Too Human Previews

With the action RPG only a couple of weeks away now, two new previews of Silicon Knights’ Too Human have been posted to the web. First up is IGN:

Silicon Knights is aiming to make the upgrade system as deep as possible. At the beginning, its just the new gear and skills that you’ll need to succeed. But according to the developers, “The closer you get to level 50, the more your equipment and character’s build matters. We fully expect that people will be sharing character builds they’ve discovered, and new ways to use weapons and skill combinations in order to really rock these higher levels.”

Though the level cap is at level 50 for the first Too Human installment, that is hardly the end for Baldur. “All the bonuses and equipment you earn in Too Human will carry over to the second game, but what you earn in Too Human 2 will likely not carry back to Too Human 1. When you get to level 50 you may wonder how your character can possibly get more powerful without turning into an atom bomb, but we have our ways, and it doesn’t involve taking away your stuff or hanging an anchor from your boot. As the trilogy progresses and Baldur grows as a character, he will evolve in ways you may not expect.”

Followed by AtomicGamer:

Where most games nowadays pull you in immediately with their next-gen visual splendor, Too Human doesn’t really grab you at all.at first. The graphics, while not bad, are simply on par with most current games and a few notches behind polygon powerhouses like Call of Duty 4. The gameplay isn’t instantly appealing, either; however, an hour into this first entry of a planned trilogy, we were hooked good. And by the time we finished our three-hour or so demo, we were clamoring for the finished product. This slow-building appreciation came primarily from the nontraditional gameplay and controls; using the right stick, you simply point towards the direction you want to melee attack, and protagonist Baldur races in that direction, unleashing a crushing blow upon reaching his enemy. But what’s even cooler and what took us some time to master was a pinballing effect that saw Baldur bouncing from one baddie to the next, kicking ass aplenty along the way. By inputting an attack before the previous one’s been completed, you can string together some amazing combos, and the act of chaining multiple attacks is both addictive and satisfying, especially when you see the loot left in your destructive wake.

This brings us to Too Human’s other most compelling feature; the game is a loot-collecting paradise for players who enjoy the RPG staple activity. The game’s developers have boasted its near-endless weapon and armor customization options, and after shopping through any given pile of corpses, the claim is easy to believe. Too Human utilizes both melee and ranged weapons, so a dizzying variety of guns two-handed and one as well as clubs, swords, staffs and hammers are on offer. Combine this with collectible charms and runes, adding a variety of passive and active modifiers to your already-ample arsenal, and you’re in for some serious character personalization. The loot system also addresses the classic annoyance of freeing yourself of useless objects; by auto-salvaging, the game automatically keeps your best goodies, and drops lesser items when inventory space gets tight.