I didn't go to E3 this year. Which I am not alone in, neither did lots of big companies. But I did stay home and work and download stuff from XBOX LIVE MARKETPLACE. Including to my absolute delight the TOO HUMAN demo. Now if you have not done this yet; stop reading this and go start downloading. It's a 1.09 GB download so unless you have a 3 MB connection or better like I do, then it's going to take you a while. So just go do that now....
Done? Good... Now, I was pleased to also see a couple of wonderful little videos about TOO HUMAN as well. Which took significantly less time to download. So I watched these before the demo was done downloading. So they certainly occupied my time and I was interested in them, even if it felt slightly academic.
Come to find out however, that these videos were actually training films for the demo. The films were about the Champion class and about leveling skills. So when presented with these in the demo, I was well aware of what to do, and what to expect. How fortuitous...
So what was the demo like? Was it a mind blowing experience? Did this change the way I thought about games? Well, sort of....
The cool thing about Too Human is that it is really framed like a movie. With a real story arc and a nice way of telling that story. It felt very much like an action movie. Maybe, Aliens or Starship Troopers.
But more than that. The combat was interesting and fun. I really got the impression that I could bang on those guys all day and night and never get bored of it.
Also there was gear in the demo. Lots of gear. Some I could use right away, some I had to wait to level 6 to play. Level 6 is the built in level cap for the demo.
But all of this really wouldn't have made me psyched about the game. Considering the Champion Class was the only one you could play in the demo, or so I thought. Just want to say that although the Champion Class is fun, it is by no means the best class in the game.
I happened to head over to the Too Human website. There was a little cheat that allowed the player to play ANY of the 5 classes available in the final game. Apparently you just have to unplug your ethernet cable, turn off your XBOX 360, then turn it back on and change to the date to one that is in 2009. Then the rest of the classes will be unlocked until you plug the cable back in again.
Awesome right? Well, it is. Playing as the Defender or the Berserker completely changes the way you play the game and certainly teaches you about combat in ways that the Champion cannot.
I've played through the demo around 6 times now. It is very fun just to play through for the different experiences and the sheer joy of combat.
Too Human will definitely be a must play game this year. I think it may even be the Bioshock for this year.
But why was my title so dreary? Well, it's because Microsoft doesn't seem too interested in Too Human. Not when they have their XBOX LIVE EXPERIENCE AND GEARS OF WAR 2! Well, that's all fine and dandy, I'm sure Gears of War 2 will sell lots of games. In NOVEMBER! And the XBOX LIVE EXPERIENCE doesn't come out til LATE FALL? Whatever that means, is that code of December or November?
Too Human comes out August 19th! Less than a MONTH FROM THIS WEEK! This game should have been the headliner! It looks AWESOME, it has some incredible cut scenes and it plays amazingly.
Where are all the developer interviews, the behind the scenes footage, and the viral ad campaign? I know what your saying.... Wasn't that all about 2 months ago? Exactly, they had all this crazy stuff come out before anyone could even get their hands on it. It is like Microsoft said to the fans:
"Here is your FREAKING DEMO, now SHUT UP!"
As Microsoft, circles deeper and deeper into the incredibly crappy world of casual games it is good to see that there are still some descent hardcore titles coming out. Even if at the core they just want to be fat and happy like Nintendo.
Back to TOO HUMAN though; I suppose I shouldn't be surprised when Microsoft ignores this title, given the four star treatment they gave Bioshock. I think all told Bioshock had two or three trailers and a demo before it launched and everyone gave it GAME OF THE YEAR that year. Perhaps it's just Microsoft's commitment to their own particular product that keeps them from.... Wait, Microsoft it producing Too Human... Oh well... Who knows why they are ignoring it.
This game is an incredible time sink and people will be playing this game when Gears of War 3 comes out. Silicon Knights has all ready promised LOTS of DLC. Which even taken with a grain of salt translates into at least a few more things coming out. An arena style fighting mode where you have to survive wave after wave of steadily harder enemies would be nice. Just a suggestion, no charge...
Finally I have one question for Microsoft, who in BLOODY HELL likes Kung Fu Panda SO FREAKING MUCH? I have never seen so much content come out for a kids game SEQUEL in my life. The Furious Five is so far the best promoted game of E3. What is up with that????
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