Too Human Review

By Dan Whitehead Published 19 August, 2008

Norway Jose.

Version tested: Xbox 360

I think it's only fair to warn you. These are first words I'm typing, but I can already tell from my notes that this is going to be a laundry list of complaints, gripes and grumbles. And that's a shame, because Too Human isn't a terrible game. It's just one of those "could've been" games where potential is squandered in so many areas that it's hard to know where to begin. Suffice to say, most of the game's good points can be summed in one simple sentence: it's a pretty good action game. Not a very good one, and certainly not a great one, but a slightly-above-average entry in the hack'n'slash genre that provides amusement amidst annoyances.

The core concept won't be new to anyone who watched Ulysses 31 in the 1980s. It's ancient mythology rewritten as science fiction, with Norse legends retold as an advanced civilisation where cybernetically-enhanced humans are considered protective gods by the general population. Our hero is Baldur, favoured creation of the AI program ODIN and popular people's champion of Asgard. You can rename him (although everyone still calls him Baldur) and choose one of five classes for him, and each will be familiar to regular RPG players. Berserker is your meaty melee combat specialist while Commando is your choice for firearms and ranged weapons. Champion is the piggy in the middle, averagely proficient at both forms of fighting. Defender is the heavily armoured tank option, with Bio Engineer the surrogate Mage, able to heal himself and others.

Your choice made, you're dropped into the game at the head of Baldur's "wolf pack", a squad of space marine types, and you're set on the trail of the monstrous robot GRNDL-1 (Cyber-Beowulf was too busy). As you stroll through the ruined Hall of Heroes, robot goblins attack and you're introduced to Too Human's curious combat system. Rather than use the face buttons, you direct your melee attacks with the right stick. Move the stick in the direction of an enemy, and Baldur lunges at them. This basic template can be modified by using the left stick in the same direction, making Baldur launch energy projectiles or fly towards enemies depending on how far away they are, while a double directional twitch juggles foes into the air. Successful attacks fill a combo meter, which can be used to deploy Ruiners - radial smart-bomb attacks that vary from weapon to weapon. Ballistic attacks, meanwhile, are carried out by holding down the right trigger, which starts you shooting with your equipped firearm, and then the right stick is once more used to direct your fire.

'Too Human' Screenshot 1

Those evil metal monsters are the Geth. Sorry, GOBLINS. What was I thinking of?

It takes some getting used to, but when it works the results can be impressive, as Baldur effortlessly flies from enemy to enemy racking up the kills. When it doesn't work, it's a mess. Shooting is especially problematic, with a skittish automatic lock-on that often does the opposite of what you want. Targeting a specific enemy in the middle of a battle is often impossible, and that's a problem when the game introduces exploding enemies that need to be killed from afar in order to avoid splash damage. The game spams you with different enemy types, some requiring firearms attacks to remove their shields, but as they swarm around you there's little room for any tactical play. Depth comes simply from choosing the best attack to clear some space - and trying to target the pounding arms of a giant robot troll even as the game insists that, no, you want to be shooting at the less dangerous goblins at its feet, is never fun.

The melee attacks are easier to master, but it's not a system with much flexibility or depth. The difficulty in lining up two sticks in the same direction means that the "advanced moves" can be unreliable, and the game sometimes has weird ideas as to when enemies are far away or nearby. You have three weapon options to choose from - sword, staff or hammer - but apart from variations in speed, the results are almost always the same. Mindless stick-twizzling (it's the new button-mashing!) won't get you to the end of the game very quickly, but nor will you find yourself being stunned by the tactical scope of this new control system. It pales alongside the precision offered by the likes of Ninja Gaiden, or even Samurai Warriors.

'Too Human' Screenshot 2

Baldur explains how to get ahead in Asgard...

The control issues, which persist long after you've mastered the basics, are compounded by a wilfully unhelpful camera. With the right stick pulling duty in combat, keeping everything in view falls to a roving AI viewpoint that, like the aiming, makes the wrong assumptions about what you want to be looking at. A tap on the left shoulder bumper centres the camera between Baldur, at least for a while, but you find yourself having to do this more and more because the camera ties itself in knots whenever you do something besides ploughing forwards. It's most problematic in the boss battles, where the need to keep the monstrous enemy in view apparently overrides the need to see where you're going, leading to some horribly confusing - and often fatal - moments.

Then there's cyberspace, an underused alternate dimension that Baldur is able to access through special magical wells. In this bucolic virtual realm, where ones and zeroes conjure up pastoral tranquillity, Baldur must use a trio of gradually-revealed powers to push, lift or burn items in order to open new areas back in the real world. Push a tree over a gorge, for instance, and a bridge is activated in reality. It's not unlike the reality-shifting elements of Soul Reaver, the Legacy of Kain sequel that found Silicon Knights suing former collaborators Crystal Dynamics, and it's a touch trite, perhaps, but there's potential here for some clever puzzling and a nice change of pace. Sadly though, often you just have to stroll for a bit, push something over, and stroll back. While there's an attempt to use this area to add a subplot to the game, it's a boring and long-winded way of achieving a simple aim, and you're always aware that you could just as easily have pressed a button in the real world instead.

But what of the much-vaunted RPG depth we were promised? Well, there's certainly a role-playing mechanism behind the scenes but, compared to any other entry in that genre, it's nothing to get excited about. Weapons and armour can be modified by attaching runes, while Charms enable additional benefits if you can complete their relevant "quests". It's a misleading use of the term, since the requirements are things like "Kill 200 enemies" or "Find 2 secret areas". Things you'd already be doing, in other words, not genuine quests that take you off the beaten path.

