First Too Human Review Released, 1UP Gives it C-

[modeps]

Looks like the first pro-review is out on the long awaited game Too Human, and 1up is not too kind (http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3169393).

At the very least, the cyber-Norse concept of Too Human is a good one that's worth exploring further, just not in this context. The game is simply schizophrenic; it attempts to be all things to all people and never succeeds in executing any of them well. The end result is in dire need of polish and focus, and that doesn't solely apply to gameplay mechanics. There's absolutely no reason why a game released in 2008 should have a bug where characters can fall through solid ground and into some pseudoabyss.

[Flatpicker]

How long before another lawsuit between SK and Epic?

[GunnyMo]

Oh snap. Well the demo seems to have told the truth.

But, ironically, we never like and/or believe reviewers until they say what we want to hear. :D However, I think I will ride the Hypocrite Bus for this game and its reviews.

[drakkarim]

i enjoyed the demo, still looking forward to the game.

[Majster Wichajster]

Too bad for them.

[The Iron Weasel]

In fairness I got that bug in GTA4 a game they gave a 10. But I saw this coming, the demo just wasn't very good.

[Flatpicker]

The fact that they are calling out gameplay choices rather than engine issues, is what kills the game for me.
Based on the review:
It's one of those that they cooked it too long and the sum of the parts aren't well thought out.

[Purple Santa]

I didn't care for the demo either. When I was playing the demo, it just never grabbed me. The five classes...meh...the overall look/theme felt as i've been there and not really interested in it before...and I really never felt comfortable with the control. But I figured it was just my taste in games and this just wasn't for me. I am surprised at the C- grade. I know this is just a first review...others may disagree...i'm really curious to see how well this title sells...

[Wellscha]

so the supposed trilogy is canned now?

[LilAbner]

The review is spot on. The demo was "meh."

[MrPinchy]

"But the most disappointing thing, by far, is the loot factor. The game offers no shortage of weapons and armor -- which is good -- but the fact that you're always finding better equipment makes even crafted blueprint items seem ordinary. Nothing's worse than saving money and leveling up to craft a powerful weapon or sturdy armor only to go back into the inventory and see that you already have new blueprints for an even more powerful weapon or even stronger armor"

Isn't this true in most dungeon hacking games?

[Flatpicker]

so the supposed trilogy is canned now?
I think that depends on sales.

[Yeti2005]

so the supposed trilogy is canned now?

I doubt this game will sell a million copies. The story looked like it had a lot of potential. It's a shame we're probably not going to see the rest of it.

[OUX]

I doubt this game will sell a million copies. The story looked like it had a lot of potential. It's a shame we're probably not going to see the rest of it.

qq :( Advent Rising :( qq

[NationalKato]

I'll join those unimpressed by the demo. I just this weekend managed to download and play it. I was hoping for much more.

[MaiXu]

Is that it? Is that the review from 1up for a game like this? A six-'graph list of complaints?

What about the story? What about the bosses? The environments, the the other aspects of the game, the end-game if you follow skilltrees to the end?

I'm not saying the guy is wrong. His complaints about the controls seem legitimate. But the game is clearly better with multiplayer, and we hear nothing about it beyond a few lines. The game is an RPG from a developer who, if they do nothing else right, tells a good story, and yet we hear nothing about it. As someone with no 360 but nonetheless anticipating this game, I found this review really lacking, especially from a source like 1up, who has the resources to really justify a review like this.

[Talon-]

Yeah, I'm sort of surprised that the review didn't dwell on the story at all. Of course, Dennis has probably oversold this game to an extreme degree, but it was supposed to be a major component of the game.

We shall see how this fares...

[jpublic]

I'm not surprised the game has issues. I think it's a pretty sure bet the longer a game has been in development, the more problems it has.

However, I have to agree with Sm!le, the review is crap, being nothing more than a laundry-list of complaints the reviewer had.

[bapenguin]

Is that it? Is that the review from 1up for a game like this? A six-'graph list of complaints?

What about the story? What about the bosses? The environments, the the other aspects of the game, the end-game if you follow skilltrees to the end?

I'm not saying the guy is wrong. His complaints about the controls seem legitimate. But the game is clearly better with multiplayer, and we hear nothing about it beyond a few lines. The game is an RPG from a developer who, if they do nothing else right, tells a good story, and yet we hear nothing about it. As someone with no 360 but nonetheless anticipating this game, I found this review really lacking, especially from a source like 1up, who has the resources to really justify a review like this.

I agree, they missed quite a bit of the things I wanted to know about.

[H.Bogard]

All I have to say is...

Ouch!

Took them all these years to end up getting a C? I know how they feel (My academic results weren't too stellar).

