norway/ Too Human Development Diary, Silicon Knights Officially Goes Crazy Edition] The film reported to be produced by the " [http://norwegianfilmcommittee.org/en/home.html Norwegian Film Committee] ", and is in three parts, each part being released sequentially.The first part 'Excavation' relates the discovery of a high technology mechanical man possibly tens of thousands of years old found encased in a glacier, the second, titled 'Examination' contains pictures of the discovery, as well as a stone found nearby with a message of doom or 'curse' runically inscribed, and the third part 'Exhibition' shows the release of the find to the public and includes reactions from various people as to the impact the technology could have on society. All three videos are now available on the Xbox Live Marketplace and on the NFC website. [http://norwegianfilmcommittee.org/en/media.html NFC ,Media]
Demo
The demo was released on
Xbox Live on July 14, 2008 as part of theMicrosoft "Bringing it Home" E3 Marketplace content. The demo includes the Champion class and gameplay is restricted to part of a single level with cutscenes included. Online co-operative play is not featured in the demo. There is an easter egg in the game that allows one to play as Commando and Beserker classes, do this by setting one's 360 date to 2009, however one must be offline to change the date. As of July 25, 2008 the Beserker has been unlocked without any clock modification on the console. As of August 11, 2008 the Commando class is available for play as well. There was also a glitch found in the demo, which allowed the ability to play as the Bioengineer and Defender classes. The glitch can now be performed online for all classes.On July 31, 2008 Microsoft announced that the "Too Human" demo exceeded 900,000 downloads. They said the demo has "been downloaded more than any other action demo on Xbox LIVE Marketplace in its first week of availability and has been one of the top played titles on Xbox LIVE overall." [cite web|url=http://gameplasma.com/index.php?do=viewarticle&id=996|title=Too Human Passes 900,000 Demo Downloads GamePlasma.com :: Gaming to the Next Level! :: GamePlasma Live BETA ]
Reception
VG Reviews
1UP = C- [cite web|url=http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3169393|title=Too Human Review]
GSpot = 5.5/10 [cite web|url=http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/toohuman/review.html|title=Too Human for Xbox 360 Review]
GI = 6.75, 7/10
GiantBomb=rating-5|3 [cite web|url=http://www.giantbomb.com/too-human/61-20499/reviews/|title=Too Human review - giantbomb.com]
IGN = 7.8/10 [cite web|url=http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/899/899826p1.html|title=IGN: Too Human Review]
GamingShogun = 5/10
GamePro = 8.0/10 [cite web|url=http://www.gamepro.com/microsoft/xbox360/games/reviews/206650.shtml|title=Too Human Review 8.0/10]
OXM=6.5/10 [ [http://www.oxmonline.com/article/reviews/xbox-360/s-z/too-human OXM Review] ]
XPlay=4/5 [ [http://www.g4tv.com/xplay/reviews/1823/Too_Human.html X-Play Review] ]"Too Human" has received mixed ratings, scoring an average press review of 69% at GameRankings, [cite web | title = Too Human Reviews | url = http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/928546.asp | date= 2008-08-25 | accessdate = 2008-08-25| publisher = GameRankings ] 7.0 at GameStats, [cite web | title = Too Human Reviews | url = http://www.gamestats.com/objects/748/748783/#reviews | date= 2008-08-25 | accessdate = 2008-08-25| publisher = GameStats ] and 65 at
Metacritic . [cite web | title = Too Human | url = http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/xbox360/toohuman?q=Too%20Human | date= 2008-08-25 | accessdate = 2008-08-25| publisher = Metacritic ]Many criticize the game for its long development history and resulting product.
Ripten scores it a 4.5 out of 10, also citing a simplistic yet buggy combat control system [ [http://www.ripten.com/2008/08/22/xbox-360-review-too-human-too-bad/ Ripten: Too Human Review] ] ,GamingShogun scored the game a 5 out of 10 citing unbalanced gameplay and an annoying death sequence. [ [http://www.gamingshogun.com/Article/2162/Too_Human_Review.html GamingShogun: Too Human Review] ] GamingTarget enjoyed the gameplay but bashed the title's boss battles and useless squad members. [ [http://www.gamingtarget.com/article.php?artid=8957 GamingTarget's Too Human Review] ]Others praise the game, however. GameFocus notes the "amazing graphics power behind it, with some wide open complex levels, dozens of monsters and the player or players destroying everything in sight, the game never slows down or lags at all" and gave the game 8.6/10. [cite web |title = Too Human Review 8.6/10| url = http://www.gamefocus.ca/?nav=reviewCard&fid=5034] Gamepro gave the game's co-op accolades, stating that "ultimately the inspired intermingling of the disparate abilities bestowed on partnered players ... makes Too Human worth playing", giving the game a score of 8/10. [cite web | title = Too Human Review 8.0/10 | url = http://www.gamepro.com/microsoft/xbox360/games/reviews/206650.shtml]
References
External links
* [http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/splash/t/toohuman/ Official Too Human Website]
*
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