Rounding out these auxiliary powers are three special moves and abilities, unlocked by cashing in your skill points every time Baldur levels up. Spiders are robotic allies who can be dropped in battle to deliver damage in various ways, or even to provide a roving healing station. They're time-limited and Spiders must recharge before you can use them again. Battle Cries are status buffs by any other name, boosting your stats or weakening the enemy when activated. They use up your combo meter, and the higher the meter the stronger and more long-lasting the effect. Finally there are Sentient Weapons, an extremely useful ability and by default the last item on your skill tree. Set off by depressing both thumb-sticks, it sends a spooky copy of your current weapon floating into battle alongside you. Sentient Weapons take a long time to recharge, but can rack up your combo meter in seconds. They also look funny.

'Too Human' Screenshot 3

Enormous laser cannons are just one of the ballistic weapon options.

All three elements are unavoidable choices on the rather simple six-tier skill tree, which restricts you to a trio of fixed development paths per class. As half of your options are already taken up by the different forms of the aforementioned support abilities, that doesn't leave a whole lot of room to experiment and as you can reassign all your points on the fly, you'll easily be able to try all the abilities before you reach level 20. Roughly halfway through the game, another layer is added as you get to choose between becoming cybernetically enhanced or following the organic human route. Both open up an additional, smaller skill tree, with Cybernetics maximising damage and Humans favouring improved combo efficiency.

It seems like a lot of options in theory, but in gameplay terms it's all rather narrow in its focus. Unlike the different skill-sets and character classes in Mass Effect, another apparent influence, there's not enough to drastically alter the way you play. Because the game is built around melee brawling, there's just no incentive to try a different approach - because you'll only end up tackling each battle in the same way, albeit with slightly different stats and auxiliary abilities. Out of the five initial classes, only the Bio Engineer feels noticeably different, with the others more like variations on a tired theme - one that's already been covered by Warhammer 40,000 among others.

'Too Human' Screenshot 4

We weren't able to test the online co-op, but feel free to add another point to the score if that sort of thing is really important to you.

Even basic elements like an item inventory are absent. The game will happily slurp up runes and trousers called Proficient Web-Brace Greaves of Toughness by the dozen, but there's no way of stockpiling a simple health orb. Nor are there any items to counteract the various status effects that enemies inflict on you. This means that when your health is low, all you can do is plough onwards and hope that you get some health in a loot drop. If you find yourself poisoned with low health, you might as well just wait to die - there's nothing you can do. Oh, and when you die? I hope you enjoy the unskippable 30-second animation of a cyborg valkyrie descending from the sky and lifting you to Valhalla. You'll see it a lot.

Except you don't go to Valhalla. You're immortal, and so you respawn at the last save-point while all the enemies remain as they were. Provided you keep swapping your weapons and armour for better versions, progress is never all that taxing. This means the game is both frustrating and easy as long you've got the patience to keep plugging away. You'll rarely have to resort to such methods, but just knowing that death has no lasting consequence automatically lowers the stakes. And, yes, BioShock did much the same thing, but Too Human is no Bioshock.

So you're left with a rather awkward action game built on top of a rudimentary loot-hording RPG framework. There's no obvious AI to either enemies or allies, so any attempts to craft something deeper from the one-note gameplay are doomed to partial success at best. Sadly, where Too Human continues to flounder is in the lack of polish, a generally impenetrable approach that will turn off less experienced players and a very unsatisfying story.

Graphically it's passable but nothing spectacular. The draw distance is impressive but character models are less endearing. Despite occasional flourishes that turn the Norse inspiration into something unique, the whole game is draped in generic videogame cloth. It's all metal corridors and hangars, cast in the same shades of green, grey and blue that we've seen a hundred times before. The final section lowers the bar yet further. As Baldur storms Helheim, the Norse hell, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the rusty, dusty brown and red industrial landscape filled with shambling cyborg zombies came from Quake. Or Gears of War. Or take your pick.

The whole Norse mythology angle is consistently half-baked. There's no context for this mash-up of Vikings and technology, and the way the mythology is woven into the new tale is of limited success. Certain stories, such as Tyr's fateful encounter with Garm, are cleverly worked into the boss battle narrative framework, but mostly it seems rather ad-hoc, with the fantasy elements sitting clumsily alongside clichéd SF imagery. Asgard, for instance, comes across as a shopping mall built inside a cathedral. The majestic home of the Gods is nothing but a large soulless hub, populated by anonymous humans in modern-day clothes, all milling around aimlessly. In a real RPG this would be a place to engage in some NPC conversations to unearth new info, or discover some side-quests, but here it's just a pointless space where you stock up on items before triggering the next level, tediously trekking from one end to the other to do so.

'Too Human' Screenshot 5

We weren't able to test the online co-op, but feel free to add another point to the score if that sort of thing is really important to you.

This brings me to the final and perhaps biggest problem with the game: it's too short. Now, I don't subscribe to the notion that games must justify themselves by length - I believe that a game should be as long as it needs to be. But with just four worlds - essentially four long, linear levels of constant combat - my first playthrough clocked in at around twelve hours, and I thought I was taking my time, exploring every last dead-end corridor for more bounty. Of course, if you want to play with every class, and unlock every last Achievement, then you'll have to play it through several times. But you can play any game over and over. That doesn't mean it offers 80 hours of entertainment. While Too Human can be replayed, it's not the sort of game where you'll uncover new stories or quests that you missed first time around.

And it's not just a question of truncated gameplay, it's the narrative as well. Based on the story, I was convinced there was at least one more section of gameplay to come after a hardly conclusive cut-scene, but instead I was unceremoniously dumped into the credits. If that's supposed to leave players hungry for the next instalment, it does a piss-poor job. Planning an entire trilogy of games is a bold undertaking, but you need to make each part work as a game and story in its own right. Too Human doesn't build to a cliff-hanger or thrilling crescendo, it simply stops in one of the worst-paced conclusions to a game since Halo 2.

'Too Human' Screenshot 6

You'd need a few. Maybe six pints.

