Coming Attractions 08.17.08: Too Human (X360)

Posted by Drew Robbins on 08.17.2008

411's Drew Robbins takes you through the game releases of next week to preview Too Human and Smash Court Tennis 3 in another week of Coming Attractions.



Hello, and welcome to this week's edition of Coming Attractions. This week, Silicon Knights will be releasing their much anticipated action-RPG, Too Human. Outside of that…not much, but I'll find a way to fill space.

- So I got my PS3 this week, which brings me back into the so-called "next generation." I never went over this in my article, but my Xbox 360 broke back in May…and by that time my warranty had ran out. So instead of putting up with the constant problems the system caused, I got rid of it, confident in the fact that every good 360 game would eventually see a release on the PC. Now, back to the PS3. I bought two games with it, Metal Gear Solid 4 and Soul Calibur 4, after being reassured that MGS4 was worth all of the hype. I'm on Act 3 at the time of this writing (Wednesday), and I can already say that yes, it was worth the hype. My main complaint with the series is that while the story is usually good, the action tends to be very awkward. The first game was the main offender in awkwardness, with no first-person view. That was fixed in the second game, but still, getting caught by guards and being forced into combat was only a bit less awkward with the new view style. Now it has been fixed, with the much needed addition of the "over-the-shoulder" camera, made famous by Splinter Cell. Anyways, overall impressions of the PS3 are good (free wallpapers…don't mind if I do), as I am very satisfied with my purchase. My PSN ID is Kikind if you want to challenge me at Soul Calibur IV. Though odds are I'll be playing MGS4 to death until I beat it.
Edit- I beat MGS4. Best final boss ever.

- Halo 3 won two awards (to my knowledge – it could be more) this week. One from G-Phoria for being the "Best Game of the Past Year." Just for your information, this period of time includes games such as Super Mario Galaxy, Smash Bros. Brawl, Grand Theft Auto IV, Bioshock, and Metal Gear Solid 4. I like Halo 3 and all but…no, just no. The other award was for interactive innovation, which was awarded by the UK magazine Edge (not to be confused with the awesome Rated R Superstar, Edge). Do I really have to explain why this is wrong? I don't know what their idea of innovation is, but stage editors, online play, and co-op aren't exactly innovative.

- I don't like to link outside of 411, with the exception of the Exploding Barrel Podcast, but I must make an exception. I don't know if I've ever said this in my column, but Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, is my favorite game of all time. Well, Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw did a video on why it was the best game series of last generation. I support this statement, so I shall link him. Prince of Persia Retrospective

Reader Mail

Last week was an edition of Coming Attractions that was mostly about Madden, so of course I had some feedback regarding my opinion on the franchise.

Rod Oracheski wants me to buy Madden…ugh.

You're going to hate yourself, but you really need to get Madden 09. Resign yourself to that fact. It's really ACTUALLY improved this time! They didn't just say it, they meant it!

It's the first Madden that I'd compare to 2K5 in a way that's not just saying "well, it's no 2K5" and that's high praise for the game :D

Well I doubt I would hate myself for buying Madden as it isn't the first time I had bashed a game only to end up buying it later. I guess I should take this time to apologize to Metal Gear Solid 4, World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, Sly Cooper and Ratchet and Clank (I believe I was just sick of animal mascots at this point in time. Years later, when I bought both games, I was stunned by just how good they were), Halo 3, and the list goes on….

I watched the video review for Madden and it looked pretty fun, the animations looked nicer than usual…even though that really isn't saying much. The only thing I don't like is the feature that allows you to correct a play that you screwed up. Honestly, if Madden wasn't cheating me out of points I would think something is wrong.

David is hopeful.

Well, I hope Madden is an excellent game. I also hope there are not any bugs that pop up like NCAA.

I've since talked to David R. on PSN and he was pleased with this year's version of Madden. So I guess all that hope paid off.

Mark Salmela gave me two comments so…lets take a look.

"Multiplayer General Chaos is the best thing ever."

You are a good man.

I think I can finally accept that you and Derek are two unique individuals *although don't try anything funny*.

And I'm actually in the exact same boat as you guys lol. I grew up going to a store where I could rent any genesis game for 24 hours for $1. God the old days were awesome. You wonder how many times one man could rent Earthbound? You better rework that for how many times one guy can re-rent Street Fighter 2, General Chaos, Mortal Kombat *1 and 2*, and Tiny Toons All Stars *that game is the sh1t*.

Any who good read, I'm surprised how we often share the same opinions *Madden sucks*. If you ever need a replacement sometime down the line, you know who to call.


I'm starting to become convinced you're me in a parallel universe. Everything you just said "genesis" "youth baseball" "dad going to rental store" is the exact same as my youth.

And you said "Ghostbusters", and last night me and some friends were playing Ghostbusters on the NES.

Basically, you're starting to scare me...

