Well here we go with yet another anticipated title that didn't quite live up to the review scores and hyperbole we and it's developer expected.
Like many I have read many of the reviews, and played the very mundane demo from xbox live marketplace and I had little hope of this game.
In fact had the fact that I had not pre-ordered the game and bought it for half price I probably would not have bought it, but would I have missed out ????
Very much in the same vein as LAIR - a game critically beaten in reviews and on forums (despite many of the hate garnered towards it being uncalled for and from people who had'nt even experienced it) Too Human seems to be garnering the same reaction.
So it was with trepidation that I loaded my disc into my 360 and pressed the A button to start the game.
From the menu screen I chose my character class * a beserker * and proceeded to play the game.
First impressions count and whilst the first part of the game is essentially the same as the 360 live marketplace demo it is fleshed out a lot and makes far more sense.
We are at intervals treated to flashbacks, and as the story slowly unfolds we are introduced to more and more Norse mythology.
By the time you have finished the first mission, combatted GRENDL, learned to customise your character a little and come to grips with the skill system - the game really begins to take you in.
An hour or more into the game we are introduced to other Norse gods including Odin, Thor and if anyone remembers 'Loki' of Mask fame then you'll be interested to find he is also important to the Too Human story albeit thankfully without Jim Carey.
Combat changes depending on the character class you choose at the beginning. I decided to go for a more Melee combat style - however I probably will try a gun based character class at some point.
Customisation is important in this game, and it's certainly a case that you will get as much out of it, as you put in. It can be quite daunting, but once you get to grips it's ok and certainly no more or less fiddly that the majority of RPG's upgrade / customisation systems.
Camera system takes some getting used to also and it does feel unnatural at first - however again once you have invested an hour or more into the game it becomes a lot easier to use, however it still doesn't ever feel 'natural' but perfunctory.
Graphically I'm playing at 1080p and the game looks very good indeed. Cut scenes are impressive and landscapes and vista's for the most part are well done.
A lot of reviews have stated that the game feels like your going from one room to another battling enemies until you finally get to an enemy/boss battle and panned the game in this regard. Well yes to an extent this is true - however it is the same for a lot of other games and Too Human in many ways plays in a similar fashion to FOLKLORE on the PS3 in this level structure. And like that game its not the level structure that keeps the game together or your interest - it's the 'story' that keeps it all together and in that regard like FOLKLORE, Too Human succeeds.
It's probably the fact that I enjoyed FOLKLORE despite it's flaws, that Too Human has left me very pleasantly surprised.
I think a lot of 'fair' criticism has been made about the game - however the majority of hate it seems to have garnered is unfair.
There is depth here if one invests the time to discover it.
Silicon Knights certainly do not have a 'classic' on their hands - but they do have a very good game that is far more deserving of gamers 'time' than what it seems to have garnered so far, and I suspect that the majority of bile that has been spewed onto forum pages about how bad the game is - comes from people who are judging either by others reviews (chinese whisper style - where the story becomes worse with each retelling) or by those who have never played the game let alone the demo.
Still unconvinced Too Human is worth your time (let alone money) then ignore the demo and maybe hire the game out for a day or two and spend an couple of hours with it - like me you may be pleasantly surprised.
For anyone in the UK/Euro I managed to pick my Asian version up for £25 delivered from play-asia.com
Like many I have read many of the reviews, and played the very mundane demo from xbox live marketplace and I had little hope of this game.
In fact had the fact that I had not pre-ordered the game and bought it for half price I probably would not have bought it, but would I have missed out ????
Very much in the same vein as LAIR - a game critically beaten in reviews and on forums (despite many of the hate garnered towards it being uncalled for and from people who had'nt even experienced it) Too Human seems to be garnering the same reaction.
So it was with trepidation that I loaded my disc into my 360 and pressed the A button to start the game.
From the menu screen I chose my character class * a beserker * and proceeded to play the game.
First impressions count and whilst the first part of the game is essentially the same as the 360 live marketplace demo it is fleshed out a lot and makes far more sense.
We are at intervals treated to flashbacks, and as the story slowly unfolds we are introduced to more and more Norse mythology.
By the time you have finished the first mission, combatted GRENDL, learned to customise your character a little and come to grips with the skill system - the game really begins to take you in.
An hour or more into the game we are introduced to other Norse gods including Odin, Thor and if anyone remembers 'Loki' of Mask fame then you'll be interested to find he is also important to the Too Human story albeit thankfully without Jim Carey.
Combat changes depending on the character class you choose at the beginning. I decided to go for a more Melee combat style - however I probably will try a gun based character class at some point.
Customisation is important in this game, and it's certainly a case that you will get as much out of it, as you put in. It can be quite daunting, but once you get to grips it's ok and certainly no more or less fiddly that the majority of RPG's upgrade / customisation systems.
Camera system takes some getting used to also and it does feel unnatural at first - however again once you have invested an hour or more into the game it becomes a lot easier to use, however it still doesn't ever feel 'natural' but perfunctory.
Graphically I'm playing at 1080p and the game looks very good indeed. Cut scenes are impressive and landscapes and vista's for the most part are well done.
A lot of reviews have stated that the game feels like your going from one room to another battling enemies until you finally get to an enemy/boss battle and panned the game in this regard. Well yes to an extent this is true - however it is the same for a lot of other games and Too Human in many ways plays in a similar fashion to FOLKLORE on the PS3 in this level structure. And like that game its not the level structure that keeps the game together or your interest - it's the 'story' that keeps it all together and in that regard like FOLKLORE, Too Human succeeds.
It's probably the fact that I enjoyed FOLKLORE despite it's flaws, that Too Human has left me very pleasantly surprised.
I think a lot of 'fair' criticism has been made about the game - however the majority of hate it seems to have garnered is unfair.
There is depth here if one invests the time to discover it.
Silicon Knights certainly do not have a 'classic' on their hands - but they do have a very good game that is far more deserving of gamers 'time' than what it seems to have garnered so far, and I suspect that the majority of bile that has been spewed onto forum pages about how bad the game is - comes from people who are judging either by others reviews (chinese whisper style - where the story becomes worse with each retelling) or by those who have never played the game let alone the demo.
Still unconvinced Too Human is worth your time (let alone money) then ignore the demo and maybe hire the game out for a day or two and spend an couple of hours with it - like me you may be pleasantly surprised.
For anyone in the UK/Euro I managed to pick my Asian version up for £25 delivered from play-asia.com