And even with my word count threatening to burst like a fat melon, there are still more scribbled notes that I've not even touched on. Like how at least half of the character classes are of limited value in a single-player game, and are presumably throwbacks to when it was going to offer four-player online co-op (now it's only two-player). Like how useless the NPC characters are in battle, cluttering the speakers with constant clichéd action movie prattle yet adding nothing of value to the actual combat, and often inexplicably vanishing completely. Like how weapons offer effects such as "Annulment +8%" with no explanation as to what that means in tangible gameplay terms. Like how so many of the mythological characters are poorly established, their motivations often incomprehensible unless you know your Norse. Like how many of these criticisms, and more besides, were being voiced in previews as far back as 2006 and yet still remain relevant today.

I really wish there were more positive things I could say to outweigh the avalanche of grump. It's not that bad, but then "not that bad" is the highest praise it deserves. A more cohesive game, with an engaging story, might be able to overcome some of its many flaws. But this game, with this story, and this many problems, is always going to be on shaky ground. It's rather fitting that this is still being touted as the first part of a trilogy, since it definitely feels like one third of a potentially interesting game.

6 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Dan.

About Dan Whitehead

Dan has been writing for Eurogamer since 2006 and specialises in RPGs, shooters and games for children. His bestest game ever is Julian Gollop's Chaos.

Read more articles from Dan by visiting the Dan Whitehead archive page.

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Comments (141) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • cyacomini #1 4 years ago

    Shame...

  • Der_tolle_Emil #2 4 years ago

    Finally something interesting to read again. Felt like ages since the last review of a big title. (Not that the other articles are bad or anything)

  • cyacomini #3 4 years ago

    lol @ blig_merk

    Better than Lair tho' :)

  • Dizzy #4 4 years ago

    Checking on metacritic, opinions seem to vary wildly on this one. Guess I will pass... was waiting on the (rather excellent read BTW) EG review. Pity because I kinda liked the demo combat.

  • bushwod #5 4 years ago

    I called it. 6/10.

  • dr_faulk #6 4 years ago

    Hmmm, I had this penned as a 7/10 game, from the demo. Guess it doesn't get much better than what I alreayd played.

    Thanks for review, EG! =)

  • speedofthepuma #7 4 years ago

    I thought this would fill a WRPG hole for me for a whille. Oh well.

  • dsmx #8 4 years ago

    Those camera problems could of been solved on the ps3 as you could of used the tilt for camera controls...

  • UncleLou #9 4 years ago

    I can't help it, I'd buy it in the blink of an eye if I had a 360. But then I was a Hellgate: London subscriber, too.

  • funkyd #10 4 years ago

    The demo was an abortion.

  • agparrot #11 4 years ago

    Having played the demo, I can see myself picking this up when it is in a bargain bin and playing through the co-op with some selected buddies.

    Certainly not something I'd rush out and buy on day one. The general production of the thing seemed dated, but the gameplay took me back to memories of Baldurs Gate on the PS2, which I had a lot of fun with.

    One and a half times as good as Haze, is I'm sure what blig_merk meant.

  • LunatikCajun #12 4 years ago

    ...bugger

  • anomagnus #13 4 years ago

    buying it anyway, really liked the demo. And at 12 hours, if its as bad as they say, i havet lost anything

    last time i seen something like this was Viking. However, i imagine the onefag forum is having a fucking field day right now.

  • mcmonkeyplc #14 4 years ago

    Better than haze! I still think Im going to give this a go. I liked the demo. The score is to be expected though. It is a little ropey.

  • Darren #15 4 years ago

    I quite enjoyed the demo but my current apathy for playing games (a phase of non-interest I tend to go through from time to time) made me cancel my pre-order as I can't see myself summoning up the motivation to play it beyond a few hours at most. If it had been great (8/10+) then I might have stuck with it. Besides, I can always pick it up cheap after Christmas anyway if I change my mind.

  • Steroyd #16 4 years ago

    Wow the first paragraph was...wow.

  • crazyhorse174 #17 4 years ago

    Cancelled my preorder - had hoped that some of the problems with the demo might've been ironed out, but it doesn't look like it.

    Pity. Saves me a couple of quid though, and with Fallout 3 and Fable 2 on the way soon that might be a God-send...

  • Beano #18 4 years ago

    Tried the demo which was rubbish. Shame.

  • andywilkie35 #19 4 years ago

    i'll get this when it comes down in price after a few months or so, Infinite Undiscovery and a bit of Tiger Woods 09 will do til then!

  • Bertie Verified Senior Staff Writer, Eurogamer.net #20 4 years ago

    Crikey. Still half-tempted but then I'm a glutton for punishment. SMACK ME! Oh er erm

  • JediMasterMalik #21 4 years ago

    An expected score, I never saw what fans of the game saw in it.

  • Les #22 4 years ago

    score's much too high for a Dyack game...

  • penhalion #23 4 years ago

    I'll pick this up as I have it pre-ordered along with space siege. Liked the demo so I guess I'm not too fussed.

  • haowan #24 4 years ago

    toot toot

  • Botty4Hyre #25 4 years ago

    I think it sounds brilliant - is it likely therell be a DS version does anyone know??

  • UncleLou #26 4 years ago

    Serious question, as I've never played the demo: the opinions seem to be so different, is it possible that people who hated it expected a different game/genre really? Devil May Cry more than Diablo, for example?

  • RedPanda #27 4 years ago

    Post deleted at 14:31:59 28-01-2012

  • Siberian_Khatru #28 4 years ago

    Oh well. Hope it's a Blue Dragon kind of 6, 'cause I'm still getting it.

  • SeesThroughAll #29 4 years ago

    @ Les: Naughty ;)

  • Vin #30 4 years ago

    Closing time, folks.

    A six is far too generous given just how broken the game is. Dyack knows it, we know it, and just about every other fella knows it.

