Too Human (Xbox 360) Preview

Posted by Rod Oracheski on 07.17.2008

Humanity, facing extinction in their war against the machines, turns to cybernetically-enhanced gods for salvation. Baldur is willing to take up humanity's fight, but is he enough to fight back against hordes of mechanized foes and the forces mustered by Loki and his daughter, Hel?




Developer: Silicon Knights
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Release date: August 19
Genre: Action/RPG
Online: two-player co-op

Silicon Knights' Too Human is an Action/RPG title, but it's one with a difference. Where most mixed-genre titles have one solid primary genre, barely skirting the outer fringes of the other, Too Human promises to venture deep into both territories.



On the action side of things, the game eschews normal button-based combat in favour of a twin-stick system not wholly dissimilar to that found in Xbox Live Arcade titles like Geometry Wars, where one stick controls

movement and the other runs your combat options. Unlike most action-RPG mixes, you have quite a number of combat options open to you - including both melee and ranged attacks.

Using the right stick alone, you can unleash a stream of regular attacks by pushing in the direction of an enemy. If you're out of weapon reach, Baldur will do a slide-dash to the nearest foe and begin attacking. You can also perform stronger attacks by tapping towards nearby enemies instead of holding the stick, use both the left and right sticks in conjunction to do either a Fierce Attack (a blast of energy thrown when at range) or a Finisher (when performed within melee range). Baldur can also toss enemies into the air (a technique called 'serving' in co-op play) with a double tap in their direction. Melee combat need not end on the ground, however, as Baldur can leap into the air (by pressing the A button) and air juggle enemies.

Air juggling isn't the only advanced combat technique, however, with '2 in 1' attacks factoring into high-level play. These attacks queue up a second attack while executing the first - most commonly by doing a slide-dash towards a distant enemy, then starting a second attack while in mid-slide. These '2 in 1' attacks hit harder, toss enemies higher for juggles, and help build the combo meter (used to fuel special attacks) even faster.

Melee weapons come in three basic types: sword, staff, or hammer, with each housing three sub-types: two-handed, one-handed, and dual-wield. Some weapon sub-types are only available to certain classes - the Berserker is the only one capable of dual-wielding, for example - though outside a few exceptions there are no other restrictions on weapon use.

The game also includes ranged weapons, once again split into three types: pistols, rifles, and cannons, each using one of three ammo types: slugs, plasma, or lasers. Ranged combat is run almost the same as melee, with the right stick controlling attacks - though it depends on a trigger being held to modify 'combat' into 'ranged combat' mode. Pistols can be dual-wielded, with the left trigger activating the left-hand weapon, to provide extra firepower. When using a two-handed weapon like a rifle or cannon (available only to those who choose the Cybernetic path of advancement - more on that later), the left trigger will instead fire off a secondary attack - generally something explosive.

Like melee weapons, ranged weapons can be used to air juggle enemies who have been popped skyward. In addition, any class may use any ranged weapon (cannon excluded, as mentioned previously) though some are better suited for long-distance battles. The Commando, for example, is considered a ranged specialist class.

In addition to melee and ranged weapons, players will also have access to 'Ruiners' - powerful attacks that radiate out from the player. These attacks devour one level of combo meter when used, and will fling back or outright destroy any enemy nearby.

Class	Hit Points	Melee	Ballistics	Armour
Berserker	2/5	5/5	1/5	2/5
BioEngineer	5/5	2/5	2/5	2/5
Champion	3/5	3/5	3/5	3/5
Commando	2/5	1/5	5/5	2/5
Defender	4/5	2/5	2/5	4/5

On the RPG side of the coin, Too Human offers up a great deal of character customization along with the promise of Silicon Knights typically solid storytelling. Players can choose one of five classes: Berserker, Defender, Commando, BioEngineer, and Champion. Each class has their own relative strengths and weaknesses, and can be tweaked to suit a player's taste via the skill tree system.

Each class has their own skill tree which starts from a single point before diverging into three distinct skill lines, then converging back for the final class skill. Each line grants the player one spider, one battle cry, and two skills (beyond the first and last). The system gives players the ability to give individual classes some variety in how they are specced for battle, though not enough to create 'uber' or 'gimped' skill specs. Players will also be given the choice of Human or Cybernetic alignment, with each alignment offering nine unique bonuses to put points into. The Human path will benefit combo-based attacks, while the Cybernetic is geared more towards improving base damage.

The game draws from Norse mythology, inserting a technological twist to give the story more resonance with today's society. Throughout the story players will control cybernetic god Baldur, who defends man against an increasing threat from a mechanized enemy. Though Baldur is far from the only god involved with human affairs, he's the most popular among mankind - perhaps due to his willingness to defend them, instead of leaving them to their attackers.

It's not clear how close the game sticks to the mythos, though fans of the Norse legends will find a number of familiar names, if not faces, among the cast. They all have that sci-fi twist to them, however. Odin, for example, becomes ODIN - short for Organically Distributed Information Network - who 'fathered' the gods by creating the cybernetically-enhanced new beings.

It's interesting to note that Baldur will apparently wield a sentient weapon named Fenrir. In Norse mythology, Fenrir was a wolf, the son of Loki. He was confined, but broke free during the opening stages of Ragnarok (the end of the world) to devour Odin whole. In the mythos, Ragnarok's onset is heralded by the death of Baldur - so the plot for this game, the first of a planned trilogy of releases, is bound to have a twist or two.

Too Human has an extensive loot system that includes a wide variety of weapon and armour drops, though each piece of loot is filed into categories for easy sorting. To see what swords you've found, for example, you simply go to the Weapons tab, then to Swords. A list of every sword will pop up, allowing you to scroll through and compare bonuses and damage to make a selection. Armour is treated the same way, separated into each piece for easy comparison.

Like Diablo, Too Human has a seemingly endless assortment of loot available - and in a variety of grades, ranging from Gray (for low-level, low-power items) up to Red for the most ultra-rare and ultra-powerful items available. The game will feature armour sets, including crafted weapons and armour that players will have to locate the Blueprint for, then pay Bounty (the game's currency) to craft.

In addition to weapons and armour, players will also find Runes and Runic Charms. Runes provide bonuses when slotted into items, though they do require the item have a rune slot available, of course. Runes can also be slotted into Runic Charms, which are an item equipped by the player. It's not so simple as just equipping a Runic Charm, however. Players must then complete the Charm Quest, which varies from charm to charm, and slot it with the required Runes. Only then will they unleash its power.

Runic Charms can be equipped or unequipped at will. Runes appear to be a one-use item, however. Once slotted, they're used up.



From my hands-on time with Too Human, exploring the skill trees of each class and getting the hang of the combat, I'm looking forward to seeing what the finished product has in store. I was surprised to find the combat far more engaging than I'd initially expected, and I can see how it draws comparisons to Geometry Wars. The loot system is surprisingly deep, and I only learned of the crafting system a short time before getting hands-on time, so that was a pleasant surprise as well.

There's a demo available on Xbox Live, and I definitely recommend checking it out if you are at all a fan of dungeon-crawling, loot-gathering, hack-and-slash games. Even if you're not typically a fan of the Action/RPG hybrids, the combat and setting are sufficiently different enough from everything else out there that I'd say give it a shot and see if it works for you.

Too Human is slated to hit store shelves on August 19. Check back with 411mania for a full review at that time.

Too Human Preview footage (720p) from
Rod Oracheski on Vimeo.

Screenshots
All 16 Too Human Screenshots