Norse to be here, to be here...

It's right to be wary of Too Human. We've waited nigh-on nine years for this Diablo-esque action epic - it was originally destined for the first PlayStation - and recent demos have narrowed our eyes with suspicion.

But we can relax those eye muscles now. What's emerged here is an intoxicating flurry of swords, guns, goblin armies and really angry cybernetic Norse gods.

I am legend

You're Baldur, a cybernetically spruced-up god bloke, tasked with looking after a human race besieged by murderous machines. The world and events are based on a futurised version of Norse mythology. It's a vivid and bewitching setting, supported by a mighty orchestral score and some astonishing environments. We could do without waiting 30 seconds for a Valkyrie to lift us up to Valhalla every time we die, but still.

Combat is interesting. As you lead your little squad of humans through their worst nightmares, you simply push the right analogue stick where you want to attack and Baldur lunges and slashes automatically. Alternatively, hold the right trigger to make Baldur aim and shoot. Kill enough of the spider-archers, dark elf snipers and exploding goblins and your throbbing combo meter lets you unleash a devastating godly smart bomb. Imagine a kind of melee-ised Geometry Wars in 3D. With Vikings.

Views to a kill

Inevitably, Baldur's semi-automatic actions lead to targeting niggles. With the analogue sticks busy, the poor camera has to work things out for itself, often with 'hilarious' results. But it's still furious, frenzied stuff that melds the violence of Devil May Cry with the intensity of Dynasty Warriors.

At its best, Too Human is almost balletic as Baldur darts back and forth between unlucky enemies, rolling and slashing and juggling. And it works a treat in two-player co-op across Xbox LIVE.

There's depth, too. Too Human is a hoarder's paradise of dropped loot, encouraging you to pause and upgrade with an RPG-like inventory of new weapons, armour and arsenal-altering Runes at every turn. The five character classes all add a different spin to gameplay. The Defender barges through crowds with barely a scratch. The Champion juggles enemies like so many oranges, and so on. Later you can even choose between a cybernetic or human evolutionary path.

Playing dumb

It's no Mass Effect, sure. But the depth is exactly the balance the intelligence-free fighting needs. Too Human isn't a button-masher - but sometimes it isn't far off, especially as your enemies come with distressingly low IQs. The underused and over-simplistic Cyberspace areas - where 'puzzles' involve no more than walking in, pressing a button and trotting out again - only reinforce that Too Human often has a gaping hole where its brain should be.

But you'll forgive it for the intensity of the combat and the set-pieces - such as your first boss fight against livid Anglo-Saxon myth-monster GRENDL-1. And you can charge through the game without hitting any walls of frustration. Clever customisation gives you the edge in battle and death just plonks you back where you died to mop up anyone who's left.

Too Human may not be the spectacular Norse legend we'd expect from nine years in the making, but it is thumpingly good fun all the same.

GAME's Verdict

• Meaty combat with a satisfying and unusual control method.
• Quality co-op - you'll be juggling enemies between you like sadistic street performers.
• Your chance to learn all about Norse legend. Albeit a cybernetic version that's probably frowned upon by scholars.

• It's short: expect to see the credits roll after around 14 hours play. But it rewards repeat plays.
• Like puzzles? You won't like Cyberspace much. Although it is mighty pretty.
• The RPG-a-like depth and customisation is there but it's fairly light.

Review by: Mark Scott
Version Tested: Xbox 360
Review Published: 09.09.2008

Baldur's Gait.

It's been a while since we've seen an original IP from Silicon Knights, but the creators of the Legacy of Kain series, Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes and Eternal Darkness have a pedigree that makes their games worth waiting for.

Such a reputation however brings with it great pressure. Perhaps that's why it's taken Too Human, the company's first Xbox 360 exclusive, and one of the first big next-gen announcements of 2005, so long to materialise. It probably also didn't help that they had to start over half way through, building large parts of the game from scratch after a fall-out with Epic Games over use of the Unreal Engine 3.

Shiny and spectacular

We've had some wait then, but with the September release date seemingly set in stone and Silicon Knight's self-built game engine looking shiny and spectacular, it's finally time to take a closer look at what Too Human will offer.

What Xbox 360 gamers can certainly expect from Too Human, like a lot of Silicon Knight's previous offerings, is a dramatic story-driven experience. Indeed, Too Human mixes Norse mythology with futuristic technology and a Lost Planet style gameworld, presenting powerful Gods with cybernetic enhancements, helping humanity wage war against a race of machines in a wintry planet full of gothic architecture and mystical forces.

In Too Human you play as one of these Gods, the second son of ODIN, Baldur – who, due to his low level of cybernetic enhancements, has been dubbed by his fellow Gods to be ‘too human' (see what they did there? Nice.) Funnily enough that's an integral part of Too Human's gameplay, with players able to choose from a variety of character classes, customising and enhancing Baldur with a variety of skills and cybernetic mods, which in turn lead to differing combat options.

Treading curiously

That combat is the driving force behind Too Human, with gameplay very much in the vein of a scrolling beat em up. Because of this, Too Human looks to tread a curious line between third-person hack-slash-and-shoot action a la Devil May Cry, and the kind of compulsive character-building and item-hording you'd expect to find in many an RPG. It's easy to see why Too Human is already being compared to dungeon-crawling role-players Diablo and Phantasy Star Online.

And yet Too Human is intent on being its own game, with Silicon Knights making some unique design decisions. Not least is the fact that melee combat is on the right analogue stick, shooting on the triggers, with jumps, rolls and special attacks on the fascia buttons. It gives Too Human a different feel to something like Devil May Cry, and though the lack of camera in the recent Xbox Live demo does feel initially jarring, you do get used to auto-centring it with a button press. The alternative is moving to the second pulled-back panning camera view, though that doesn't do anything to help immersion.

Despite an impressive five character classes, each with their own sizable skill tree to develop as the adventure progresses, Too Human's success will depend largely on how Xbox 360 gamers take to the relatively repetitive analogue stick fighting, and how much in turn the promise of online co-op adds to the overall experience. The original plan was to have PSO-style four-player questing, but in the end that was lowered to two for the balance of the game. It's a disappointment no doubt, but whether that decision proves damning only playing the final game will tell.

Cautiously optimistic

We hope not, because the cyber Norse premise should be original enough to attract attention, and Silicon Knight's pedigree would suggest that Baldur's journey in Too Human will be an evocative and well-told one. We're not entirely convinced on the showing of the demo, but remain cautiously optimistic.

Preview by: Mark 'Cybernetic' Scott
Preview Published: 18.07.08