  • miiiguel #31 4 years ago

    Dan, is there any sort of "New Game +" for the 2nd playthrough ?

  • Razorus #32 4 years ago

    Oh for fuck's sake! I was really hoping this would be good, as I've been interested in it for the last 7 years or so. I was really into the story more than anything, but the more of the game I saw, the less I was impressed. Then I played the demo (supposedly a practically complete version) and I was utterly disappointed.
    I had hoped this review would perhaps change my mind but it was inevitable. Such a shame.

  • Beano #33 4 years ago

    Who cares... try the demo and you'll see it's still a bad game. And if not, ignore the EG score and buy the game :)

  • Apologie #34 4 years ago

    so, as good as Haze :)

  • miiiguel #35 4 years ago

    @Siberian_Khatru :
    EG gave Blue Dragon a 5. (and I liked it more than LO which was an 8..., go figure).

  • DanWhitehead #36 4 years ago

    Dan, is there any sort of "New Game +" for the 2nd playthrough ?

    As far as I could tell, it just starts over with the same enemies - now leveled up to match you. If there are any differences, they're certainly not the sorts of things that jump out at you.

  • systems #37 4 years ago

    @miiiguel: Second playthrough opens different paths. Watch the old 1UP podcast previewing it:
    http://ww w.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3168554

  • miiiguel #38 4 years ago

    Thx.
    And since it says the story is not that well explained not all the details, I think I'm going to pre-ordered the official game guide along with it (I really want to know the story, and all the shit that took 10 years - historical purposes), but my dealer (Amazon) has it sold out, does any one of you know a good website to buy this kinda stuff (I only and always use Amazon) ?
    Edited by 1 at 19/08/08 @ 15:12

  • Xerx3s #39 4 years ago

    "An expected score, I never saw what fans of the game saw in it. "

    No offence but I bet you played resistance and killzone.

  • GordonCaladan #40 4 years ago

    The Gaffers will lap that score up.

  • miiiguel #41 4 years ago

    "I never saw what fans of the game saw in it."
    Fans? Are there fans of a game that didn't come come out yet? wow!

    I'm curious, and definetly going to play it, but I'l decide about the "fan" thing *after*.

  • Steroyd #42 4 years ago

    Yeah I've never saw anyone defending Too Human with their lives on a message board.

    ...except Dyack...

  • DanWhitehead #43 4 years ago

    If this is a 6/10 Alone in the Dark is a 4/10 a bit of consistency would be fair eurogamer.

    Different games in different genres, reviewed by different writers.

  • Aretak #44 4 years ago

    "hope Silicon learn and fix the problems in the sequel."

    Due out in 2027 folks!

  • RandolphScott #45 4 years ago

    "GRNDL-1" - brilliant

  • RedSparrows #46 4 years ago

    WARNING: Hyperbole detected in comments.

    I enjoyed the demo. The game is far from brilliant it seems, but it's getting some wildly disparate scores. 5.5 then 8.5 then 6 then 7.8. Well 6 and 7.8 not so much but you get my point.

    It seems it does a lot wrong (inexcusable) but a lot right too. Plus, EG, why in hell didn't you play co-op?

    Oh hi Halo review here, sorry we didn't play the multiplayer. It's just not done.

  • itsfuzzy #47 4 years ago

    Once i seen that Silicon Knights were blaming Epic and UE3 for all their delays and problems i knew this was gonna be a stinker.

  • miiiguel #48 4 years ago

    Anyway, this SK should've kept this title in a Sony platform, the "oh my god, Dan is so da Bias!" thread are much more amusing.

  • Asundai #49 4 years ago

    This is probably going to be like Blue Dragon and Dreamfall. Really low review scores (here at least) but there'll be a small group of people who'll love the game.

    I might pick it up later, but this one's not a day one purchase for me.

  • septimus #50 4 years ago

    Demo felt like a 5, so makes sense this wouldn't get much more. Though I imagine will get closer to lower 70%'s everywhere else.

  • PlugMonkey #51 4 years ago

    "Checking on metacritic, opinions seem to vary wildly on this one. Guess I will pass... was waiting on the (rather excellent read BTW) EG review. Pity because I kinda liked the demo combat."

    Let me get this straight. You liked the demo, but won't buy it because someone else doesn't like it?

  • IronCladChicken #52 4 years ago

    @Asundai
    Count me in, I'm a sucker for the longest journey series.

  • gamzino #53 4 years ago

    ha ha.. maybe xblox £3.60 can rely on something better next year...

    VIVA LA PS3!!!

    mu ha ha

    mu ha haaaaa

  • DanWhitehead #54 4 years ago

    It seems it does a lot wrong (inexcusable) but a lot right too. Plus, EG, why in hell didn't you play co-op?

    Because there was nobody online to play co-op with, and with only one copy there was no way of setting a game up between EG people. The core complaints are so tied to the game engine that the ability to play alongside a friend wouldn't have changed the score. This isn't like an FPS where the multiplayer component is essentially a separate game.

  • Dizzy #55 4 years ago

    "Let me get this straight. You liked the demo, but won't buy it because someone else doesn't like it? "

    Yes and no. I liked the combat in the demo but was on the fence about the whole game. So reading the EG text I decided that I will probably skip it. You can't buy ALL games just to decide if you want them or not. Usually I trust EG as having the same tastes as me.

  • miiiguel #56 4 years ago

    @ gambuzino: God Bless Ignore button, and I'm atheist. What a dick.

  • miiiguel #57 4 years ago

    "This isn't like an FPS where the multiplayer component is essentially a separate game. "
    I can't agree with that, is not just FPS's that can be improved with coop play. Think KUF, for example.

  • Wash #58 4 years ago

    I'll pick this up for co-op i reckon. Played worse when trying the demo.

    Decent review though, sounds fair, interesting to see how bad other reviews will be based upon the negative furore the producer/desginer guy managed to create around his game.