My stance on General Chaos was due to the intense war me and Derek had in that game on that very day. While it may have been domination, every battle was close…but each tended to have the same outcome. There was one match where I had picked a two-man squad and he had, against my will, chosen a team of five. When the match started I had control of the Soldier (rocket launcher) and my partner was the grenade guy. I started running away from Derek's enclosing army and had completely forgotten to control the other guy. So his group of five sat there for about two minutes shooting the grenade guy without mercy. Naturally, I was horrified. I shall never forget grenade guy.

The rental thing, yes the old days were good. There was a local rental place that I think was called Movie Time. For as long as I lived in Arkansas, it was some kind of holy place. Seeing the aisles decked with all kinds of great 16-bit games just made a kid feel at home. I go back every year and see the "Movie Time" that closed down, it is now some sort of tanning place (what the heck?).

You can bet on being my replacement some time down the line.

Also, I don't think I am you in a parallel universe. But..eh, you never know.

David R. had another comment on last week's column…

Derek,

You love your DS more than your PSP? Well, I'm the exact opposite of you. I LOVE my PSP. My library of PSP games is over 40 games, and my DS stands around 20. I think the PSP draws more of my interest (not that I'm saying anyhing bad about the DS).

I can't really love my PSP since it isn't a system that I have made a habit of following. When stuff comes out for the system I am usually the last to know. Also, it is mostly strategy games and…zzzzzzz

Oh, and I just noticed, you called me Derek. That is like, the third time. Step your game up!

Josh Rumsey bought Madden. Well I knew I wouldn't be able to convince anyone.

Sorry Drew I have already reserved Madden I hope its good this year, or I shall be playing 2004 for the rest of my life! But yeah Fallout 3 is going to be great I know its going to be like oblivion but the multiple endings, and fighting system will be great I can't wait. Let's go TEXANS!!

Fallout 3 will be good. It isn't a game I will be playing, but I'm sure for western RPG fans it will be great. The only WRPG I've ever enjoyed was Knights of the Old Republic, and that is because I am a weak man. No way could I resist a game where I could turn my own character into a Jedi. I guess you could do the same thing in Galaxies but, that game kind of…isn't good.

Coming Attractions – Week 6

I hope you like Too Human, because that is the only thing worth purchasing.

Smash Court Tennis 3 - Tennis is a sport that I enjoy. It has been an especially enjoyable sport in the form of video games. My love of tennis games started back on the Nintendo 64 with Mario Tennis, and has since expanded to….Mario Tennis on the Gamecube. There is another tennis series that has garnered some popularity, Top Spin, but I'd much rather play as Mario than Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer. Ok, I must rephrase that. I would much rather play as Luigi than Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer. I dislike the character Mario in his own sports games. They label him as balanced but on the field he always seems to be "statistically better at everything than everyone else." So now we have this game, Smash Court Tennis, which is now on its third iteration. While I cannot speak of the quality of these games, I can give my opinion on who is developing it. Atari? When was the last time you saw Atari and thought, "Yeah, this game will be good. Look, it was made by Atari." To me Atari is now more synonymous with shovelware and Dragonball Z games (which tend to vary between being either good or really, really bad). I just checked up on the history of this game, and while it has received decent review scores, all of those games were put out by a different company. Namco-Bandai, well known for good fighting games and anime games that are always a little better than Dragonball Z fighters. Though, I hate anime…so maybe my opinion there doesn't count.
My Rating: Thumbs Down I doubt you even care about tennis games, you are probably too busy playing Madden to care about tennis, or for that matter, even read this article. I must be typing this to myself.

This Week's #1 Pick

Too Human - Too Human is the latest game to be made by Silicon Knights. Don't know who that is? Well, time for you to get your history lesson. Silicon Knights has been around since the early 90's, working mostly on the PC and once on the Sony Playstation. In the new millennium, they managed to make a name for themselves with the release of Eternal Darkness. Eternal Darkness was an action-horror game where you traveled into different stories that could only be described as eternally dark. This is probably the only game that has ever scared me. I was up late at night once, and popped this into my Gamecube. The level I was on involved a young man in a cathedral. Upon reaching a point high up in the cathedral, I was confronted by a masked man who just scared the living crap out of me. This game also featured some horrifying noises, and even tried to scare you by pretending to wipe your Gamecube memory card. (I've faced that horror. My 1,000 block card corrupted with my Majora Mask data with all of the masks, my Melee save file, my almost beaten Paper Mario file, and my Fight Night Round 2 file, which I was addicted to around that time.) Eternal Darkness received nearly unanimous praise for Silicon Knights, making them one of the most valued third-party developers on the Gamecube. Their next game was a remake of the classic Metal Gear Solid. The Twin Snakes (also known as Metal Gear Solid: Infinitely Better than the Original) was, more or less, Metal Gear Solid one with the control and graphics of Metal Gear Solid 2. A lot of people bashed this game for differing too far from the source material (they whined about Snake leaping off of a missile…I guess I understand why that makes them mad but that is ONE cut scene), and also for being too easy. As someone who generally sucks at video games, I can't see how that is a problem.

