Too Human

[Kittonwy]

Some selective quoting there. If this really is supposed to be a Diablo clone, the replays is why you will play. Finishing D2 the first time was basically a trial run for Nightmare and Hell difficulties, when you'll actually hit the top of your skill trees.



If that's the case, I imagine it will take 3 plays to fill out your skill trees, which is what this kind of game is really about. It's similar for all games I've played in this genre - Diablo, Titan Quest, Sacred, etc.

Whether it will be worth it is another thing, but I don't think you should measure this kind of game on the length of your first run-through only.

The first playthrough is what everybody who picks the game will do, not everyone will go through the game a second time, the first time through has to be quality, regardless of all the phat loot the game offers.

 

[Malibu]

IGN: Too Human Progress Report

If the loot dropping and upgrading stuff sounds good to you -- and you like dungeon crawling -- then Too Human is right up your alley. If, however, your particularl alley is more focused on a deep storyline, divergent paths or the new trend of "choice," then you should lower your expectations a little. This is a dungeon crawler first and in that area, I can assure you, Too Human is going to be a success.

There are still some concerns for Too Human. While there's still some time to squash bugs and optimize, there are moments when the framerate is a real issue. And unfortunately that is often when Too Human is at its most thrilling. The more the screen fills with enemies, the better the simplistic dual-analogue combat becomes. But when the framerate starts to dip, the excitement for chaotic action begins to bleed out. Hopefully this is something Silicon Knights can tighten up in the final month.

Too Human has been a long time coming and while it may not live up to the epic expectations it is going to be a good game. And who can argue against having another good game in the 360 library?

 

[RobertR1]

The first playthrough is what everybody who picks the game will do, not everyone will go through the game a second time, the first time through has to be quality, regardless of all the phat loot the game offers.

Depends on the incentives are laid out. Take titles like MGS4, Mass Effect and games with co-op (Gears/Rainbow Six/Halo3)and you easily got yourself atleast 2 play throughs because the games are laid on a way where you'll be fascinated to do multiple playthrough. The only catch being, the first time through needs to be a bit of fun.

 

[DrJay24]

Another rather lengthy preview.

http://kotaku.com/5020828/too-human-hands+on-six-hours-in-and-half+way-home

But as I hacked my way through the Xbox 360 game's first six hours of the single player campaign — putting me at about half-way through, according to the game's own Stats ticker — I began to mostly puzzled by what it was the team was doing with its time.

 

[Kittonwy]

Depends on the incentives are laid out. Take titles like MGS4, Mass Effect and games with co-op (Gears/Rainbow Six/Halo3)and you easily got yourself atleast 2 play throughs because the games are laid on a way where you'll be fascinated to do multiple playthrough. The only catch being, the first time through needs to be a bit of fun.

But the actual campaign in MGS4 is compelling, it's like HALO 3, the actual campaign even the first time through is compelling, same with Uncharted.

 

[PARANOiA]

The first playthrough is what everybody who picks the game will do, not everyone will go through the game a second time, the first time through has to be quality, regardless of all the phat loot the game offers.

I agree - however the quote in question basically highlighted that a single play through won't net you everything the game has to offer. Without the appropriate context, I could call similar games such as Diablo (one of the all time greats) a failure - which is inaccurate at best.

 

[zed]

classic, this is the duke nuke-em of the console world

It's puzzling to think that Silicon Knights has been plugging away at Too Human for well over a decade now.

from wikipedia

It is the first installment in a planned series of three games.

so what?, u get to finish the series sometime around 2030

 

[ErnstH]

classic, this is the duke nuke-em of the console world

Well, at least Too Human has a release date.

Also, I hope that reviewers don't take the development time into account when scoring it (since it keeps on getting mentioned in previews). Yes, it has been (far too) long in development, but that shouldn't have to impact the reviewers opinion of the game. I don't care if a game takes one day or a century to create, the final product is what matters to me as an end user. The long development time (and hence probably high production costs) should be something for the publisher to worry about though.

 

[eastmen]

12 hours is about 2 hours more than it took to beat heavenly sword. Its also about an hour less than it took me to beat Gears of war and about 3 hours more than it took to beat cod4 .

I don't see the big deal , this is a multiplayer game . If i play through it 20 times with my friends to get the cool loot it suddenly becomes a much longer game

 

[zarbaj]

personally i am not worried about it being short, i am worried about it BEING PLAIN BAD.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Regards multiple playthroughs, games like this with multiple classes are designed to played through for several classes if not all of them. A ten hour game with 5 different classes equates to 50 hours of gameplay, ignoring multiple playthroughs to level you characters completely. Anyone who just plays them once with one char is missing a large portion of the designers' efforts!

