Too Human
Too Human
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Too Human

Too Human is an action role-playing game developed by Silicon Knights and published by Microsoft Studios. It was released in August 2008 for the Xbox 360. The game's story is a science-fictional futuristic retelling of Norse mythology that portrays the Æsir, the Norse gods, as cybernetically enhanced humans, tasked with protecting mankind from the onslaught of Loki's army of machines. The player takes the role of the Norse god Baldur, who is less cybernetic than the other gods thus being "too human".

The game is notable for having remained in development hell for almost ten years. It was originally announced in 1999 for release on the PlayStation, but this was abandoned and development switched to the GameCube in 2000 after Silicon Knights and Nintendo announced an exclusivity partnership. Development restarted again in 2005 when Microsoft bought the rights to the game and announced that it would be an Xbox 360 game. It was planned to be the first in a trilogy of games all developed by Silicon Knights.

Upon release, Too Human received mixed reviews from game critics; while the game's story and class system were generally praised, many were critical of the control scheme, graphics, level design, long respawn times, and cliffhanger ending. The game was involved in a lawsuit from 2007 to 2012 between developer Silicon Knights and Unreal Engine creators Epic Games regarding the Unreal Engine 3 engine used in the game. This resulted in Epic Games being awarded $4.45 million and Silicon Knights being forced to destroy all of its products that used Unreal Engine 3, including Too Human. Plans for an eventual trilogy were canceled because of the damage inflicted by the lawsuit, along with Silicon Knights filing for bankruptcy in May 2014.

Too Human is an action role-playing game from a third-person perspective. The player takes control of the lead character Baldur in a third-person perspective with the camera distance being adjustable, even controllable during some in-game cinematics to involve the player in the story further. Camera control is limited to the player, with the choice to re-adjust the camera back to its default third-person view being the primary feature following the player and swinging when the player does the same, similar to an auto targeting system. This is because the right analog stick is used for melee combat, instead of traditional camera control, with certain attacks and combos being executed by pushing the stick in the direction of the target with follow-up stick movements applying further attacks with projectile attacks only using an auto lock-on system. Attacks can be combined to execute attacks such as performing combos on enemies in mid-air, attack slides, and juggling foes in the air with projectile weapon attacks. Another aspect of combat are "Ruiner" attacks, powerful abilities that can indirectly affect surrounding enemies and can be mixed with other attacks to perform finishing strikes.

The role-playing elements of the game come in the form of advanced character customization. At the beginning of the game, the player is given the choice between five different classes; berserker, champion, defender, commando, and bio engineer, with each having an advantage over another. The berserker is focused on melee combat while the commando is oriented on ranged combat. The bio engineer has advanced healing abilities and the defender has a strong armor defense. Finally, the champion is a balanced all rounder with multiple air strike attacks. During the game, players can collect various items that they can equip and use. There are fifteen variations of weapon classes such as pistols, heavy lasers, dual and two-handed combat weapons, armor for different body parts, and "charms" that allow players to use powerful Ruiner abilities. Many items can also be bought and customized by color and effectiveness—using collectable runes—in-between levels back at the Æsir's base of Asgard.

As players progress through the game, they can level up by slaying foes (Goblins, Trolls, Dark Elves, and Undead) and achieving high combos, allowing access to more efficient items and skills; these items and skills can be used in the game's skill tree mechanic, where points earned with every level up are applied to improve stats and unlock new abilities unique to each different character class. In the early stages of the game, the player can choose between two alignments; Cybernetic and Human. The Cybernetic alignment allows use of certain weapons like heavy lasers and further cybernetic upgrades, while the Human alignment emphasizes quick movement and improved combos.

Along with the single player campaign, Too Human features a cooperative multiplayer component that can be played over Xbox Live. Hosts can support only a second player with a "drop-in, drop out" system. This allows players to join games hosted in levels they have yet to complete, as long as the host has, allowing high and low-level players to join games suited for either. Players can use characters from their single- player games and earn experience, levels, and items online that can later be used offline. Cooperative multiplayer features the option to trade items with other human players regardless of their level.

Too Human is set in a science fiction reimagining of Norse Mythology, wherein the Norse gods are cybernetically augmented warriors worshipped by so-called mortals, which are non-augmented humans.

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