Too Human observations, part Two

Too Human allocates about 90% of the Action/RPG game type to fast paced hack and slash with the remainder reluctantly to story and roleplay. Most "quests" are just killing X number of Y with Z ability. These quests are associated with a charm item; which is obtained from obelisks. The obelisks are generally found throughout the game by passing through a portal called a well. At most you may only have two charms quests active. In addition to the quest, you must find and insert the proper runes it requires. Once the quest is completed you will receive the ability that the charm grants.

Runes, armors, and weapons are obtained as loot from fallen enemies or purchased in the city. Inserting a rune into armor and weapons with an available slot can improve your skills and attributes. The best runes are dropped from Bosses and Elite enemies. You may receive armor and weapons as blueprints that need to be manufactured in the appropriate city store for large sums of money. Money is obtained as loot or from salvaging useless items.

The city Aesir looks a bit like Mass Effect's Citadel but the people that roam it are non-interactive. They'll make conversation with each other as you pass by but that's about all they do. In single-player, you'll end up just using the city to get from one cut scene to the next. Other than that Too Human and Mass Effect have nothing in common.

When I compare it to Diablo, I'm thinking more in terms of the massive amount of enemies you face and large number of dropped loot items to be sifted through. Also, it is to a large extent like Diablo, where you spend a good deal of time keeping away from the horde of baddies until you have whittled them down and are ready to push through. But unlike Diablo, the actual design of a level never changes upon subsequent playthroughs.

More than any other game that I can think of, Too Human is like Marvel Ultimate Alliance; another game that I really like. You purchase the skills when they become available and try to master how to make them the most effective as you progress. It borders on being a simple button masher like 99 Nights, but because the primary attack is handled by the right analog stick, buttons rarely get to be pushed.

Single-player introduces you to the game slowly, giving you a chance to get used to the controls but don't expect too much from the story. It's pretty thin and I found it confusing at times. However, I suspect there's a great deal of backstory, not in the game, that would have made it much more interesting.

Multi-player ramps things up a bit and throws a horde of gremlins and a troll at you right from the start. Each playthrough online will be slightly different but generally you'll know what to expect once you've played the levels a few times. Playing multi-player is significantly better than single. You'll be able to use teamwork to avoid repeatedly dying. It's possible to progress doing your own thing but not working together will often make it more difficult. Of course, if you know what your doing, you can pretty much solo multi-player.

I highly recommend checking out the demo before making a purchase, because the game isn't for everyone. People that hate the game, tend to REALLY hate it. But that goes both ways. I enjoy it enough to keep going back even after having played it for hundreds of hours.

This video does a pretty good job of demonstrating what to expect throughout most of the single-player game:

Too Human or not Too Human, that's the question

Eric Neigher, a freelance writer, over at Flying Cross Chop asked me to blog about why I like the video game Too Human. I think it's really just his way of getting me to stop commenting on his blog 8).

Sadly, Too Human gets a bad rap for not meeting expectations set by its developers. In fact it received the Highest Profile Disappointment of the year award from Official Xbox Magazine, because it "didn't deliver after being in the making for the better part of a decade". While some need to hold a grudge, I'm more interested in what it is and that it is, than what it could have been or how long it took to come out.

What are the gameplay and controls like? Well let's see, it's a bit like Marvel Ultimate Alliance meets Diablo, meets Geometry Wars; where you use the right stick to control the focus of your attacks. Right Trigger fires ranged weapons like assault rifles, pistols and cannons. Click the right stick to reload. Rotating the Left Stick handles movement. Left Trigger fires a secondary ranged weapon (dual pistol, grenade launcher or cannon burst). Right bumper releases a devastating area of effect attack that can turn a bad situation into a pile of health and loot items. Press A to jump. The Y button deploys your friendly neighborhood spider, which depending on your class/tree choice can engage enemies in turret fire, shield from attacks, heal you and your comrade or one of the other 15 possible abilities. Pressing X unleashes your battle cry (similar to a spider but instant rather than duration) that also has 15 different possibilities, depending on your class/tree. Click the right and left stick together releases your sentient weapon that can destroy a tide of enemies in seconds. Press right and left stick up together to perform a fierce attack that gives melee weapons an extended range attack against far away enemies or high damage combo attack if the enemy is up in your face.

