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To get the loot you so desire you need to get to grips with Too Human's at first jarring but ultimately satisfying combat. Dyack says it's the most complex combat system ever seen in a game of this genre. By genre we assume he means dungeon crawler, because it's nursery school stuff compared with other combo centric third-person action games on the 360, like Devil May Cry 4 and Ninja Gaiden II.
Melee attacks are directed with the right thumb stick, which sounds simple in theory but takes half an hour or so to get used to. By pointing the stick in the direction of an enemy Baldur will slide toward it and attack with his currently equipped melee weapon (swords, staves or hammers). You can either keep the stick pushed toward the enemy and continue hitting, or direct it towards another nearby enemy, causing Baldur to slide toward that and start attacking.
The idea is to aim towards a new enemy just as Baldur strikes a killing blow, causing him to seamlessly slide from goblin to goblin and rack up combo bonuses. Against more powerful enemies it's a good idea to double tap the stick, causing Baldur to hit his enemy high into the air. From there, rekindling memories of DMC's Dante, you can jump (A) and use the stick to combo in the air. Then, as you fall back down to earth you can whip out your ranged weapon (pistols, rifles or cannons) with the right trigger and finish them off before they even touch the ground.
At its best Too Human's combat feels incredibly smooth, satisfying and oddly therapeutic, especially when there are tons of cannon fodder goblins just waiting to be sliced up. Sliding from one enemy to the other at speed looks great and, once you've wrapped your head around it, feels more like Bizarre Creation's incredible analogue-based 2D shooter Geometry Wars than, say, God of War. It's just a shame that it's let down by bouts of frustration, boredom and technical failings.
Let's go through each of those criticisms one by one. The frustration comes from constant death and the 'tear your hair out' camera - because the right stick is reserved for attacks the only control you have over the camera is centring it directly behind Baldur with RB. You will die in Too Human. A lot. In the game's last two levels we died more times than we could count. What's worse - when you die an angelic Valkyrie appears from Valhalla to resurrect you. This cinematic takes about 15 seconds to complete, but, when you've died for the 10th time in five minutes, it feels like it takes a year.
The boredom comes from the repetitive nature of the combat. While there are only four levels each is huge and can take hours to wade through, especially if you fancy exploring. And because there are only three base enemies to fight things can feel very samey (you can climb on the back of trolls and one hit kill them). The environments certainly have their moments (the World Serpent level, set inside a massive, mechanised sea creature frozen in the ice is of particular note), but the bosses are incredibly anti-climactic and the Cyberspace sections - pointless puzzle sections set in Too Human's version of the internet - are sleep inducing.
And finally, the technical problems. Silicon Knights originally planned for Too Human to support four-player online co-op play but dropped it down to two. You'd think that would be to ensure a quality experience but the game still feels unfinished. The frame rate can drop to absolutely shocking levels, especially when explosions fill the screen. Baldur's animations are poor - his jump particularly bad. It's even worse in co-op. We know this is a dungeon crawler and so a linear experience is implied, but we haven't seen this many invisible walls for years. It's puzzling. We quite like Too Human's art style - the game's main hub, from which you select missions and visit weapon, armour and cybernetics shops is beautifully designed, as are very specific sections of the game's levels - but on the whole there's little to grab you, smack you in the face and demand your admiration.
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» Go to 's original post
I'm glad you found that 'addictive' loot quality that's making me want to get my hands on this game, for me that alone adds a couple of points to the score. Also, you mention on page 1 about Baldur getting rescued from Helheim, for those that know Norse Myth this is a completely unexpected departure from the original lore and an incredibly exciting turn of events which makes us wonder what brilliance they're going to come up with next in the plot. I guess that's only a biggie for Norse Myth scholars though.
Overall, for me the highlights far outweigh the lowlights, things like 2-player co-op (not worried) and 15 second unskippable death animations (teaches me not to get killed in the first place) are far surpassed by the loot incentive, so it's a must buy from my perspective.
I would have loved to hear more about the changing setups of enemy formations when you replay a previous level, polarities, procs, timed arenas, more about the Aesir Hub facilities and a host of other things that followers of the game have known about for a while, but I guess really I'm asking for more of a walkthrough than a review in that regard.