[Heretic Machine]

Yeah, I'm sort of surprised that the review didn't dwell on the story at all. Of course, Dennis has probably oversold this game to an extreme degree, but it was supposed to be a major component of the game.

We shall see how this fares...

It's such a major component that it is pulled out of the game entirely when you play co-op.

[Goronmon]

the end-game if you follow skilltrees to the end?It also doesn't help that the skill tree is limited and doesn't offer much in the way of variety for combat or abilities. A few skills here and there are specifically tailored for a particular class, but these mostly function as buffs or bonuses for pre-existing passive abilities. The more interesting skills -- namely, those that determine whether your robotic spider helper is geared more defense- or offense -- act similarly regardless of class. There's something to be said for the fact that it's possible to respec the skill tree (allowing you to regain and redistribute points for a price) and explore other branches, but you never feel compelled to do so -- the other skills just aren't that alluring
What about the story?
Interestingly, multiplayer action fares a little better, as long as one player focuses on guns and the other on melee weapons. In fact, Too Human's cooperative mode as a whole is far more entertaining than the single-player experience -- not only does it involve a tiny bit more strategy when two players are going at it, but it also has the additional benefit of not having the horribly animated cut-scenes or rudimentary plot of the single-player experience.

This basically looks like the review that would be printed in the magazine. I doubt they are going to spend 3-4 pages talking about a game they didn't think was very good.

[karak]

qq :( Advent Rising :( qq

*hangs Head*
Advent Rising...

[agentgray]

This was a fear that I mentioned on Co-Optimus—the fact there seemed to be a review embargo before the release.

That almost never bodes well.

I found the demo to be "meh" as well. Not worth $60, but maybe $30-40.

[Texas Speed]

I think this is one of those games where you'll never get an honest unbiased review, good or bad. As long as it's been in development and with all the preconcieved notions (even those put out by SK), it's going to be swayed one way or the other. Much like people decried Fable, which was awesome, but seemed to suck for some because it was judged on what people thought it should have been, not what it was. I expect to see an intriging mix of really stellar and really negative reviews for Too Human.

[Lutheran]

Hmm I thought the demo was poor at best , I hated the controls. Very disappointing.

[Deunnero]

Not worth $60, but maybe $30-40.

Nore like $20 for me. I've put it in my "get later, at a large discount" list. It's unfortunate.

What really pissed me off, and ultimately made me cross this off on my "To buy" list was the fact that they took out 4 -player co-op. :mad:

[menage]

Well, saves me 60 bucks I guess. But I didn't like the demo either. Seems a shame though, there where nice ideas there. They just should have made it a normal control game.

[OUX]

not what it was.

An incredibly short, completely repetitive, broken combat system mess? If you liked it you did, that's fine. I like Coors Light more than Guinness, but I still acknowledge that Guinness is a superior beer.

[oldschooldimo]

i also hated the demo. the controls were annoying, gameplay was weak. overhyped and under delivered. least i can save my money for the force unleashed.

[ElfShotTheFood]

qq :( Advent Rising :( qq

Wow, I met the first person who actually wanted this story to continue.

[Heretic Machine]

I think this is one of those games where you'll never get an honest unbiased review, good or bad. As long as it's been in development and with all the preconcieved notions (even those put out by SK), it's going to be swayed one way or the other. Much like people decried Fable, which was awesome, but seemed to suck for some because it was judged on what people thought it should have been, not what it was. I expect to see an intriging mix of really stellar and really negative reviews for Too Human.

Lots of people like to blame hype for what happened to Fable... and I'm telling you right now, that I didn't believe a word out of Molyneux's mouth when he was promoting that game. I played Black & White, I knew to keep my expectations low. I still didn't find much of a game there. The problem with Fable is that it just wasn't very good, and it had more than a little tedium involved with it (particularly the aging). On top of that, there was plenty of content that was only half-finished, armor sets that were incomplete, and that didn't get fixed until the updated version, "Fable: The Lost Chapters."

Fable was a mediocre game, which happened to be hyped. I have a feeling that we're looking at the new Fable. It won't be so bad that you can't enjoy it, but it's going to be hard to sell it at full price against products which outstripe it in every way.

[Morratut]

i also hated the demo. the controls were annoying, gameplay was weak. overhyped and under delivered. least i can save my money for the force unleashed.

After looking at this review and also not being grabbed by the demo this is exactly what i'm going to do too.

Sorry Silicon Knights. Hey why don't you get rid of Dyack and hire Itagaki. He will be able to sort out your control method :D

[Adam Blue]

I enjoyed the demo. But I'll add this...do the reviewers even review games based on the core gamers? An A+ for GTA4 is a bit ridiculous anyway.

