Global Trade Station

Well, I've been eagerly anticipating the demo for Too Human that was released today. A futuristic twist on Norse mythology? Mmmmm yeah.

As far as I can tell, all five classes are open to play in the demo, though I stuck with "Champion", as all of it's stats are entirely equal.

The graphics are fairly good. Not mind-blowing, but at the same time not entirely underwhelming. The voice acting is somewhat better. It's actually convincing.

But, now onto what we all really want to talk about: the gameplay. Melee combat is handled by the right stick, movement by the left. It's weird to get used to if you're used to games using the left stick for the camera, but it works well enough. Flicking the right stick in a certain direction will allow you to dash towards the nearest enemy in that direction and attack, while holding the stick starts a chain of attacks. If you're fast enough, you can dash from enemy to enemy and strike in a long combo. Gun use is controlled by the left and right triggers, with the sticks controlling firing direction while the triggers are held. If you strike properly with melee, you can knock enemies into the air, where you can either jump up and melee attack in the air, or juggle them with guns. If your "Combo Meter" is full, you can also hit the Right Bumper to trigger something called the "Ruiner", which seems to be a very powerful close range attack. Very useful if you're surrounded by a large crowd of enemies (which does happen).

Unfortunately, the demo doesn't last long enough to show off some of the better skills the classes can obtain. The best I was able to use was one that deployed an automated chain gun, which was incredibly useful for finishing off the large mechanical golems you must fight.

Overall, it feels like a good start. I'm not 100% sure yet if it would be worth a full $60, but I do feel it's a game I'd enjoy when it does come out

I thought the Too Human was slightly goofy and hard to get used to when it came to meleeing, especially against larger enemies like the giant troll-thing. I'd be stuck slashing at the back of the troll with my sword while the thing walked around in a complete circle, trying to get a shot at me with its hammer. Having a mechanical troll bum in my face for 5 minutes was not enjoyable.

Anyway the rest of that fight was quite boring, as I couldn't figure out anything else to do. I managed to complete an execution when Baldur jumps on top of it and tries head-stabbing it. I did this only once, and I don't know how. Random button pressing ensued.

Ranged combat was simple, and I had to use it to take out leaders, because slashing at them really seemed pointless when they boasted sheilds. I couldn't tell if I was doing anything. Thankfully, blasting them with pistols spawned a damage bar above their heads.

Weapon pickups and looting were fun, but a few times I'd waste a minute or two searching for a lootable I thought I had lost (even though the game had sucked it into my inventory automatically, which I hadn't realised)

Item crafting was... simple, I geuss. That and a few equipment features were confusing and left unexplained, so I had to play it by ear. I hope they fix it by its release.

Overall I think Silicon Knights was generous with the demo. I'd be scared to walk through a door because I thought it would end, but it lasted for a good hour or two, although I never had a chance to even see what Baldur was hunting for. So far I think its more than a definite rent. We'll see when its released.