It's great to hear about the different sound effects you get when you finally get a phat piece of loot, first time I've read about that anywhere, gratz on your redz :) Congratulations also on those 4 achievments you got the other day too, nice to see you still playing the game half a week after the review got finished.
Now I've got 10 days to kill before it gets released over here in Blighty. Hmm... Diablo II or Monster Hunter? *Goes off to hunt some loot*
» Go to 's original post
Thanks for the heads up re the classes - not sure how that got in there! Fixed.
I'll try and answer your and anyone elses questions here on Too Human - a review can only be so long so we can't go into massive detail that you'd find in a FAQ for example. Got any specific questions?
Thanks for the heads up re the classes - not sure how that got in there! Fixed.
I'll try and answer your and anyone elses questions here on Too Human - a review can only be so long so we can't go into massive detail that you'd find in a FAQ for example. Got any specific questions?
» Go to wyp100's original post
How carefully hidden are the secret areas? How challenging did you find the timed arenas? Did you meet any elite trolls? How do the enemy formations differ when you go to replay a previous zone 20 levels later? How does the Token system work? Did you get any nice weapon procs? How decent is the level 30 epic set? How long do you think it'll take to hit level 50? What facilities are in the Aesir hub? Did you get a singularity proc or any other special weapons-based moves? How drastically does the addition of a cannon affect the Commando's gameplay?
» Go to 's original post
» Go to 's original post
» Go to 's original post
» Go to 's original post
» Go to 's original post
How carefully hidden are the secret areas?
Very - I found it incredibly difficult to find the game's secret areas. They're well hidden. Some are obvious, especially in the first two levels, but it gets more difficult to hunt them down after that!
How challenging did you find the timed arenas?
It varied. From memory, one, where you have to clear a wave of enemies, then climb a lift, then repeat till you reach a loot fountain, took about 10 minutes. But there are much longer ones. The trick is to keep the health packs till you need them because if you die you're booted out of the timed arena and you've fluffed your chance for that particular run.
Did you meet any elite trolls?
Some are tougher than others but I haven't come across any elite ones. All the trolls, once you take down their main torso armour either with ballistics or melee, can be killed with one hit by pressing A from behind, using the thumb stick to keep your balance as it tries to shake you off then pulling down on the right stick.
How do the enemy formations differ when you go to replay a previous zone 20 levels later?
I didn't notice much difference at all. It's pretty much rush by goblins with rocket goblins and shield goblins at the back, which you need to deal with first. I might notice more though as I go on.
How does the Token system work?
Basically, each level is divided into sections, which grant tokens if you complete them (you can pick which section you want to try from the main hub). If you do a full run you'll collect all the tokens, which make the likelihood that you'll get a red drop from the final boss much higher than it would be otherwise. I know this because Denis Dyack told me himself :)
Did you get any nice weapon procs?
All I got were crits which I noticed because I had the weapon damage counter displayed (at the middle right of the screen, right on the d-pad I think).
How decent is the level 30 epic set?
I've only got two pieces so far so I can't say how decent the whole set is, but what I have is pretty cool. I have the helmet and the shoulders, and I look like an executioner.
How long do you think it'll take to hit level 50?
I'd say about 25 hours will do it, perhaps a tad more. It depends how you play.
What facilities are in the Aesir hub?
It looks nice but it's pretty pointless. There's a weapon store and an armour store - the rest of it is pretty useless. All I used it for were to repair damaged items (items don't break in Too Human). In the single player story mode you'll need to visit other areas to trigger cut scenes. There's also access to Cyberspace from there for when you have all of the Cyberspace powers and want to hunt down rare items. You'll access DLC weapons and armour from the hub.
Did you get a singularity proc or any other special weapons-based moves?
Not really - I was specced so that my Ruiner was weapon based, so it changed depending on what weapon I was using. A bit boring really.
How drastically does the addition of a cannon affect the Commando's gameplay?
A lot. The cannon does wicked damage and is great for taking out the pawns as waves rush you. It's also great for removing armour from trolls without having to get up close and personal.
Hope this helps! We're in Leipzig atm so I might not be able to answer any questions for a day, but I'll endeavour to do so if there are any more.
