Twice the Baldurs, Twice the Fun

Published August 25, 2008

For many, the real "end game" of Too Human™ begins when the credits roll and you dive headlong back into the action in hot pursuit of the level cap (50), elite sets of armor, level three Charms, powerful Runes, and whatever else you may have missed your first time through.

Each class complements each other wonderfully.

It's here, in the "game after the game," when you and your buddy have already experienced the story, that two-player cooperative play via Xbox LIVE® shines the brightest.

While I love my Bio Engineer, it does me good to see my friend Erked Off unleash his Berserker Battle Cry, and so take swift advantage of the resulting uptick in my attack speed.

At this point, you don't have to concern yourself with missing any of the story, and you'll have reached a high enough level that you're no longer outgrowing your gear nearly as fast. Therefore, when your Berserker buddy snags that Bio Engineer-specific helm, you won't miss out on it and cry bitter tears when you hear later that he salvaged it for a pittance of Bounty.

Mixing Things Up
Beyond the obvious benefits of trading gear with one another, the cooperative experience differs in other, equally important ways. Its most material change is the vastly different types and formations of enemies you'll encounter.

For example, where in the single-player Campaign you may have found only a parcel of goblins in a particular area, you'll now face an army of polarity-infused dark elves backed by a platoon of hard-hitting trolls. And, these varied enemy clusters are mostly unique to each playthrough. Play the same area again in co-op and you may find quite another set of enemies.

You, aim at the chest piece! You, get behind it!

Even the makeup of the levels can change subtly. In a recent cooperative match with a friend of mine on Hall of Heroes, one of the bridges boasted a maze-like structure in the middle, complete with several waves of enemies and a few welcome loot-bearing obelisks.

Co-Op Gameplay
If you thought your class-specific skills shone forth in the single-player game, wait until you play through an entire level on Xbox LIVE with a friend. Silicon Knights has done a remarkable job of ensuring that each class complements the other, and in allowing one to prosper from another's class skills while playing your own.

While I love my Bio Engineer, it does me good to see my friend Erked Off unleash his Berserker Battle Cry and so take swift advantage of the resulting uptick in my attack speed. And I'm sure he finds immediate benefit in my own heal-over-time ability.

While the power-based side benefits are nice, so is the change in tactics you must make when playing co-op. Launching dark elves in the air for my Commando buddy to blast with his Cybernetic-implanted cannon is always fun, as is blasting open a troll's chest from afar while my partner sneaks up behind it for a quick kill, or executing perfectly timed dual Ruiners to devastate an entire room teeming with enemies.

Have each player take a side.

Co-Op Suggestions
After several hours of dedicated co-op play, I've uncovered a few basic tips that provide tactical combat help, and keep the experience smooth and fun for both players involved.

• Pick a side: There's little doubt that the co-op levels throw substantially more enemies at you, so try divvying up each room, assigning enemies on the left side to one player, and right side enemies to the other. Of course, you can change up your tactics as needed, but establishing areas of responsibility is a good starting point.
• Light and heavy: When dealing with smaller clusters of enemies, try assigning one player to handle the more heavily armored dark elves, while the other concentrates on clearing out the masses of goblins.
• Level equality: The enemies you face in cooperative play are usually a level or two higher than the highest level character in the party. It shouldn't make a great deal of difference if say, you're level 15 and your buddy is 10, but if you're rocking level 35 and they're still in their teens, they're going to have a tough time.
• Synchronized gear: No one likes to stand around for several minutes while the other player fiddles around with all their gear, so do yourself and your friend a favor by agreeing to customize your gear only after each major section in a level.
• Trade bait: No doubt you'll have become accustomed in the single-player game to salvaging all items you won't use, so be careful to check any newfound loot to see whether your friend can use it before converting it into Bounty.
• Ability rundown: Take the time to discuss your character's powers with your buddy. If they don't know your Spider can shield them from melee damage, they won't know to ask you to use it.
• Stick together: The levels in Too Human are vast, and with no mini-map to track your partner, it can be easy to lose track. Make sure to orient yourself after every battle and then move out together when you're both ready. Check with your buddy before entering a massive battle, lest you engage when they're distracted and get yourself killed.

Much like Gears of War®, cooperative play in Too Human adds enormously to the game's replay value. For many, co-op is simply the way the game was intended to be played. Don't miss out on this great game feature.

Article by Ryan Treit