For a game rumored to be one of the worst in Xbox 360 history, you can imagine my surprise when I realized that Too Human had stolen my heart, and rightfully deserved it. We, as gamers, spend too much time scrutinizing our video games and have come to accept nothing less than near-perfection in our entertainment.
This has blinded us for one solid reason: Near-perfection, in the eyes of the masses becomes nothing more than an average concept of achievement. Just as, “tall, blonde, and skinny,” have become a near-perfection stereotype for the masses of men in the world, so too has, “Pretty, 60 fps, and high-adrenaline” become the new standard in gaming.
Don’t think so? Battlefield: Bad Company, Call of Duty, Borderlands, Gears of War, Unreal Tournament III, and Splintercell: Conviction are all games that share this common theme. Consequently, our variety and choices in the video game world have been boiled down to three simple categories; Sports, consisting of Racing, Football, Soccer, Baseball, and Basketball; Roleplaying games, such as Final Fantasy, Losy Odyssey, and Eternal Sonata; and First-/Third-person Shooters.
But being second best has it’s perks. That’s where Too Human comes in. Nowadays, RPGs have you posing as less of a dramatic hero and more of a, “Intern who brings the coffee so he can get the job later in life,” and that’s just plain boring. Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Fallout 3, and Borderlands are all victims of this terrible system. Where are the life-threatening monsters? Where are the dangerous expeditions in which only a few lone survivors venture through a dangerous dungeon?
Too Human is exactly that- A Dungeon Crawl. No, you don’t run and find the amulet so you can bring it back to that monk, no, you don’t need to retrieve the sword of Truth so it can be used against an evil, destructive enemy, and no, you don’t need to solve a riddle just to open a door.
Lethal, diverse, and often overwhelming monsters assault you as you venture through four stunning landscapes, looking to find revenge. That’s it. That’s all. Not to mention a somewhat captivating storyline, if not pulled straight from a B-movie.
“But Zach, I don’t understand the storyline!” Yes, Too Human has a bit of a confusing storyline at first, but people have become far too dependant on being spoon fed every detail of a story, put the pieces together yourself!
“But Zach, there’s no penalty for dying!” … And you’re complaining because…? Yes, the monsters are tough, and yes, sometimes EXTREMELY tough to the point of annoyance, but the game is fast paced and you need to have sharp reflexes to survive.
Too Human utilizes a dual stick control scheme in that you move with the left joystick and tap or hold the right joystick in the direction you want to attack. With an enormous selection of both melee [swords, staves, hammers] and ranged weapons [pistols, rifles, massive cannons] there’s a vast amount of freedom to strategize your attack.
Did I mention you have a squad of elite soldiers under your command? No? For good reason. Although you may begin each “Dungeon” with a squad of soldiers, whose radio-banter really adds to the feel of daunting hopelessness, they rarely last 2-3 encounters.
“But how will I survive then!?” Never fear! Somehow, someway, you always find more soldiers waiting for you at “checkpoints” throughout the level.
Boss fights are unusually long, taking upwards of 6-10 minutes, but then again, you may spend 2-3 hours in a single dungeon, so it fits well. This game is a serious dungeon crawl, but even if it’s not your forte, try it anyway, because second best isn’t always the worst.
In short, sometimes it’s good to not be so near-perfect, because that’s where true diversity lies.