[Uniqueusername]

"Nothing's worse than saving money and leveling up to craft a powerful weapon or sturdy armor only to go back into the inventory and see that you already have new blueprints for an even more powerful weapon or even stronger armor"

Isn't this true in most dungeon hacking games?

It's always hard to balance giving the player regular upgrades with letting them value their equipment. That being said, some games have a clear problem here. Mass Effect, for example, tended to smother you in loot, so managing it was an annoyance.

I'm a little suprised Too Human has this kind of problem, since it's usually down to not enough testing... I would have thought they had plenty of time to get the balance right.

[Zacharai]

Well, all this back-and-forth means I'm definitely trying the demo before I consider buying. I had assumed it would be a good choice before the must-buys come out, but now I'm wondering...

[DeathtollWRX]

I was one that though the Demo was garbage. I mean the game looked like a xbox title and the gameplay was a mess, especially the camera. There seems to be alot of quality control issues that hamper the game.

I really hope people won't buy this game.. at least till they fix those glaring bugs and ... seriously the camera is NEVER EVER in the right spot. I had high hopes, very high hopes for this game, what a disappointment.

[Froggy]

Are we all pretending to like the story or what? I'm sorry, believers, but I can't get into cyber-norse. It's lazy.

[Grumsh]

The lack of multiplayer on a single console killed this one for me already. This just makes me happy that I don't have to second guess my decision.

[Gorvi]

The lack of multiplayer on a single console killed this one for me already. This just makes me happy that I don't have to second guess my decision.
Me as well. Playing these kinds of games with my wife is why I buy them in the first place.

[Heretic Machine]

Well, all this back-and-forth means I'm definitely trying the demo before I consider buying. I had assumed it would be a good choice before the must-buys come out, but now I'm wondering...

I can't stress this enough: If a demo for a game is available, always try it before you buy it! I don't care what anyone or everyone else is saying about it, there is no good reason not to demo when the option is available. The demo for this one is plenty long enough to get an idea of whether or not you're going to like it, too.

Really, you don't need to read a review for this game if you have Live Silver or Live Gold.

[Admiral Ackbar]

Yeah I agree as far as gameplay mechanics are concerned. However, I was hoping that the reviews touched on what wasn't in the demo: the length of the game, variation in environments, replayability via multiplayer, story, etc. That review could have been written largely by playing the demo (other than the boringness of the skill trees). I would rate that review at a C-.

[Schnoogs]

(Removes game from wish list)

[Zander]

As a fan of 1up, who the hell is "Giancarlo Varanini"? I've never heard of this guy. Apparently he's some ex-OPM guy that 1up brought back on I suppose.

Why didn't they have one of their top-tier reviewers in on this review of a game that obviously alot of people are watching, even if it's just to fail? Milky? Parish? Shawn? God, even Shane I guess.

I have little or no hope for Too Human, but a review from someone I have no trust in doesn't impress me at all.

[Flatpicker]

Yeah I agree as far as gameplay mechanics are concerned. However, I was hoping that the reviews touched on what wasn't in the demo: the length of the game, variation in environments, replayability via multiplayer, story, etc. That review could have been written largely by playing the demo (other than the boringness of the skill trees). I would rate that review at a C-.

If the gameplay mechanics are broken though, would you want to play it if it was longer?

[Schnoogs]

As a fan of 1up, who the hell is "Giancarlo Varanini"? I've never heard of this guy. Apparently he's some ex-OPM guy that 1up brought back on I suppose.

Why didn't they have one of their top-tier reviewers in on this review of a game that obviously alot of people are watching, even if it's just to fail? Milky? Parish? Shawn? God, even Shane I guess.

I have little or no hope for Too Human, but a review from someone I have no trust in doesn't impress me at all.

When it comes to the player falling through the floor I don't think I need to hear about that from an experienced reviewer. :p

[Zander]

When it comes to the player falling through the floor I don't think I need to hear about that from an experienced reviewer. :p

When the game has had as much press/hype/anti-hype as this one, I disagree with you.

[Schnoogs]

When the game has had as much press/hype/anti-hype as this one, I disagree with you.

So a more experienced reviewer might not take issue with the player falling through the floor? ;)

[Flatpicker]

When the game has had as much press/hype/anti-hype as this one, I disagree with you.
Would Shane telling you his character fell thru the floor have carried more weight?

I don't understand how the caliber of the reviewer would call into question issues regarding bugs?

[karak]

Well GTA had severe falling through the game world. Hell maybe its a new feature for Next Gen.

[Demo_Boy]

I might be willing to accept my character falling through the floor if the game length or variety of environments were described as compelling.

[Demo_Boy]

That review was terrible. I felt like the guy did not even make an effort to play the game through. Its the kind of reading I might expect from an internet post on the forum for the game where the poster is trying to incite a flame war.