  • butler` #59 4 years ago

    hehehe Cryack, I got it.

  • RedSparrows #60 4 years ago

    @Dan

    I thought that might be the reason, thanks for the response.

    I don't get it though, as other reviews have stated they have played co-op. A MS, or an EG failing?

    As for the co-op thing - of course it makes a difference. It's not a wholly different game, no, but nor is it entirely unchanged. A solo defender playing as compared to a defender + healer is going to be a significant change, surely.

  • estoo #61 4 years ago

    Such a negatively worded review suggests a score way below 6, after reading it all the way through I was expecting 2!
    Yeah, think I'll give it a miss.

  • Stuz359 #62 4 years ago

    From playing the demo I could tell the fundamental game mechanics were broken. If you can't enjoy interacting with the game then you cannot enjoy the game.

  • butler` #63 4 years ago

    RedSparrows:

    Sorry to state the obvious, but you're chatting shit. Read Dan's post again...

  • RedSparrows #64 4 years ago

    How am I chatting shit? Thanks for the needless belligerence.

    I'm just wondering, considering other reviews have stated co-op is significantly better.

  • SpaceMidget75 Verified Senior Software Developer, Minerva Computer Services #65 4 years ago

    LOL @ Maxim Russia

  • SteveB #66 4 years ago

    Looks like the final game doesn't improve on anything over the demo. If they want to stretch this to a trilogy then the sequel will have to be radically improved in all areas.

  • Peew971 #67 4 years ago

    Why am I not surprised?

  • JediMasterMalik #68 4 years ago

    @Xerx3s - 1st of all, I have played both Resistance and Killzone, I have no clue what that has to do with this game. Also, I really liked Resistance as did most people who played it, and Killzone was merely a good but flawed game.

    Again, what does it have to do with this?

    @miiiguel - It is in no way for a game to garner fandom and hype before it's released. Almost any remotely high profile game released has it, quite why this is some mysterious concept, I don't know.

    The game may not be quite as bad as Haze, but it's in a very similar situation. It has been used by fanboys to snipe at the other console about how good the game will be and subsequently turned out not to fulfil that in any meaningful way.

    As I said I was expecting reviews like this is getting, average to a bit above average.

    And DD made a complete fool out of himself with this game and with his antics surrounding it. That's what makes this situation worse than the Haze situation for me. Not that that's a knock against the 360, it has plenty of other games which require attention more than this, and hopefully those will end up deserving it.

  • muscleblade #69 4 years ago

    "I can't agree with that, is not just FPS's that can be improved with coop play. Think KUF, for example"

    I agree with Miguel. Even mediocre games tend to get a lot better with coop. Ign played it in coop and they gave it a higher score. Im not buying this because its not my type of game. But i believe Too Human will get many fans. I probably buy Mercenaries 2 instead also with coop and more my type of game.

    @Miguel
    Too Human is probably better than KUF so if you liked that you will love this.
    Edited by 1 at 19/08/08 @ 18:09

  • Gearskin #70 4 years ago

    I don't get it. Most reviews say how good the RPG/loot system is, and now loot whores will love it and find months of fun.

    ... but the scores are bad.

    Isn't that kinda like rating Mass Effect poorly because it isn't a loot whores dream?

    Surely the game should be judged on what it's trying to do, rather than what it never intended to do? The game has always promised a Diablo styled dungeon crawl. If it delivers that... what's the problem?

  • sneetch #71 4 years ago

    I'll be getting it as I really liked the demo. Once it's above 4 it's enough for me.

    Then again I liked Blue Dragon and Assassins Creed and rate both higher than GTA4 (to give random examples, please if you feel the need to "correct" me on any of that then just count to ten then go do something else).

    Also, on an unrelated note:

    @gamzino
    "ha ha.. maybe xblox £3.60 can rely on something better next year...

    VIVA LA PS3!!!

    mu ha ha

    mu ha haaaaa "

    Has anyone lost an idiot? ;)

  • miiiguel #72 4 years ago

    @ muscle: yes, that's what I'm hoping. Anyway, coop realy transforms some games like KUF (and hopefully this one), not only in the gameplay, but socialy, as I met many ppl out of the footy/FPS spectre, we westerns are used to.

    edit: and yay! I'm the archetype of the "loot whore", I think...


    edit: "Viva la PS3" is priceless... OMG! can Sony plz stop selling those boxes to these kids? It is ruining its image! Talk about the XBox americans... give me a dozen of those any day of the week.
    Edited by 2 at 19/08/08 @ 18:27

  • Triggerhappytel #73 4 years ago

    "A tap on the left shoulder bumper centres the camera between Baldur"

    Between Baldur and what? I think you mean behind Baldur.

    "the Legacy of Kain sequel that found Silicon Knights suing former collaborators Crystal Dynamics"

    Ha ha, is it just me or is that a suggestion that SK like to sue other game companies...?!


    Anyway, a shame really, but I think this has never looked that good. I think the question is, will it come anywhere near recouping its $100 million budget? Just to break even would probably be between 2-3 million copies sold.

  • czottmann #74 4 years ago

    Laser cannons are not ballistic weapons. :p

  • bad09 #75 4 years ago

    To be honest I've never thought this would be anything more than average, really can't see why so much was made of it. Seems I was right....

  • miiiguel #76 4 years ago

    Still, much better review than the pathetic 1up one. noface fellow was jumping in amusement today because we said 1up's was real bad and now EG one scored marginally the same. That was not the point. That review is wortheless.
    Might've well just said "dont' dig it", or quote the gambino kid.

