The Foundations of Too Human

Published May 13, 2008

The action/role-playing game Too Human™ is near at hand at last with the much welcomed August 19 release date announcement. With the end of the game's development cycle now firmly in sight, it's time to take a look at just what we can expect from Silicon Knights' first foray on Xbox 360®.

What sort of Baldur will you be?

Norse Goes Sci-Fi

With games like Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain and Eternal Darkness under their belts, Silicon Knights has cemented its well-deserved reputation as master storytellers. Capable of crafting gripping epics filled with delicate and subtle layers that pose as many questions as they answer, this developer's stories are among the most poignant and philosophical you'll find in any game.

Its origins stretch back almost a decade, but at last what began as a vision from Denis Dyack and company is becoming a reality.

With Too Human they have tackled Norse mythology, though with a science-fiction twist as the Norse gods themselves wield machine pistols, powered body armor, laser rifles, and much else besides while living and fighting in vast, futuristic landscapes.

You play as the god Baldur acting in defense of mankind against the world's mechanical terrors (the equivalent of Norse myth's giants). While the other gods see fit to take advantage of every technological advantage, Baldur is viewed as "too human," by his contemporaries such as Thor, unwilling to marry himself too deeply to the cybernetic wonders that would ostensibly increase his power.

Your Own Baldur

While Baldur's reticence to give himself over to technology is clear, so too is your own ability to pick and choose how Baldur will increase in power as you settle on which gear to use, class to play, and your special skills.

Bring it on.

While finding and looting gear has long been a staple of the RPG genre, Too Human catapults this form of character customization to the fore as it offers hundreds of items to find both through victory and exploration, including very rare, epic items.

Like so many role-playing games, your choice of class informs how you approach and play the game. For example, if the frenzied, all-out offensive attack is appealing, the dual-wielding Berserker class has you covered. Similarly, the shield-bearing Defender offers a slower, more stalwart style to combat while the Commando takes to the skies for aerial juggling assaults. The Bioengineer prefers ranged, gun-based attacks while also healing from afar, and the Champion makes use of his kinetic powers for a well-rounded approach to conflict.

The character classes help to form much of your character's identity, but they are not static in nature. Each class boasts their own unique skill trees, allowing you to further refine your character's play style by investing in specific abilities on your way to unlocking specialized powers.

Cooperative Balance

Like so many recent blockbusters, Too Human has been built from the ground up with cooperative play via Xbox LIVE® firmly in mind, and it's here—even more so than in the single-player mode—that the defined class roles and your custom gear and skill specializations fuse to create their own brand of unique gameplay and tactics.

For example, a Defender/Berserker combo might tackle a group of enemies at close quarters, with the Defender establishing the conflict and absorbing the brunt of the enemy's attacks, while the Berserker unleashes his swift and deadly combos from a flanking position. On the other hand, a Commando/Bioengineer team would engage the same encounter with an entirely different strategy, perhaps using the Commando's juggling prowess to fling enemies in the air, allowing the Bioengineer to use his ranged weaponry to great effect.

A Bioengineer at work.

Cameras and Combat

Too Human aims to offer a remarkably accessible control scheme while still maintaining a great deal of depth in every combat encounter. In short, the control sticks handle movement and the vast bulk of your melee attacks all with simple direction presses rather than complex button combinations. The Left and Right Triggers fire your ranged weapons. Used in concert while surrounded by a swarm of enemies, this lightning-fast control scheme produces equally quick, cinematic action.

All of the frantic action authored by the player is enhanced by the game's much-discussed camera system, which shifts and zooms of its own accord to capture the action from the most cinematic and dramatic angles possible. The camera works much the same outside of combat as well, switching angles and distance in order to showcase the environment's epic scope and intricate detail, as well as highlight elements critical to your progression in a level, essentially helping you along.

Too Human by Silicon Knights has been a long time coming. Its origins stretch back almost a decade, but at last what began as a vision from Denis Dyack and company is becoming a reality. Stay tuned for more coverage of this title, as we near launch.

Article by Ryan Treit