[sol740]

I don't know how many of you caught the 1up podcast where Mr Dyack was the guest, but this just makes me chuckle. I listened to that guy make an ass of himself for like an hour. College psych-level(the stoned kind), pontification about the fabric of society being doomed by forum dwellers, and how we as a people may become doomed by our own cynicism ... blah blah blah. For what ? Because people don't like a video game !?!? Or because they saw 'something' and said "gee I don't really care for that". The guy blew hot air about what could amount to the end of the world, because the gaf saw ugly and said 'ugly'. I even tried to stay unbiased despite the crappy screens, and lackluster previews till I could play it myself, as Mr Dyack suggested. Well I DL'ed the demo and it was severely unfun. Proving for all his sociological ranting, that the only thing he cared about was people not knowing the game was junky, so they would buy it.

[Froggy]

Well GTA had severe falling through the game world. Hell maybe its a new feature for Next Gen.

Touche.

If GTA, the most perfectist game of all time forever and ever, has faults, we must excuse those faults in all other games. If GTA jumped off a bridge, I'd follow it.

[Schnoogs]

Well GTA had severe falling through the game world. Hell maybe its a new feature for Next Gen.

Severe? I never experienced it once despite completing the entire game. :confused:

[modeps]

Severe? I never experienced it once despite completing the entire game. :confused:

sounds pretty severe to me!

[Variable Gear]

I'm still looking forward to the game. Like the review said, co-op will still be fun, :)

[noxa]

I kinda liked the demo... it wasn't bad... maybe I'm just really wanting Diablo 3, and this satisfied a bit of that.

Fable was a mediocre game, which happened to be hyped. I have a feeling that we're looking at the new Fable.

I missed Fable when it came out, and bought it the other day on the XBLM. I'm really, really enjoying it. Maybe it's because there's been time between the hype enough for me to forget all the negative press. But if Fable 2 is even a bit as good as Fable 1, then I know I'll love it. I feel like with Too Human, if you pretend to have never heard anything about it, no negative previews/reviews/etc, you may find the game to be better.

It's kind of funny how there will be posts about people saying reviews are stupid and reviewers are always wrong and don't matter anymore, but then when the reviewers agree with what people think their word MUST be true.

[BlackPete]

Well GTA had severe falling through the game world. Hell maybe its a new feature for Next Gen.

Maybe GTA4 shouldn't have gotten a perfect score then.

Falling through the world is the #1 game breaking bug for me.

[Earth Djinn]

Interesting, but I would like to see more reviews.

Although it is kind of moot, as I lost virtually all interest in this game after about 15 minutes with the demo. Ive been meaning to go back and play through the whole thing to see if I misjudged it, but I have yet to actually do it.

[Adam Blue]

It's kind of funny how there will be posts about people saying reviews are stupid and reviewers are always wrong and don't matter anymore, but then when the reviewers agree with what people think their word MUST be true.

This is it. This thread is a good example. I will not make any concrete decisions based on these mass-market reviewers. We just can't.

[Virtuoso]

I dunno, I like the demo. For me this will be a day one purchase.

[Khash]

I'd say a C- was similar to my impression of the demo. I can't see myself being interested in the "combat" for very long. Even at high levels it still seems like all you're really doing is sliding from enemy to enemy.

[MelbaToast]

I loved the demo, which is a good enough reason for me to buy it.

[Methos]

A single bad review is not enough to convince me. Like a few others here, I enjoyed the demo; the control scheme reminded me of the PS1 game Apocalypse. If it completely does blow, so be it. Not every game is going to be the bee's knees.

[Flatpicker]

Lots of people like to blame hype for what happened to Fable... and I'm telling you right now, that I didn't believe a word out of Molyneux's mouth when he was promoting that game. I played Black & White, I knew to keep my expectations low. I still didn't find much of a game there. The problem with Fable is that it just wasn't very good, and it had more than a little tedium involved with it (particularly the aging). On top of that, there was plenty of content that was only half-finished, armor sets that were incomplete, and that didn't get fixed until the updated version, "Fable: The Lost Chapters."

Fable was a mediocre game, which happened to be hyped. I have a feeling that we're looking at the new Fable. It won't be so bad that you can't enjoy it, but it's going to be hard to sell it at full price against products which outstripe it in every way.

Fable was a good game that unfortunately go hyped to hell and back.
I'll agree the aging sucked, but I enjoyed the gameplay.

[karak]

Severe? I never experienced it once despite completing the entire game. :confused:

Youtube has many videos.
Congrats on never having the issue though.

[Froggy]

Maybe GTA4 shouldn't have gotten a perfect score then.

Falling through the world is the #1 game breaking bug for me.

Is that sarcasm? I honestly can't tell.

[karak]

Maybe GTA4 shouldn't have gotten a perfect score then.