  • Nostromo13 #77 4 years ago

    What a Dyackhead…

  • Vic #78 4 years ago

    Too Crap more like

  • miiiguel #79 4 years ago

    ^ let me ask you, why do you only comment 360 games, when you don't have one ? Nightmares ?

    edit: what a moron...
    Edited by 1 at 19/08/08 @ 19:40

  • siro #80 4 years ago

    Judging from the demo, a 6 is still very generous. Still better than the 7 on your German counterpart. :)

  • Fatnick #81 4 years ago

    Hmm. I probably could have stomached an average game if the storytelling/acting had been on par with LoK. Vikings reimagined as Space Marines from teh future? fook orf

  • Vic #82 4 years ago

    Is that Miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiguel calling me a moron? When he's spent the past two years making 'ironic' and supposedly 'comic' posts about the PS3, and calling Europeans brand whores..?

    Arf! What a retard!!

  • PedroTheLion #83 4 years ago

    Brilliantly written, by far the best and more informative review of this game I've seen so far. Bravo sir, Bravo!

  • miiiguel #84 4 years ago

    Vic: no I wasn't, I was guessing (thank god I don't know you, and never will), you just prove that right now. But yes, I said you only comment 360 games, things. And that's silly, imo.
    Edited by 1 at 19/08/08 @ 20:04

  • Vic #85 4 years ago

    Whats silly is dedicating your life to promoting the virtues of the 360.

    How old are you?

  • miiiguel #86 4 years ago

    Old enough to be married, although I still don't have kids 'cos they still annoy me. I hope I'll get over that soon, can we talk later ?

  • hiddenranbir #87 4 years ago

    What, I'm not buying anything less than a 10, hur hur that is hardcore.

  • Vic #88 4 years ago

    Mmm...I'd rather not.

  • JediMasterMalik #89 4 years ago

    Mocked by some, but hailed by others.

  • Gearskin #90 4 years ago

    I just pre-ordered, along with Spore.

  • ronuds #91 4 years ago

    OMG EG is so biased...what a horrible review. This game is CLEARLY a 10/10 and revolutionizes the industry! Damn you, EG!!! I'm never coming to this site again! Waaahhhhh!!!!

    /end similarities to comments in MGS4 review (or any other PS3 game that doesn't get a 10)

  • t8yman #92 4 years ago

    poo human

  • Ryze #93 4 years ago

    OK, now we can hopeully get Alan Wake and KZ2 out of the way, then start looking forward to the next wave of games...

  • gamzino #94 4 years ago

    i been gettin alot of stick from posters about my 'Xblox £3.60' comment... and thats cool. It's a little unfair to undermine a powerhouse of a console esp. on the merit of single title.

    But, I do have a question.. what the hell else is coming over the horizon?!?

    2009 will be a pivotal year for the console.. All you 360 punks will realise your console was a poor investment, and MS never intended it to last into the next decade.

    So in a nut. it's brown pants.

    :)

  • captainrentboy #95 4 years ago

    ^^^^
    CUNT :)

  • SBfistfun #96 4 years ago

    ^ Lol

  • ronuds #97 4 years ago

    headbog = gamzino?

    I swear that guy is still lurking around here in the shadows.

  • Ryze #98 4 years ago

    Jeez - another tard that thinks the PS3 is suddenly going to become a wondermachine overnight,a nd the 360 will suddenly die despite it's massive gaming audience.

    It's MAKING MONEY for both DEVELOPERS and M$. While this continues to happen, they'll continue to make games for it. Games that keep turning out better on the 360.

    I personally can't wait until the decent games like God Of War III and Shadow of the / ICO 3 appear on the PS3...

    ...then I'll consider buying one...

    /waits...

  • BillyBrush #99 4 years ago

    ''But, I do have a question.. what the hell else is coming over the horizon?!?''

    I could mention Fable 2, Gears, Vesperia, a Naruto game that's actually a decent one, and the like,

    but sometimes i do wish MS would show off CG trailers of a bunch of games that i can hype up on forums for years instead of always actually bringing the things out, it'd mean i owned a shit console, but at least i could say 'OMG Killzone2 is going to be amazing' if i could do that from lets say E3 06 and still bang on about it now, instead of playing Gears 1 & 2, it'd be handy for dealing with cockfaces on the internet

    wait what am i saying..

  • BillyBrush #100 4 years ago

    Ohh ignore poster...gamzino you have the honour of being the one to pop my cherry on that button, congrats..

  • gamzino #101 4 years ago

    ok ok.. you're all obviously having a little trouble..

    let me start!

    Diablo.. check!
    gears 2.. check
    Ticket to ride.. choke!

    Someone please continue...

  • JediMasterMalik #102 4 years ago

    I like how it's not possible to defend your own console from morons without beocming the idiot and attacking the "opposition".

    Seriously.

  • BillyBrush #103 4 years ago

    @Jedi

    it's sad, but quite a natural human response, deep down everyone knows gaming is great and games consoles, even the ones they may decide to call rubbish, are great

    but if an Orange seller goes to a thread about Apples (stay with me here there will be a point somewhere), and starts dissing Apples, then the Orange seller is probably going to turn round and say 'actually Oranges are great, much better than your shitty Apples'

    the reality is both Oranges and Apples are incredibly tasty fruits

    which is where we come to the crux of the matter, in that case the Apple salesman is the cheif wanker, as he's come out with some ridiculous claim about Apples, and said nasty things about Oranges, the Orange man is bound to say things he doesn't really mean about Apples then, he's defending his sweet segments of joy...so if you throw the first stone you are the biggest cock on the planet....in this threads case that honour goes to...(checks) ' blig_merk 19-Aug-08 14:04:57As bad as Haze then.ignore poster'

    though Gamzino has managed to take it up a notch in later rounds, he gets a special commendation for twattery, and in the words of Tod Hollenshead 'no credibility'
    Edited by 1 at 19/08/08 @ 23:17

  • JediMasterMalik #104 4 years ago

    I like apples and oranges, but we only rarely get apple juice in the house. :'(

    Damned orange juice fanboys!!!