 

[PARANOiA]

personally i am not worried about it being short, i am worried about it BEING PLAIN BAD.

Bingo.

It's a shame so many people are out there to hate this game and will promote all bad news about it with enthusiasm. If the game is as good as any of the three games in the same genre I loved (Diablo, Sacred, TQ) then I'll pick it up for sure... but hey, feedback has been mixed, so we shall see.

 

[fearsomepirate]

Take titles like MGS4, Mass Effect and games with co-op (Gears/Rainbow Six/Halo3)and you easily got yourself atleast 2 play throughs

I played Twin Snakes once through and didn't go through it again due to not enjoying it at all. If your first runthrough isn't a quality experience, you won't be coming back for more. There are plenty of failed roguelikes and Diablo clones out there.

 

[Scott_Arm]

If the gameplay is good, then I don't really mind if it's short. I might play through with a few of the classes, or play through solo a few times and co-op a time or two.

When you restart the game, do you keep the same character and keep leveling, or do you start over with an entirely new character?

 

[Tchock]

The hypocrisy between current blogs' treatment towards TH and D3 is fascinating.

Reminds me why my gut's there for decisions.

 

[DrJay24]

Keep in mind much of the negativity is due to scaling back from four to two player co-op and co-op is not done in the story mode. It might be fun, but it's still disappointing.

So you can play the 10 hour story by yourself or some random stuff with a friend.

 

[obonicus]

Keep in mind much of the negativity is due to scaling back from four to two player co-op and co-op is not done in the story mode. It might be fun, but it's still disappointing.

So you can play the 10 hour story by yourself or some random stuff with a friend.

Also the game doesn't look very good, so what people are left with is the loot system, combat system and maybe the story. No one's said anything bad about the loot so far, but the combat's been getting mixed reviews. The story also apparently isn't bad, but according to Kohler is over before it really starts.

 

[Malibu]

Tycho from Penny Arcade shares his impressions on Too Human.

http://penny-arcade.com/

I don't think the game expresses its own virtues quite well enough. These slides from enemy to enemy work well as a gameplay mechanic, but they're not made to seem epic by virtue of their audio or visual effects - if anything, they're undersold. The Too Human equivalent of Cyberspace - a place of pure magic, what Thor calls "women's work" - has a few mild puzzles you can manipulate to effect the real world. But these are almost always simple affairs, with one or two obvious inputs, when they're presenting a really huge idea here that should take the fore more often. Also, contrary to other previews I have read, I think the game is a little too long - some levels are just long to be long, likely to counter complaints that the game is too short, which hasn't worked anyway. My playtime was around the fourteen hour mark, similar to Mass Effect, because just like Mass Effect I spent a lot of time twiddling my character and making the most of my equipment. Inserting runes to increase my effectiveness, completing slottable quests called Charms that confer powerful effects, or crafting items from rare blueprints to build sharp looking sets are things which I find fun. The replayability here should be in the escalating difficulty, the co-op multiplayer, and the inherently addictive quest for more powerful, cooler-looking shit.

I dont know exactly how far along this build is, I would assume very, very far. I imagine it will be quite similar to what will see store shelves. They've made a kind of cyberpunk Diablo, with a fast combat system and a deep world. It's not perfect. But it's much, much better than I expected.

 

[AlNom]

Well if 14 hours was his ME experience... I think I'll be just fine with Too Human.

 

[Crayon]

Regards multiple playthroughs, games like this with multiple classes are designed to played through for several classes if not all of them. A ten hour game with 5 different classes equates to 50 hours of gameplay, ignoring multiple playthroughs to level you characters completely. Anyone who just plays them once with one char is missing a large portion of the designers' efforts!

On-point as usual.

In addition:
All games have a replayability factor even if it never crosses the mind of the designer. We replay all games. No game is a single-use. The question is: how much of this game do you want to play?

The issue of "campaign length" is important when you consider that it is only the conclusion of a story that motivates us to keep playing a game we have otherwise had enough of. Let's be honest... only the greatest Final Fantasy fans among us are wishing for more after 70 hours of buffing moogle.

This aspect of game design became alot more clear to me after being introduced to the "Roguelike" via Shiren DS. I have somehow missed out on this paleo-rpg gametype in my entire 20 years of button pushing. After contemplating the significance of the Roguelike in game evolution, I can seriously propose to you this:

Losing your three lives to the first goomba in Super Mario Brothers is no different than completing Too Human's campaign in 10 hours. This, along with the fact that you can "finish" either game and be far from finished with it becasue it's a good game and it's fun to play!

I think those who are really concerned about this 10 hour thing could reconsider their understanding of where a game begins and ends and benefit their entire enjoyment of gaming.