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The Eurogamer TV Show: Denis Dyack on Too Human
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PreviousToo Human Review
Xbox 360 Review by Dan Whitehead
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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.
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.
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.
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Latest Features
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Too Human Interview [12]
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Too Human First Impressions [38]
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Too Human Interview [156]
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Too Human First Impressions [34]
Latest Videos
The Eurogamer TV Show: Denis Dyack on Too Human [2] 19 August, 2008
Too Human - Iceforest [1] 7 August, 2008
Latest News
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Dyack: 2009 cuts have been "staggering" [38]
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Name of Silicon Knights game leaked [19]
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Silicon Knights cuts 26 jobs temporarily [29]
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Peter Molyneux picks apart Too Human [9]
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Japanese charts: Afrika riding high [24]
Latest Screenshots
17 June, 2008 [26]
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Der_tolle_Emil
19/08/08 @ 13:05
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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)
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speedofthepuma
19/08/08 @ 13:17
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I thought this would fill a WRPG hole for me for a whille. Oh well.
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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. |
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mcmonkeyplc
19/08/08 @ 13:21
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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.
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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.
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crazyhorse174
19/08/08 @ 13:25
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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... |
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andywilkie35
19/08/08 @ 13:28
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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!
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Siberian_Khatru
19/08/08 @ 13:45
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Oh well. Hope it's a Blue Dragon kind of 6, 'cause I'm still getting it.
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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. |
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DanWhitehead
19/08/08 @ 14:04
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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. |
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@miiiguel: Second playthrough opens different paths. Watch the old 1UP podcast previewing it:
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3168554 |
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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 1 times,
most recently on 19/08/08 @ 15:12
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DanWhitehead
19/08/08 @ 14:35
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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. |
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RedSparrows
19/08/08 @ 15:08
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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. |
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