  • BillyBrush #105 4 years ago

    Lets not be having a juice based argument now, it'll only end in tropical fruit, and as everyone knows, that's just for kiddies

    ... tell you what though, that Tropicana man, he's been shifting a lot of cartons

    :o) PEACE AND LOVE, HARRY KRISHNA

  • omb123 #106 4 years ago

    It's a good game, but not worth buying. That's why I got my copy for free. It took me less than 3 hours and all I had to do was fill out some surveys. Hell, they didn't even charge me for shipping- it was TOTALLY free :)

    How you ask? Well I'm in a good mood today and would like to help out the people who skeptical about buying this. Hey, you can never go wrong with playing a game for free, right? Just go to the link below, and enjoy your free stuff. You don't have to buy too human either if you don't want, you can always get something else!

    http://ww w.prizerebel.com/index.php?r=45...

  • Eraysor #107 4 years ago

    The biggest shame is that they made this rubbish instead of Eternal Darkness 2.

  • Windsong #108 4 years ago

    Only thing more incompetent than this game is that whiny fag from Epic, CliffyB. In all honesty, when you spend 10 years on a product, at least look at the top games and see what makes a game sell well. A flashy Epic engine aint it partner.

  • urban #109 4 years ago

    most downloaded game on xbox live gets this? funny.

  • destro #110 4 years ago

    shame on you, denis... I was counting on TH... still, I'm going to buyin' it, but...

  • DjFlex52 #111 4 years ago

    2009 will be a pivotal year for the console.. All you 360 punks will realise your console was a poor investment, and MS never intended it to last into the next decade.

    @gamzino

    Where have you been? My 360 has already paid me back my investment...years ago. Since 2006, I've enjoyed at least 30 quality games.
    I've been hearing this sad story from muppets like you since 2005. When will it end?

  • Kill_Crazy #112 4 years ago

    @Octopus
    Just because 5/10 is the midpoint doen't mean it's average. Would a reviewer ever score a 0/10? I've never seen one or heard of one so, taking your 'mathematical' way of working, 5.5/10 would be average as the lowest score is 1/10.

    Also, an average score for a game would be an average of every game ever rated. 5/10 (or 5.5/10 depending which way you view it) is the median, or the average of the rating scale, in terms of numbers but not quality.
    Edited by 1 at 20/08/08 @ 06:46

  • haowan #113 4 years ago

    "it's sad, but quite a natural human response, deep down everyone knows gaming is great and games consoles, even the ones they may decide to call rubbish, are great"

    indeed. almost... too human

  • toy_brain #114 4 years ago

    I'm sort of in the mood for this kinda game as I've recently been on a Diablo-esq kick.

    Well I say 'Diablo-esq', I played a bit of Diablo 2 but found it to be slightly 'ehhh' for my tastes. Not that I think its a bad game, but the mouse-driven controls just didnt sit well with me - so I tracked down a copy of Dark Alliance 2 instead and started re-playing that, and I also bought Alien Shooter 2 which is just pure awesome carnage (and runs fine on my massively outdated PC).

    So hmmmmm. Too Human then? Might still get it, provided AS2 and DA2 havent provided me with all the mindless action and stat-building before it comes out. Part of me just wants to buy it out of sympathy as Dyack has clearly put himself through a lot (most of it his own fault, but still..) for this game.

  • systems #115 4 years ago

    @Kill_Crazy - point well made. I agree.

    Anyway, it all goes to show what a stupid system a points score is, especially when every reviewer has their own idea of what the points score is. It's not like the Olympics where there is at least a marking scheme of sorts across all reviewers.

    In summary, if you liked the demo and always wished for "sci-fi Diablo" you'll probably like the game. If you didn't like the demo (or Diablo) you almost certainly won't like the game. Who cares that an arbitrary person on an arbitrary forum gave it a number value between 1 and 10? Shocking news: It only matters if you like it.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #116 4 years ago

    in that case the Apple salesman is the cheif wanker, as he's come out with some ridiculous claim about Apples, and said nasty things about Oranges, the Orange man is bound to say things he doesn't really mean about Apples then

    The Orange man is probably just bitter than the Apple man's phone is exclusive to O2.

  • actionfitz #117 4 years ago

    tbh i thought the demo was a bit poo.
    really didn't like the combat / camera controls etc (the review was pretty much spot on with my limited exposure through the demo).

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #118 4 years ago

    It's not like the Olympics where there is at least a marking scheme of sorts across all reviewers

    It's exactly like the Olympics, how many gymnasts get scored less than 5/6, let alone 4?

  • andromeda #119 4 years ago

    just looking at the cover and name for this game you know it's gonna be a pile of steaming doo doos.

  • ph101 #120 4 years ago

    too bad.

  • Bluetooth #121 4 years ago

    Like all humans, no-one's perfect.

    Sorry I couldn't have worded that pun/joke/phrase any better

  • dryden555 #122 4 years ago

    good review -- the utter lack of challenge of the game is a deal-breaker for me. No thanks

  • lolife.se #123 4 years ago

    Oh well.. Cancelled my pre-order. Reviews are all over the place.

    I usually do prefer EG's more critical reviews over many of the other sites, but still, they gave Halo 3 a 10. And I have never played a more repeatative, stale and uninspiring shooter than Halo 3. So I can nothing but suspect foul play, just as MGS4 scored 10's across the board (on a 0.0-10.0 scale even) in many reviews. I just don't trust review journalists or sites anymore..

    But yeah, I'm gonna try this out before buying.

  • ZuluHero #124 4 years ago

    it does say underneath one of the screenshots that they didnt have a chance to play online and add an extra point to the score.


    That would be your missing point people.



    7/10 if you play online


    /confusion over.



