Too Human

I got this game yesterday and have pretty much played it all day and night.
To be honest, this game is like marmite. Your gonna either love it or hate it.
I really enjoy the game and its story. But I have given it four stars, mainly because the developers manage to explain everything in the most difficult way.
First things first, I suggest you read the first two pages in the game manual. It will give you a little hint to the story and a few other bits and pieces that will help you enjoy Too Human. Then check out the characters, as its handy to know the names, and will help you follow the story alot better, because if you dont know much about Viking Mythology then some of the names will leave you thinking 'Who the hell are they on about' then your going to be in the dark wondering what the hell is going on.
So read about the characters, as this will help you understand who everyone is talking about in-game.

Secondly, do NOT skip the game intro sequences,… more »

I got this game yesterday and have pretty much played it all day and night.
To be honest, this game is like marmite. Your gonna either love it or hate it.
I really enjoy the game and its story. But I have given it four stars, mainly because the developers manage to explain everything in the most difficult way.
First things first, I suggest you read the first two pages in the game manual. It will give you a little hint to the story and a few other bits and pieces that will help you enjoy Too Human. Then check out the characters, as its handy to know the names, and will help you follow the story alot better, because if you dont know much about Viking Mythology then some of the names will leave you thinking 'Who the hell are they on about' then your going to be in the dark wondering what the hell is going on.
So read about the characters, as this will help you understand who everyone is talking about in-game.

Secondly, do NOT skip the game intro sequences, where it shows the game developer logo's etc, as the intro scene is at the end of it.

Once you have done both, your now ready sit down with Baldur and knock the crap out of everything.
The story is a bit like a Tarentino film. You get alot of flashbacks from certain events which entwine with the quests that your doing at the current moment.
Its pretty easy to kill everything on the game, you just hold the right analogue stick in the direction you want to attack and let baldur do the rest. You can push forward both sticks and do some special moves etc you also get ranged combat with rifles, dual pistols etc.
So it mixes the combat up well. I played a Defender, and found most of my time bludgeoning the goblin robots with ease, but at times I'd just sit back and let my rifle fire off some rounds and a few grenades.
The combat can be a little 'samey' but somehow it still manages to keep me excited and just watching my character bludgeon everything around me in cool ways with just the ease of pushing my analogue stick forward is amazing. There are of course more combo's and things you can throw into combat, perhaps shooting a grenade into a bunch of goblins whilst running toward them, then sliding into the leftover goblins and putting a cap of smackdown on them.

The graphics are good, but generally are bit jittery in places. The framerate is absolutely fine, I've had no problems with multiple enemies and allies on the same screen smacking each other silly.
The headquarters area is amazing. They've really made the Norse Sci Fi theme a winner in my eyes. The way they've taken old ways ad then just put the futuristic touch. Massive tall statues, huge tall narrow hallways with torches at either side... and the colours are amazing too.

The game is very much loot-based. You'll find yourself crafting some uber armour, with the possibility to buy colours to change the colour of your armour also which is a nice touch.

The sound is amazing when in combat, it really pumps you up for the fights and gets the good ol adrenaline running around.
The voice acting is decent and up to standard but the environment music can be a little.. non existent at times.

Last but not least, the camera angle. No you cannot control the camera, Yes you can change how close up / how far away you want to view your character from.
This has been the issue for most people, yet I find it hasnt really bothered me too much. Alas I'd love control of the camera, but I've been doing absolutely fine without it and its managed to be pretty stable with me. I only encountered a few issues in the Aesire Headquarters.

All in all a great game. Try the demo out, and for all those who have bought the game, I'll see you in Valhalla.

This is an update my review as I actually purchased an Xbox 360 because oft this game.

So my first impression... well when I saw the class selection and layout straight away it made me think of Hellgate London:) and yeah I think they are very similar concepts. Kill lots of enemies, loot and gear up, and they even throw in a team of soldiers to support you. The NPCs just provide an extra hand but I just ignored them and do my stuff.

I do have to agree with one statement, the camera sometimes can be a right pain in the butt:( , I would suggest using the ISO view as it seems to be better.

The online side of it is quite good but you can only play in 2 and only for 1 level then you gotta go back to the lobby and select the next level. Apparently they can support up to 4 players but not implemented, probably something to look forward in the sequel.
Another thing to watch out online is to try and team up with someone who is + or - 5 levels from you. Otherwise you will… more »

This is an update my review as I actually purchased an Xbox 360 because oft this game.

