Preview

Hands On Time With Too Human

July 02, 2008

With a botched initial E3 showing to going more or less underground this past March, Silicon Knights has finally released a preview build of their upcoming action/RPG Too Human. Getting to play a quick demo version of the game during GDC isn’t always the easiest way to tackle a deep experience such as Too Human, so I put the preview version through its paces in both single player and cooperatively to see how well Silicon Knights has progressed.

The game follows an ancient Aesir war God named Baldur. As Too Human opens, machines are turning on humans and dining on their flesh, an ancient pact has been broken, and a God has taken the life of another God. All this has led to the world falling into utter ruin. If that wasn’t bad enough, Baldur learns that his now dead wife was actually murdered. Baldur is quite pissed, and not only is he charged with finding out what is causing all of this unrest, he’s avenging his dead wife. Most of the cinemas that would explain a lot of this backstory aren’t actually accessible in game, which would help give you clues on what is actually going on. Upon boot-up, make sure you watch the intro (or go to the Cinemas section) for more info.

To say the least, this mixture of Norse mythology and a digital future thrusts you into a complex plot from the jump. But the action gets underway just as quickly. While you play the role of Baldur, you do have the option in choosing your character class. Pick between Champion (balanced, skilled in air combat and critical strikes), Defender (heavy armor, tank-style player), Bio Engineer (regeneration, group protection, healing) Commando (specializes in ranged combat and explosives) and finally, good old-fashioned Berserker (close combat, highly offensive).

Controlling Baldur takes some getting used to. Remember the fact that Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem used the right analog stick for actions instead of controlling the camera? As my chosen class was a Berserker, the right stick controlled Baldur’s swordplay and in combination with the two main shoulder buttons controlled gunplay. Targeting and aiming is done by rolling or tapping the right stick in relation to the direction of the enemies. Since the Berserker class is all about up close offensive attacks you can quickly slide and takeout close enemies creating a combo. Linking combinations will not only decimate opponents, but will build your combo meter. Fill that up, and you’ll gain the ability to drop a brutal “ruiner” or battle cry to help out the situation.

And while this game isn’t all action hack and slash, Too Human is just as much RPG as it is action. Some enemies will drop loot that you can use to upgrade your weaponry and armaments as you level your character. You’ll also earn skill points that you can spend in your skill tree, upgrade specific class areas, plug runes into weapon and armor slots, embark on specific rune quests….You think Silicon Knights learned a few things playing World of Warcraft? Absolutely.

My biggest concern with Too Human however is the balance of the game. In single player I got my ass kicked in certain areas, mainly boss battles. After playing co-op today with a Silicon Knights representative, these encounters were much easier and I not only mowed down previously difficult situations, but secret arena sections as well. Clearing these uber-tough arenas net you epic loot (yes, WoW again), so trying to finish these areas off on your first play through by yourself will be an almost impossible feat. But while playing cooperative was a really good time, it’s most likely the only way I’d play through the campaign. Just like WoW, playing with your friends makes the experience more fun, and the loot easier to obtain.

Considering this game was originally structured to be a four player cooperative game, it’s truly sad that Silicon Knights had to cut it down to two. With all of the differences the classes, skill tress, and specialties allow for, with only having two players will Too Human still have the chops to survive? Even though we were told this was a really “old build” of the game, we think Too Human is melding a lot of great concepts, and hopefully the team can pull it all together in time for its August release.

–Billy Berghammer

Tags: Denis Dyack, Preview, Silicon Knights, Too Human