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Too Human is a 3rd person action-RPG developed by Silicon Knights featuring a combination of intense combat, in-depth character customization, and a rich, compelling storyline. The mythology of the game (planned to be a trilogy) is based on a modified Norse mythology. The player controls the character Baldur, son of Odin. Baldur is one of the Norse gods – a cybernetically advanced human tasked with protecting the human race. Baldur is considered by the other gods to be less advanced than the rest, thus “too human”.

A free demo of Too Human was put up on Xbox Live a few weeks ago, and I’ve spent some time playing both of the available classes (there are five character classes in the full game). The combat in the game is similar to that of the Devil May Cry and God of War series. The player employs a combo system to defeat waves of monsters while advancing through the level. The combat system is touted as being complex and requiring more effort than simple button-mashers, but I found that a single blow was enough to defeat most enemies. Pointing the right analog stick towards an enemy causes the player to slide across the ground to attack them, usually killing them in one hit. There exists a mechanic in which the player is able to toss an enemy into the air and then fire ranged weapons at them, but I was never able to experience this because my opponents died too fast. Every fight degenerated into me just pushing the right analog stick towards the nearest enemy until they were all dead. Hopefully later levels in the game will feature more complex fights where the combat system can be better incorporated.

The combat system is further enhanced by a steady stream of weapons and armor that drop from monsters. Players can customize their equipment to enhance damage dealt, but again, the system did not quite live up to expectations. The duration of the demo is only a single level, and of the pile of equipment I amassed by the end, I was only able to use one or two items. As players level up, they gain skill points that can be invested in a tree of skills (reminiscent of World of Warcraft talents), further developing and customizing their character. However, the duration of the demo only allows the accumulation of a few skill points that do not show a significant difference in gameplay. Hopefully the full game will better explore both the equipment and skill mechanics.

The primary redeeming quality of the Too Human demo was the storyline. Conversations between characters hint at a massive mythology that will be (hopefully) explored in-depth throughout the trilogy.

Too Human also incorporates a multi-player aspect over Xbox Live, but this was not present in the demo.

The Too Human demo is fun to play, but I have a feeling the full effect of the game is not really available in the short demo on Xbox Live. The demo has left me somewhat apprehensive, but hopefully the full game will flesh out the gameplay mechanics and deliver the promised complexity. Too Human hits store shelves on August 19.

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