So my first impression... well when I saw the class selection and layout straight away it made me think of Hellgate London:) and yeah I think they are very similar concepts. Kill lots of enemies, loot and gear up, and they even throw in a team of soldiers to support you. The NPCs just provide an extra hand but I just ignored them and do my stuff.

I do have to agree with one statement, the camera sometimes can be a right pain in the butt:( , I would suggest using the ISO view as it seems to be better.

The online side of it is quite good but you can only play in 2 and only for 1 level then you gotta go back to the lobby and select the next level. Apparently they can support up to 4 players but not implemented, probably something to look forward in the sequel.
Another thing to watch out online is to try and team up with someone who is + or - 5 levels from you. Otherwise you will regret it, the game takes the highest player in consideration, this means you can end up dying from 1 hit or looting gear which you cannot use for levels to come.

I probably regret not getting this when it came out as anyone that preordered the game got a code that gave them some nice epic armours straight from level 1.

No idea about the ending as I haven't finished it yet but if it is indeed part of a trilogy then great, hope they will allow your characters to carry over to the 2nd and 3rd parts.

I'll be the first to admit that I like playing bad games (much to the chagrin of my girlfriend), I don't know why I just do. If you were to look at my gamer card pretty much every rubbish movie tie-in, lame kiddie game and Japanese oddity will be all present and correct. The problem we have here is that there's bad and there's Too Human. I was really quite looking forward to this game and was expecting an epic action RPG in the same vein as Mass Effect, with an excellent story, slightly ropey combat and a wealth of customisation options. Unfortunately, none of the above elements have been implemented in any way shape or form. I get the impression that throughout the development, nobody actually stopped to play the game and see if it was any good.
Allow me to elaborate;
Combat: the right analog stick is used for melee combat while the triggers are used for primary and secondary fire on your equipped ballistic weapon. Use of the right stick for melee could have worked very… more »

I'll be the first to admit that I like playing bad games (much to the chagrin of my girlfriend), I don't know why I just do. If you were to look at my gamer card pretty much every rubbish movie tie-in, lame kiddie game and Japanese oddity will be all present and correct. The problem we have here is that there's bad and there's Too Human. I was really quite looking forward to this game and was expecting an epic action RPG in the same vein as Mass Effect, with an excellent story, slightly ropey combat and a wealth of customisation options. Unfortunately, none of the above elements have been implemented in any way shape or form. I get the impression that throughout the development, nobody actually stopped to play the game and see if it was any good.
Allow me to elaborate;
Combat: the right analog stick is used for melee combat while the triggers are used for primary and secondary fire on your equipped ballistic weapon. Use of the right stick for melee could have worked very well if it weren't for Baldur's sluggish movements and clumsy swordplay. It's actually possible to stand flailing your sword at nothing while an enemy bites your arm off. The ballistic weaponry (ie. guns) is terrible. All weapons are hideously underpowered and the auto lock-on is, as usual, terrible often prioritising dead enemies over the living ones. The combination of melee and ranged weaponry should have allowed a great deal of flexibility in taking down targets but with more than a few enemies on screen at any one time makes the whole gameplay experience messy and frustrating. The most annoying part however, comes along in the from of the Valkyrie, which ascends from the heavens to whisk away your battered body every time you die. This might be OK if it were skippable, but it's not and it gets very, very old very, very quickly because you will die A LOT. There also seems to be no punishmennt for dying other than this little 30 second cutscene. All enemies in the area you've vanquished remain dead and all EXP wou gained before stays in tact.
Story: Silicon Knights should be commended for doing their research but not for the scrpting. The characterisation and dialog are awful, the Gods are severely ungodly and generally very annoying with Baldur regularly coming across as a whining mummy's boy who's lost his favourite teddy.
Graphics: Are actually pretty good, all the environments look solid and there's a great sense of vast open space in all of the locations. Character models are well designed (although the Goblins look like a massive rip-off of DOG from Half Life 2), but unfortunately other than the bosses there are only about 5 or 6 enemies, which are repeated throughout the game, which leads to the combat feeling dull and samey.
Overall Too Human is a stinker, one of those games that punishes you repeatedly for playing it, almost as if Silicon Knights hate gamers and want them to suffer greatly for the £40 they forked out for it. I finished it (bad games and all), but if it weren't for trade-in value I'd burn it!
3/10