Too Human Demo: Vindication for Denis Dyack

Everyone knows the long and sordid history of Silicon Knights’ new game for the Xbox 360, Too Human.  It had a terrible showing at E3 in 2006, is part of a huge lawsuit against Unreal 3 engine maker Epic Games and is being led by one of the industries most outspoken individuals in Denis Dyack.  Since that poor showing in 2006 Too Human has been on its heels trying to repair the damage done by an on-floor demo that was crippled by an incomplete Unreal Engine and in a form not ready to be seen by the public.  For Dyack, this battle has raged on now for almost 3 years…and is finally about to come to its dramatic conclusion.  The game is finally releasing in August of 2008 and, as promised, Canada’s own Silicon Knights have released a demo for a game many not only expect to fail, but want to fail.  Dyack has ruffled enough feathers and talked enough game to rile up the most outspoken gamers in the community.  The question now is, did Dyack deliver a hit, or is it another Haze?

Once I fired up the game I was already impressed with the visuals.  This has been a point of contention on the net with many claiming that the game looks no better than PS2 games with sparse envirnoment and terrible character models.  Well, no, it certainly doesn’t look like a PS2 game.  I have just come off playing some of the best games that the PS2 has to offer in God of War 2, Okami and MGS2.  Too Human takes them all to school.  The art design is excellent and the norse setting make for a truly unique game world.  Character models look good, not great.  Certainly, Too Human should not be confused with the visual powerhouses of the industry – think Gears of War 2 and Killzone 2.  However, the game manages to have its own style and it works well here.

In the demo only one character class is unlocked, but you can access all of them through some easter eggs that the Silicon team threw in there.  If you want to try all the classes, here is how you do it:

1. Disconnect from Xbox Live.
2. In the Dashboard go to System blade > Console Settings > Clock
3. Go to “Date and Time” and change the year from 2008 to 2009
4. Launch the Too Human Demo
5. By changing the date you have already unlocked the Berserker and Commando classes
6. To play as the Defender or Bio-Engineer position the screen on that character class.  Then simultaneously flick the left thumbstick right and press A, to play the demo as a Defender or Bio-Engineer

Sounds complicated but its as easy as pie.  Definitely check out all the classes.  I’ve now gone through and played the demo with all of them and they are all unique with very different sets of abilities.

Now, the important part.  How is the gameplay?  Does the fixed camera work?  Is it fun to play?  Well, the short answer to all those questions is yes.  As Dyack has been claiming all along, you really need to experience Too Human before you will understand it and how it plays.  I’m inclined now to agree with him.  Watching countless videos and looking through screenshots isn’t going to convey how this game feels, and it feels great.  Using the right thumbstick to attack with the triggers as guns is not only intuitive, but is surprisingly deep.  The combo system and air juggling turned out to be far more robust than I imagined and had a great time dispatching the hordes of cybernetic enemies that litter the screen.  Many people have worried that the combat may be too simplistic, but I would challenge that notion after having played the game.  I only played about 45 min of the demo with a low level character and was still learning the intricacies of the combat as I tried each character class.

Check out the video to learn more about the game from Dyack himself:

The bottom line is that Silicon Knights has delivered.  While it won’t be the most graphically impressive game to arrive this year, the unique combat system, incredibly deep loot and customization system and what appears could be an engaging story all add up to an experience that I am officially excited to begin.  I have to give Dyack credit.  His game is good.  My only hope is that enough people give it a chance so the trilogy can be completed.  Before you write this game off be sure to try the demo.  It may change your mind faster than you think.  I already pre-ordered the game…let’s make it the success it deserves to be!

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