Too Human

Too Human - (Xbox 360)
Developer: Silicon Knights
Format: Xbox 360
Genre: Action RPG

Too human? More like too average

During a summer where the world seems fascinated with sports (Olympics, Euro 2008, Wimbledon), Too Human was Microsoft's big stab at an off-season 'hardcore' action RPG. Get the mix right and Bill's boys and girls would be able to clean up at the cash register with eager gamers crying out for a decent title to play during the summer drought. Serve up a dud and well, no-one noticed anyway - they were too busy watching Team GB collect more gold than a World of Warcraft pro player.

Frustratingly, Too Human is neither a stone cold classic nor a stone dead turkey - it rests rather annoyingly somewhere in-between. The game chronicles the story of cybernetic god, Baldur, and his quest to save humanity at the potential price of sacrificing his own humanity. By combining elements of both action and RPG genres - along with the ability to fully customise Baldur's weaponry, armour, and combat techniques, Too Human is pitching squarely for fans who like to blast their way through levels in order to upgrade their characters abilities. And there's nothing wrong with that - as long as it's done well.

One of several problems with Too Human is repetition. Take the death sequences for example -20 seconds if not more of auto animations each and every time you bite the bullet. As the game gets tougher during later levels it's enough to make you want to eat the game pad with frustration.

Then there's the control. Auto lock is quite literally hit and miss and using the right thumb stick rather than buttons to launch a melee attack is an oversight as it renders the control less responsive and more inaccurate than one would have hoped.

Visually, the game is bland - an unforgivable feature considering the years this title has been in the development cycle. It's not all bad though - there is still something strangely alluring about flicking between long range and melee attacks to wade through levels of generic looking bad guys. The co-op mode, where another player can jump in the fray and help you out is also easy to execute and enjoyable to play.