Falling through the world is the #1 game breaking bug for me.

I would say it rates up there with NPC's catching on the enviroment for me:( But I am still gonna check this out.

[The Iron Weasel]

Is that sarcasm? I honestly can't tell.

I've fallen through the ground a bunch of times in GTA4 so its probably not.

[Admiral Ackbar]

If the gameplay mechanics are broken though, would you want to play it if it was longer?
I guess my point was that I already knew what the gameplay mechanics were like. So I had already made my decision on them (I like them a lot). So reviewing them when there is already a demo that allows me to make my choice is kind of stupid. I want to know what I can't learn in an hour of the demo. This is why I will rent it and decide after a weekend (should be able to beat it pretty quick if what everyone says is right).

[Texas Speed]

I guess the embargo ended to day, as reviews are popping up here and there. Watch TooHuman.net (www.toohuman.net) if you want updates. So far there are more possitive than negative; not that they're glowing endorsments or anything, but they seem to enjoy the game.

I imagine I'll still pick this up tomarrow. GTA 4 was a wonderboy, but after playing for a week or so I traded it in without bothering to finish, so maybe my tastes differ.

[Sloth]

If you fall through the floor or wall once every 200 sessions, that's just the nature of game code. It sucks yeah, but it's like getting hit by a meteor in the real world.

I'm not defending Too Human, but the nasty truth is lots of games ship with tons of bugs, that the avg user never notices.

Also the complaint about always having better blueprints doesn't bother me, but if you are going to have a game like that, the inventory management should be very easy!

[Mondopest]

With as long as this title has been in development, I was kind of expecting better scores for it. Time to play it myself and make up my own damn mind.

[jpublic]

I'm still picking this up. The demo was decent, and interested me enough to want to play more.

I'm going to run through the demo again tonight, just to cement my opinion or change it.

[RudyPoo]

Loved the demo, still a day one purchase for me.

Thankfully games don't have to be liked by everyone to be enjoyed by others.

[Count Elmdor]

I'm not surprised, having played the demo. It felt like an ill-executed, janky mess. Who the hell wants to deal with such a crap inventory/skill menu system in one of these hack-n-slash loot games? You're in and out of that thing every 7 seconds, and it takes ages to navigate anywhere. The combat and cut-scenes were crap, as well.

It's a shame, because I had really been looking forward to this game, being a big fan of Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance and Champions of Norrath. After playing the demo though, I said to hell with it and bought a Diablo Battle Chest for my fix instead.

For those who want second opinions from other 1up editors, it's a good bet Too Human will have the 3 reviewer treatment in the next EGM (or maybe the one after, with the way magazines run...).

[Count Elmdor]

Also, you can be sure there'll be Too Human talk on 1UP Yours this week.

[Variable Gear]

Also, you can be sure there'll be Too Human talk on 1UP Yours this week.
Featuring Denis Dyack?

[fatefodder]

Exactly what I expected, since the first time I laid eyes on this (Xbox 360 version) so many years ago.

[oldjadedgamer]

This isn't the first review, the new Game Informer that's been out for a week or more had a Two Human review and if memory serves me correctly, they gave it a 6.5 and the second opinion was a 7.

[Klunka]

Guess this confirms that I like shitty games. Loved the demo. Never ran into these glitches they're talking about, and that worries me.

Frantic Action was fun
Having more weapons and armor than I know what to do with is cool
Story ... it's an Action RPG. I can't remember the story from any of them (Diablo, Titan Quest, PSO, Dark Alliance).
Once I put the camera into ISO mode, I didn't have any more problems with it.

Well, didn't come here to try and defend it, but whoever is going to play look for me.

[karak]

Guess this confirms that I like shitty games. Loved the demo. Never ran into these glitches they're talking about, and that worries me.

Frantic Action was fun
Having more weapons and armor than I know what to do with is cool
Story ... it's an Action RPG. I can't remember the story from any of them (Diablo, Titan Quest, PSO, Dark Alliance).
Once I put the camera into ISO mode, I didn't have any more problems with it.

Well, didn't come here to try and defend it, but whoever is going to play look for me.

I am also going to be all over this.

[Variable Gear]

In that case, I'm going to need your Gamertag, karak. :)

[KingFire]

The review confirms how horrible the demo was for me, it confirms that the rest of the game is as shitty as the demo or even worse.

this might be the Lair of X360.

[karak]

In that case, I'm going to need your Gamertag, karak. :)

Sent you a PM

[Sl1pstream]

I still liked the demo, although I can see that it's not for everyone. I'll still pick this up, I think.

[Zecon]

I was one that though the Demo was garbage. I mean the game looked like a xbox title and the gameplay was a mess, especially the camera. There seems to be alot of quality control issues that hamper the game.