I'd like to point out that all of those controls make for an incredibly robust amount of combat options. And you'll need them for the diverse horde of mechanical misfits toys you will have to face throughout the game. Some enemies are more susceptible to a certain type of attack, others are more resistant. For example, if you engage a dark colored (polarity) enemy with gunfire, it will glow, which indicates a nasty explosion will occur when it dies; leading many a player to certain death, followed by cursing. So, the smart player either makes sure to be nowhere near them when they pop or avoid ranged attacks and take them down with melee. That would be what's called a strategy. Too Human encourages you to use a bunch of situational tactics but doesn't overwhelm you with them.

Know your enemy, know your class, and know your controls are the keys to keeping those annoying Valkyrie away. Anyone that's a detractor of Too Human takes time to wine about them. Why not, they have nothing better to do while the armor clad, winged vixen gathers up their mangled corpse and carries it off to Valhalla for resurrection. I was annoyed with them too at first, but you know after I learned how to play the game, they didn't show up nearly so much. My advice is if they're paying you a visit more often than you'd like, make good use of that time by thinking about what you did wrong and try to improve. Otherwise you're just going to keep making the same mistakes and that's not the games fault. Honestly, if you're a knucklehead that runs head on into a flood of fiery red glowing gremlins, flailing your sword about like a loony, you deserve a time out.

From what I can tell, the people that tend to enjoy Too Human the most are the ones that see past all of the "faults" and are just content to play the game as it is. I love the game, even with its rubbish story, glitches, repetitive levels and enemy types. But like an MMO, the level grind is really just a means to the end game; where you relentlessly search for the perfect epic weapons, runes, charms and armor that will improve your level 50 capped character.

Too Human may not be a lot of things, but not addictive isn't one of them. It's a game well suited for the OCD challenged. In fact if there is ever a need for a warning label that indicates risk of game addiction, Too Human should get one. Once fully equipped to your liking, the game may become a leaderboard competition with your friends, a quest to beef up the gamerscore or just a relaxing way to spend some time applying all of your honed skills like a carwash of zen.

"Wax On, Wax Off", -Mr. Miyagi San

Lost friends...

This started as a photoshop contest, having a little fun with 1UP Editor Garnett Lee. Somehow I ended up turning it into this:

• Captain Shane Bettenhausen - Injected with a secret serum that prevents him from telling the truth about anything and causes him to be deluded into actually believing what he says. Current Status: Terminated/Unknown.
  
  
• Incredible Garnett Lee - Turns green when he consumes too much alcohol. The anger is normal. Current Status: The last active member of the 1UP Super Friends remaining; often seen roaming the halls of the 1UP Fortress repeatedly muttering the words, "Garnett Smash puny Yu Gee Oh !"
  
  
• Wonder Kathleen Sanders- With her powers of manipulation, she is able to force others to do her bidding. Current Status: Wonder Kathleen is no longer an active member of the 1UP Yours Super Friends. She was last seen with her trusty companion Minnie Mutt, December 21st, 2007. Rumors abound that she may have changed her secret identity and joined the Fyreball Super Buddies or maybe she teamed up with The Abominable Micronotsosoft (who knows?). Her 1UP adventures and exploits will be greatly missed.
  
  
• Super Jeff Green - Faster than Mahat Magandi, able to bend twizzlers around his little finger, and leap tall cubicles in multiple bounds. Current Status: Super Jeff isn't so super anymore. While being betrayed by former ally The Abominable Micronotsosoft; Jeff's powers were depleted when bathed in antisarcastic goo. He along with the League of C. G. W. had been shuffled like cards, shaken, tossed about until thoroughly befuddled and finally disbanded to the ends of the earth. Jeff now works as a mild mannered reporter for E A Publishers House (you too could win a million dollars).
  
  
• Crusader Andrew Fitch - Copy Boy by day, Caped Crusader by night. Current Status: Terminated/Unknown.
  
  
• Fragile Bryan Intihar - Outfitted with the fragile eagle money hat, he likes to play it safe. Current Status: Fragile Bryan had his Super Friends wings clipped. He now spends his sleepless nights working at the Insomniac Research Hospital as a janitor.
  
  
• Amazing Ryan Scott - Wears Spider-Man pajamas. Current Status: Terminated/Unknown