    EDIT: sorry if this has already been pointed out. Thats what you get for joining the party late! ;)


    Edited by 1 at 21/08/08 @ 10:59

  • lolife.se #125 4 years ago

    @ Eraysor:

    I totally agree, one of the best and fresh game I have ever played. But sadly, I believe Nintendo owns the IP associated with that game, so it won't come to the 360, and definitely not the PS3 :-)
    Edited by 1 at 21/08/08 @ 11:58

  • booner #126 4 years ago

    This review jumps on the bandwagon of negative press that this game has somehow spun up. I would give this game an 8/10 and I think it's bad to slate a game because "it's cool" to bring it down.

  • JediMasterMalik #127 4 years ago

    The reviewer has perfectly justified his criticisms, and that's not one of them.

  • Xerx3s #128 4 years ago

    "no offence but i bet you played with your wiener, whats the point? "

    My point is that people play average (or shit) games and still like them. He doesn't get what people see in it but the same could be said from those games. The only thing to get is that it is in the eye of the beholder.

    "@Xerx3s - 1st of all, I have played both Resistance and Killzone, I have no clue what that has to do with this game. Also, I really liked Resistance as did most people who played it, and Killzone was merely a good but flawed game.

    Again, what does it have to do with this? "

    You just underlined my point. I too played both and resistance imo is a 6 at best - it's not bad but for the rest not very good - and calling killzone good is taking the piss. Liberation was entertaining but killzone itself was just a horror. With questionable games like these, some people are more willing than others to look beyond critical failures. That's what they see in them.
    Edited by 1 at 22/08/08 @ 09:51

  • Xerx3s #129 4 years ago

    "gazmino : thank god they put in an ignore button for retards like you. "

    Unfortunately the page is buggered.

  • Beek4257 #130 4 years ago

    Somewhat off topic.

    Someone here referred to Blig_Merk's post on this thread. I was going to read it for possible comic value/to torture myself, but it appears to be gone.

    After further inspection so are the rest of his posts elsewhere. I don't remember putting him on ignore, so what happened.
    Was it all just a bad dream?
    Edited by 1 at 22/08/08 @ 13:15

  • hiddenranbir #131 4 years ago

    The reviewer has perfectly justified his criticisms, and that's not one of them.

    They always justify it. Like with Viking. Most of the time it's, "uhh, what?" to them.

  • Nocturne #132 4 years ago

    I just here to paste what I wrote in the comments of a previous Too Human story.

    'The camera was uncooperative and movement clunky. If there was any strategy to the combat then it was unecessary, since button mashing worked fine. In fact, the phrase 'button mashing' is not accurate, 'stick waggling' better describes my experience and is also much funnier. That was my experience of the Too Human demo, waggling my stick until there were no more enemies left in the room; worse, I couldn't even see the enemies I was waggling my stick at most of the time, though that seemed to matter little to the end result. The big surprise for me was the poor graphics, from a developer who usually excels on that front; there were some ugly and washed out textures, awkward animations, and dodgy character models. That said, the atrocious dialogue stole the show with a terrible script and poorly delivered lines. Silicon Knights may have a reputation for weaving a good tale or two, but from that demo it doesn't show in the slightest, what there was came across as ametuer and pretentious.'

    A prescient summary of the review.
    Edited by 2 at 25/08/08 @ 04:25

  • mukki #133 4 years ago

    the low marks dont really surprise me... wasnt to impressed with the demo

    ah well

  • smoothpete #134 4 years ago

    Denis should learn to keep his mouth shut

  • Gearskin #135 4 years ago

    I hope to be playing this tonight. If GAME sent my copy. Forgot to check my emails last night. If not... more Castle Crashers it is. WIN WIN!

  • lolife.se #136 4 years ago

    I really hope they go with a more standard control scheme, more like eg. the NG and DMC games, for the sequels. They deserve creds for trying out something new, but this was really poor in comparison.

    And I will assume the sequels will get a lot more polish than this. Maybe the Unreal business hurt them more than I first thought...

  • Collymilad #137 4 years ago

    Great game.

    I think if Dyack had rephrased "They just don't get it" to "they just dont like this kind of game" he would have hit the nail on the head.

    Superb 8/10

  • anomagnus #138 3 years ago

    @ nocturne

    bullshit, total bullshit, how much time did you put into it, 30 minutes?

    30 hours in, and i can tell you now, you either 'get' this game, or you do not.

    If you don't, too bad for you

  • AJUK #139 3 years ago

    I bought it, but unfortunately I don't 'get' it. Personally I agree with a lot of what Denis said over the past few months, which is why I supported him and his team with my hard-earned cash, but it's a shame that Too Human doesn't grab the attention in the same way as something like Halo or Mass Effect does. Obviously different types of games, but the way they lead the player into the world and the gameplay is definitely better managed. 7/10 is about right for Too Human.

  • spacenugget #140 3 years ago

    Have to disagree with the 6/10,
    About 6 hours in and really impressed.... really impressed, Ive a friend who is a viking mythology whore and he is filling in the gaps in the story, truely wierd considering he hasn't even played just looked, and Im loving the combat system, the guns are fiddly at first but once it 'clicks' it really 'clicks'!!

    Nothing more satisfying than a 10 goblin chain - air juggle - gun keep'em up - air juggle - 10 goblin chain - big spider Bit*h gun battle - dodge arrows during 15 goblin chain - repeat.....
    :)

    9 outta 10 from me. (dock a point for the story not flowing as it should and the over abundance of equipment to wade through, and the fact that its great but no Bioshock or Link to the Past.)
    Edited by 1 at 05/09/08 @ 21:01

  • sajtion #141 3 years ago

    i rate this game -6 out of 10

  • Burton2000 #142 3 years ago

    Just seen the zero punctuation review and he rips this game apart :D

  • warlockuk #143 3 years ago

    I'd give this at least 7-8/10. I picked it up for £20 from HMV and I'm having fun playing it - so that's a big score earner from me. Y'know... when a game is fun. :)

    EDF! EDF! EDF! EDF!