I really hope people won't buy this game.. at least till they fix those glaring bugs and ... seriously the camera is NEVER EVER in the right spot. I had high hopes, very high hopes for this game, what a disappointment.

I loved the demo, and it's a day 1 purchase for me. Oh well so much for finding any co-op players...:(

[Rune_74]

The review confirms how horrible the demo was for me, it confirms that the rest of the game is as shitty as the demo or even worse.

this might be the Lair of X360.

I bolded the key words for you....I enjoyed the game, just because some of you didn't doesn't make it any less fun for me. How many in the thread here even actually played the demo, or are from neogaf forums?

[dr_wily]

conversly, any english professor would give his review a D-. That is one bad review.

I read it and had to go back up to the top thinking the link had transferred me to page 2 or 3 of the article.

"Too Human is not a good role-playing game." Wow. absolute command of the English language. ESL anyone?

Ending the article on a bug is not a good way to end the article? Wheres the conclusion?

This is like a broken english string of ADD twitter feeds while hes playing the game. And he says the game is schizophrenic!

Sorry for the rant, but badly written stuff trumps everything for me. How did the editor let this one get passed? A newspaper would fire the guy.

just awful.

[IndependentGMR]

How many people actually played the entire demo? I got five minutes through, and shut it off. My brother told me to give it another shot, after he played it. I spent the next hour playing through the entire thing, and actually found it to be quite enjoyable. Yeah, the menu sucks to navigate, but that isn't enough to ruin the game for me. Heck, the menus in Oblivion were awful, and I loved that game. Not to mention the horrendous 360 d-pad made it tough to switch spells on the fly.

[donkeydrop]

There's absolutely no reason why a game released in 2008 should have a bug where characters can fall through solid ground and into some pseudoabyss.

OK not all of these are 2008, but just ones that I have seen myself

GTA4
Dragon Quest VIII
Halo 3
Crysis
WoW
CoD (multiple different)
Warhawk

that's not counting the stuck half in and half out of the terrain and unable to move (hello Orange Box)

[Kamalot]

i enjoyed the demo, still looking forward to the game.

I'm in the same boat. I VERY much enjoy the demo.

[Kamalot]

This is like a broken english string of ADD twitter feeds while hes playing the game. And he says the game is schizophrenic!

Sorry for the rant, but badly written stuff trumps everything for me. How did the editor let this one get passed? A newspaper would fire the guy.

just awful.
LMAO! That is an excellent and fitting description of the review.

[Micasa]

I don't understand a loot-based game getting chastised for having 'too much loot' at all. Then again, I don't see how a game with skill trees for each class can have each class have the same skills, as he says. He doesn't even touch on all the end-game loot, and how it adds new effects to your weapons. There's one that randomly creates a singularity when you hit the enemy, pulling in nearby ones and crushing them all. How does stuff like that escape mention at all?

This is one of those times when I'd love to see the guy's Gamertag :D

[Grumsh]

conversly, any english professor would give his review a D-. That is one bad review.

I read it and had to go back up to the top thinking the link had transferred me to page 2 or 3 of the article.

"Too Human is not a good role-playing game." Wow. absolute command of the English language. ESL anyone?

Ending the article on a bug is not a good way to end the article? Wheres the conclusion?

This is like a broken english string of ADD twitter feeds while hes playing the game. And he says the game is schizophrenic!

Sorry for the rant, but badly written stuff trumps everything for me. How did the editor let this one get passed? A newspaper would fire the guy.

just awful.

I have to agree this was a poorly written and thought out review which for me breaks the credability of the reviewer. Its written like the ramblings of someone who wanted to just pick what they didn't like and gripe about it. Honestly it's not a review, case in point imagine you have heard nothing about Too Human, read the article and then ask yourself if you could tell me what kind of game it is?

[modeps]

This isn't the first review, the new Game Informer that's been out for a week or more had a Two Human review and if memory serves me correctly, they gave it a 6.5 and the second opinion was a 7.

You must truly forgive me for this egregious error! I apologize for only checking Metacritic which at the time had no reviews at all for Too Human. I also apologize for not having a subscription to the magazine you speak of. Everyone in the EvAv community, if you must please accept my hands as payment for my obvious and frankly plain stupid error.

[Heretic Machine]

Metacritic scores are fucked up... how does this reviewer's C- come out to a 42/100? They must have gone to an awesome school.

Anyhow, here is the excerpt Metacritic has listed for the Game Informer review:

Too Human is about players sculpting their ideal killing machines. If you enjoy leveling and looting, it's worth a look. If you only have a moderate interest, Too Human's aggravating gameplay and irreparable plot won't deliver many thrills. [Sept 2008, p.104]

[SuicideKing]

Liked the demo, will buy it tomorrow, was disappointed with the quality of the 1up review, enough said.