How carefully hidden are the secret areas?
Very - I found it incredibly difficult to find the game's secret areas. They're well hidden. Some are obvious, especially in the first two levels, but it gets more difficult to hunt them down after that!
How challenging did you find the timed arenas?
It varied. From memory, one, where you have to clear a wave of enemies, then climb a lift, then repeat till you reach a loot fountain, took about 10 minutes. But there are much longer ones. The trick is to keep the health packs till you need them because if you die you're booted out of the timed arena and you've fluffed your chance for that particular run.
Did you meet any elite trolls?
Some are tougher than others but I haven't come across any elite ones. All the trolls, once you take down their main torso armour either with ballistics or melee, can be killed with one hit by pressing A from behind, using the thumb stick to keep your balance as it tries to shake you off then pulling down on the right stick.
How do the enemy formations differ when you go to replay a previous zone 20 levels later?
I didn't notice much difference at all. It's pretty much rush by goblins with rocket goblins and shield goblins at the back, which you need to deal with first. I might notice more though as I go on.
How does the Token system work?
Basically, each level is divided into sections, which grant tokens if you complete them (you can pick which section you want to try from the main hub). If you do a full run you'll collect all the tokens, which make the likelihood that you'll get a red drop from the final boss much higher than it would be otherwise. I know this because Denis Dyack told me himself :)
Did you get any nice weapon procs?
All I got were crits which I noticed because I had the weapon damage counter displayed (at the middle right of the screen, right on the d-pad I think).
How decent is the level 30 epic set?
I've only got two pieces so far so I can't say how decent the whole set is, but what I have is pretty cool. I have the helmet and the shoulders, and I look like an executioner.
How long do you think it'll take to hit level 50?
I'd say about 25 hours will do it, perhaps a tad more. It depends how you play.
What facilities are in the Aesir hub?
It looks nice but it's pretty pointless. There's a weapon store and an armour store - the rest of it is pretty useless. All I used it for were to repair damaged items (items don't break in Too Human). In the single player story mode you'll need to visit other areas to trigger cut scenes. There's also access to Cyberspace from there for when you have all of the Cyberspace powers and want to hunt down rare items. You'll access DLC weapons and armour from the hub.
Did you get a singularity proc or any other special weapons-based moves?
Not really - I was specced so that my Ruiner was weapon based, so it changed depending on what weapon I was using. A bit boring really.
How drastically does the addition of a cannon affect the Commando's gameplay?
A lot. The cannon does wicked damage and is great for taking out the pawns as waves rush you. It's also great for removing armour from trolls without having to get up close and personal.
Hope this helps! We're in Leipzig atm so I might not be able to answer any questions for a day, but I'll endeavour to do so if there are any more.
» Go to wyp100's original post
Brilliant! Thanks for taking time out from all that beer guzzling and thigh slapping to answer every single one of them!
Seriously, much appreciated, try and get some R&R
» Go to 's original post
I've been playing for about 9 hours and am a level 22 but I have yet to pick up any items
Not 1
Everything I have I bought
Why can't I pick any up???
I've been playing for about 9 hours and am a level 22 but I have yet to pick up any items
Not 1
Everything I have I bought
Why can't I pick any up???
» Go to cancan's original post
» Go to 's original post
» Go to 's original post
» Go to 's original post
This game sucks i hated the first one and hope they never make the sequels, playing this game made me want to kill myself. I'd be glad to elaborate more on it shortcomings if ayone needs further details.
This game sucks i hated the first one and hope they never make the sequels, playing this game made me want to kill myself. I'd be glad to elaborate more on it shortcomings if ayone needs further details.
» Go to Ransom's original post
This game is fantastic and I'm looking forward to future DLC and the two followups, haven't had so much fun in ages. That's just with one character class, there are four others and each class can be further tweaked to specialise in certain weapon types and fighting styles.
Biggest complaint I see about the game is getting to grips with the controls and having to view multiple death cutscenes because of it. Once you get to grips with the controls you should only be seeing that cutscene once every 3 hours or so, and that's only if you get careless.
More info at Toohuman.wikia.com and Toohuman.net.
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