So on to Too Human. It is a game about a cybernetic god Baldur who must put a stop to a battle which threatens mankind. No, it won't win any awards for writing, but this isn't really a game where I would consider story "important." This is an action-RPG with co-operative play, so that alone will make this a worthwhile experience. There are different selectable classes to play as, many weapons to choose from, and skill trees for each character. If you couldn't tell, this is a more action based Diablo with next-generation graphics. Pardon my French, but this game sounds AWESOME. It is a shame that I won't be able to play it, unless one of my friends (who generally only play FPS games) actually picks it up.

My Rating: Two Thumbs Up Is this the first time I've given two thumbs up? Actually, I don't think it is, I'm sure Soul Calibur got similar praise from me. This is a must-have game if you own a 360. It is a fun action game with RPG elements that add to the replay value.

- This seems like a co-operative version of God of War…with replay value…this is the only time I've regretted getting rid of my Xbox.

Quick Previews

Rebel Raiders - Fun fact: Rebel Raiders was originally called "Ace Combat rip-off."
My Rating: Thumbs Down - Fun fact: If you buy this game, you are the cancer killing video games. Sorry, I call it like I see it.

Commando: Steel Disaster - Wait, this isn't Bionic Commando…
My Rating: Two Thumbs Down - Bionic Commando ReArmed came out pretty recently; it is not only cheaper, but better than this game will be.

Adventure Anthology - Haha. Wow!
My Rating: Two Thumbs Down - With such a creative name, I'd love to see the "innovation" that this game brings to the table.

- I've never played Bionic Commando, but that game is emitting high levels of "awesome."

Console War Scoreboard

Someone has finally pulled ahead of the pack…

Xbox 360 2
Wii 1
DS 1
PS3 1
PC 1
PSP 0

Don't give up now PSP, there are still 5 months left for you to make an impact.

- Well yeah, I'm not what you would call an expert with Photoshop.

Yesterday's Attractions

Mario Power Tennis (GCN) - On the Nintendo 64 we saw the birth of the Mario Sports genre with Mario Golf and Mario Tennis. Once the Gamecube was launched, there was intense demand to get next-generation versions of these games. Well, we got what we asked for, as both received a makeover for the Nintendo's latest console. Unfortunately, neither of these games could live up to the originals. Mario Golf was terribly easy compared to its 64 predecessor, and didn't give you much inspiration to play through the single player. Of course there were unlock able characters, but they weren't special. The problems with Mario Tennis were a bit worse. This game added special hits, which could be activated whenever the player's racket was emitting light. You could get the special charged up by hitting about three hits, and these specials were guaranteed to send the ball to the other side. The problem with this was that it caused ridiculously long rallys, where you saw the same special twenty times. Seeing Mario smash a ball with his hammer loses its charm pretty quickly. It also featured the second worst (only better than Mario Baseball's gimmick stages) gimmick stages in any Mario sports game. There was a Donkey Kong level where Klaptraps bit your ankles to slow you down, a level where ghosts get in your way, and even a level where slime slows you to ridiculous levels. Much like in Mario Baseball, I quickly reverted to the gimmick-free levels after playing through the single player. All that being said, the game wasn't terrible but it had balance issues that were extremely frustrating, and made it much less fun than its predecessor.
Related To: Smash Court Tennis 3
My Rating: *** out 5. The rallies caused by special shots are one of the few things that ever made me want to kill Mario and gang. I was furious.

- It is common knowledge that the Game Boy Advance versions of Mario Tennis and Golf were much better than the console counterparts.

I would love to review something like Too Human, but I don't think I've ever played a co-operative action game with RPG elements. Sounds like a lot of fun, though.

The 411

The Exploding Barrel Podcast by Mike and AJ Minotti. This week they have an in-depth discussion of Braid. Any of you fine readers mind telling me when I'll see this on the PC?

The PC Centric Extravaganza by Chris Evans. He talks about many things, such as his favorite PC games and Battlefield 2. Also, GTAIV is coming to the PC. I've beat the game, but I am considering getting this version for the expanded multiplayer…maybe.

Fact or Fiction starring Sean Garmer and Jeffrey Harris. Little Big Planet probably won't sell PS3s, but it sure has me excited.

Hall of Shame by Vincent Chiucchi. This week his victim is Pictionary. I played Pictionary (real version) recently…I'm not very good.

Nintendophiles by Theo Frasier. TNA Impact might be delayed for the Wii, makes me glad I got my PS3 when I did.

B3yond the Report by Dan Owen. Next week Derek writes this column. Oh boy…

The 10th Hour: Top 10 Protagonists by Derek Robbins. Its top 10 protagonists this week and my opinion is…too many JRPG characters (2). JRPG characters are usually so one-dimensional it's ridiculous.

The Full Circle by Joe Roche. If EA decides to publish Brutal Legend I will never say anything bad about them again.

Achievement Unlocked by Rod Oracheski. Madden apparently has some really lazy achievements, and then in complete contrast, he shows the Mega Man 9 achievements which just sound…tough.

That's all for this week, leave me a comment below or email me at [e-mail]! Next week...well I'm sure something comes out, and I'll take a look at those NPD numbers that came out after I was done writing this article.