[Mason]

His complaints about the controls seem legitimate.
Actually, they aren't. You manage ranged targeting using the right analog stick. There's no need to stop and start shooting to acquire targets, as you can scan across them while shooting. It took me a minute to figure this out, sure, but how many minutes did the reviewer play and fail to figure it out? Does the review even mention anything that isn't found in the demo?

None of us know whether or not Too Human is really a C- game, as this review is far too pathetic to be credible. Even if it is legitimately awful, given its strange and controversial development history, a final summation of Too Human requires at least a little context and insight.

[Gerbs]

Too Human seems to be love it or hate it. In the demo thread the opinions were very mixed, but here it seems to be a lot of "1Up didn't like it? Game sucks I knew it ten years ago." You can count me in the day one group, but that really shouldn't be any surprise if you have ever read any of my posts on the topic. Is the game perfect? Judging from the demo I would say no, but that doesn't mean you can't have a great time paired up with a like minded friend.

[*raoul]

After looking at this review and also not being grabbed by the demo this is exactly what i'm going to do too.

Sorry Silicon Knights. Hey why don't you get rid of Dyack and hire Itagaki. He will be able to sort out your control method :D

Ha! I didn't like Eternal Darkness, either. Despite what may have been a cool story (guess I'll never know) it played so poorly.

[Zurik]

If you listen to the 1up podcasts, its seems like everyone else in the office played the crap out of this game and enjoyed it. Maybe the felt someone with less experience with the game should be the one to review it? I enjoyed the demo and can see where playing co-op will make it alot more interesting. Many of the skills make more sense multiplayer than single.

[*raoul]

But hey, we've all had a blast with games we know aren't perfect. I just spent fifteen fun-filled hours with Stranglehold.

And so godspeed to those buying Too Human on day one, even I don't think I'll ever pick this one up regardless of price.

[MrSatan]

I think this is one of those games where you'll never get an honest unbiased review, good or bad. As long as it's been in development and with all the preconcieved notions (even those put out by SK), it's going to be swayed one way or the other. Much like people decried Fable, which was awesome, but seemed to suck for some because it was judged on what people thought it should have been, not what it was. I expect to see an intriging mix of really stellar and really negative reviews for Too Human.

LOL, Fable was Awesome? Maybe for the 30 minutes it took me to beat the game. Not to mention the combat system was TERRIBLE, the only reason i finished it was to see my evil-ass grow horns. Otherwise I wished I had never wasted my money on it. Too Human seems to suffer from the same "wanting to do so much, yet delivers so little" syndrome that Fable had. Based on the demo I would not buy it, I disliked the controls so much that I had to quite playing.

[Talon-]

Wait, so Texas Speed, should reviews be in a complete vacuum? Fact of the matter is that Mr. Molyneux oversold Fable, and the game's reviews suffered for that reason. Not to mention that problems lingered in the game beyond the failed execution of so many wondrous game mechanics. Peter Molyneux seems like a smart guy, and he's obviously very ambitious with his games (Populous, Black & White, et al). However, he has a reputation of overselling his games for very good reasons. Hell, he was trying to convince us that the Perfect Dark Zero tracking that found its way into Fable 2 was some fantastic innovation!

I'm sure Too Human will suffer the same fate, and Dennis Dyack will pop up on NeoGAF trying to defend a game that, despite the numerous delays (I mean of the modern iteration of Too Human, not the original couple), the game still sounds like it needed more work. I'll still be playing the game, but I kept my expectations in check for this game anyways.

[GeekesS]

I have seriously been asking myself what game this reviewer is playing... I am loving this game and can see myself playing it to death!

[Gerbs]

I have seriously been asking myself what game this reviewer is playing... I am loving this game and can see myself playing it to death!

Why do you have a copy and I do not? We live in the same Country! Everything up here should be equal.

[Kamalot]

Well GTA had severe falling through the game world. Hell maybe its a new feature for Next Gen.

Exactly. And GTA managed to score quite well, despite glitches like falling through the floor.

[Micasa]

http://arstechnica.com/reviews/games/too-human-review.ars/1

The first review I've seen where the reviewer clearly played through multiple times and talks about the high-level game.

[Kelegacy]

I'll join those unimpressed by the demo. I just this weekend managed to download and play it. I was hoping for much more.

Yeah, I didn't bother to even finish the demo. Played through most of it and was bored to tears.

[Texas Speed]

Wait, so Texas Speed, should reviews be in a complete vacuum?

Why not? It's fair to judge and say what you will about the developer for what he/she/they try to sell a game on, but why should a game be judged for what it's not? I managed to stay away from every piece of Fable hype and I had a blast with it, but your mileage may vary. I play games to have fun (not that you don't, but some people seemingly don't).

I think many have sour grapes because Too Human was promised four-player and it was taken out, which is understandable, but should you judge the rest of the game based on what you thought it should be? I will give you, though, that if I see a movie trailer billing a movie as one thing, then I see it and it turns out to be something else, I'm usually pretty pissed no matter how good it was, so I suppose it's impossible to completely eliminate bias (which probably explains why I've seen a couple near perfect scores for Too Human).

[Talon-]

Why not? It's fair to judge and say what you will about the developer for what he/she/they try to sell a game on, but why should a game be judged for what it's not? I managed to stay away from every piece of Fable hype and I had a blast with it, but your mileage may vary. I play games to have fun (not that you don't, but some people seemingly don't).

I think many have sour grapes because Too Human was promised four-player and it was taken out, which is understandable, but should you judge the rest of the game based on what you thought it should be? I will give you, though, that if I see a movie trailer billing a movie as one thing, then I see it and it turns out to be something else, I'm usually pretty pissed no matter how good it was, so I suppose it's impossible to completely eliminate bias (which probably explains why I've seen a couple near perfect scores for Too Human).

There's a difference with taking out a feature, and completely overselling key aspects of the game. When you're told to be expect something in a game by the project's lead, reviews need to reflect that for the sake of potential buyers. Games are major purchasing decisions at $50-60+, and plenty of reviewers consider their jobs to be saving people money.

It sounds more like the 1UP review tackled this as a SP experience, whereas GameSpot and IGN were more lenient with the MP bits.

[Texas Speed]

There's a difference with taking out a feature, and completely overselling key aspects of the game. When you're told to be expect something in a game by the project's lead, reviews need to reflect that for the sake of potential buyers. Games are major purchasing decisions at $50-60+, and plenty of reviewers consider their jobs to be saving people money.

Okay, I can totally see your point, it's good one. But aside from mentioning what is/is not in the game within the review, should the game be docked points? Or do you consider it a type of punishment for the devs to dock points for empty promises?

At any rate, this is why I keep well away from previews and interviews, they almost always lead to disapointment. I'll read a few hands-on impressions here and there, but that's because it's hard to change what's already there.

[Purple Santa]

Guess this confirms that I like shitty games.

I don't think it's going to be categorized as "shitty"...average maybe...underwhelming maybe...but not shitty...or not from the reviews that have been around so far...

[KingFire]

Man, this is shaping to be the Lair of X360.
10 years for nothing, I feel sorry for SK, they're good devs, and this game might finish them forever.

The Nintendo curse continues to destroy...

[karak]

Man, this is shaping to be the Lair of X360.
10 years for nothing, I feel sorry for SK, they're good devs, and this game might finish them forever.

The Nintendo curse continues to destroy...

...ha.
Not close.
But still inflammatory.

[Talon-]

Okay, I can totally see your point, it's good one. But aside from mentioning what is/is not in the game within the review, should the game be docked points? Or do you consider it a type of punishment for the devs to dock points for empty promises?

At any rate, this is why I keep well away from previews and interviews, they almost always lead to disapointment. I'll read a few hands-on impressions here and there, but that's because it's hard to change what's already there.

No, I understand what you're saying. It'd be ideal for reviews to be written in a vacuum; however, I just don't think it's feasible. Empty promises are one thing, but comparisons must be made for readers to get a handle on the game experience itself.

It'd be nice if we could avoid hype entirely, but the games press needs to write about something.

[Talon-]

Okay, I can totally see your point, it's good one. But aside from mentioning what is/is not in the game within the review, should the game be docked points? Or do you consider it a type of punishment for the devs to dock points for empty promises?

At any rate, this is why I keep well away from previews and interviews, they almost always lead to disapointment. I'll read a few hands-on impressions here and there, but that's because it's hard to change what's already there.

Also, I didn't exactly answer your question. I agree with you in that some reviews are probably slamming this game for what was promised vs. what was delivered. Personally, I'd score a game on its own merit; however, that has its flaws because certain people like certain games. This is why I don't like one man reviews in general because it always helps to get a wide variety of gamer "tastes" for a review.

C- seems harsh because that's calling it less than an average experience, but, of course, I haven't played the game yet so what do I know?

[Rune_74]

Man, this is shaping to be the Lair of X360.
10 years for nothing, I feel sorry for SK, they're good devs, and this game might finish them forever.

The Nintendo curse continues to destroy...

What didn't get enough attention on neogaf? Make an account here to bash a game you have not played=awesome:)

[Variable Gear]

C- seems harsh because that's calling it less than an average experience, but, of course, I haven't played the game yet so what do I know?
It looks like someone lost their orange. I'll pitch in. :)