Ripten Review: Too Human, Too Bad

Ripten writes:

"Too Human is a victim of its own hype. After ten years of developmental limbo and reviewers playing snippets of the game and declaring it an unqualified success, Silicon Knights has finally released Too Human to the fawning masses.

Personally, I would have gladly waited ten more if that means Dennis Dyack would get it right. Maybe if he spent less time trolling forums and spent more time with his development team this game would have been the critical success he envisioned.

Right now, Too Human is Too Bad..."

[morganfell]

Bada Bing! Bada Boom!

This line says it all:

"I would only recommend it to people who have cut me off in traffic or talk during movies."

[Mr_Bun]

I am surprised that they didn't knock the graphics...I wasn't impressed after seeing some gameplay from gametrailers.com

[theKiller]

just like the console!!

its even worst than Lair!! Lair tried to bring innovation but failed at it while this game is just a copy cat of other games and they added the gear of war attitude of speak which sucked big time, i hate these people who talks very little and act like the star of the show, am talking about Marcus now!!

and with Flop Human the dialog is just makes no since and full of crap similar to gears of war!!

[BigBaehr]

No xbot in sight. Must be rubbing on that solarcaine from all this serious burnage. And I just picked up Lair yesterday (getting bored of COD) and its actually not half bad. Graphics not too shabby and the gameplay is alright with the analog sticks. Its just the wacky camera views that I have a probelm with, but I'm getting used to them.

PS: EA is soon to be tried for murder. The 1st degree murder for Madden that is. Wow doesn't it suck.

[juuken]

http://itsacelebration.ytmn...

....^____^

[AngryXbot]

Some xbots were saying Too human could rival MGS4...can you believe that crap?

[AIi_The_Brit]

i laughed SO hard at that

thanks :)

[Pain]

"1.3 -
No xbot in sight."

You noticed that too ? both sides Game/open

lol @juuken XD

o o
o O

[theKiller]

its 360's Lair!!! at least Lair tried to bring innovation through the control interface!!

wow how harsh was the media on Lair, MS should be happy with the media handling of this game!! it could be much worst!!

EDIT
@Nostradavis

well i always heard from the 360 fans how good this game will be and how much time they was spent on it, so by the 360 fans it got same over hyping as Lair,they always list this game when discussions about big hits on ps3/360 and now u telling me this game was not over hyped??? Lair only problem was controls and some frame rate drops, but this game Flops in many things,the sound was perfect same with music and story in Lair! even pro 360 sites are giving this game terrible score!!! this means something!

why so serious(360 fanboys)??

[Nostradavis]

The media was very harsh on Lair, but I don't think Lair had as much hype as this game.

[Snukadaman_]

scored higher then time crisis 4's 60....in the end its about score and lair still is 53 on metacritic. I commented on the graphics not being that good for too human but the gameplay is far from a flop, rent it.

"it received the score EVEN
after so many sites are 360-baised."
I think most of those scores reflected the unimmpressive graphics as i said...if those sites were so 360 biased then this exlcusive would of been scored higher so bias flew out the window.

[chaosatom333]

after so many sites are 360-baised.

[sonarus]

Lair had a fair amount of hype due to the ridiculous ps3 negativity at the time and also not many ps3 games.
I remember the media being especially harsh on the creator for defending his game and saying people just didn't get it. Which is basically what Dyack is doing now.

Its good the game is out and it got the negative reviews it got. Maybe now less time will be spent defending it and more time spent improving it for the planned sequel. I wonder if Microsoft will drop the game.

[deeznuts]

Snuka, take the severity of this flop and multiply by the factor of ten year development! That's far worse than the Lair Flop.

[sonarus]

I can't believe you guys will sit there and argue which crap game is crappier

[chanto23]

of course it's scoring higher than Lair...they don't count like 4 reviews that scored the game 4/10...anyways, to the general public the game is the biggest flop this gen, for the people that like it...enjoy it..

[beavis4play]

crap is crap.

past crap doesn't make current crap less craptacular.....

[StephanieBBB]

How long will it take before Denis Dyack is flipping burgers att MC donalds telling storys to his co-workers that there is no place for a mastermind in this cold, hard, hate driven world that we all live in?

...Sorry got carried away there... moving on!

[Millah]

"Maybe if he spent less time trolling forums and spent more time with his development team this game would have been the critical success he envisioned."

LOL effin awesome

Poor Denis.

[fafoon]

Thier Honesty

[Johnny Cullen]

You dont know how happy I get when I see the bad reviews of Too Human.

I may own a 360 (and a happy 360 owner too) but I just wanted it to fail and thankfully, it did.

I am a very happy bunny right now =D

[meepmoopmeep]

why would you want ANY game to fail regardless of platform?
i want every game to be good so we get more great games

[keanerie]

no wai

TOO HUMAN ROX

SHOUTOUTS TO DENIS D BRO

[10YearFlop]

D

E

N

I

A

L

[wardrox]

Nobody tell Denis Dyack.

[Mao]

He might cry. Poor sap's game is getting it's arsh ripped inside-out. Reminds me of Egghead and his Lair game last year. *sigh* poor souls.

[Wotbot]

liked the demo and will be buying it.

I'm not too sure what people expected after all the preview's, it played and looked exactly as to what I was expecting.

[solidjun5]

you should always go with your gut instinct. I liked Lair even after the media ripped on it. And this is pre-patch where you can only use the six-axis.

[Zahaladeen]

...if Dennis Dyack wasn't such an insuferable wanker. All the reviews have been brutally honest - other than the reviewers from websites that carry advertising for Too Human.
"ZOMG THIS GAME IZ AMAZING 7/10!!11!!ONE!!1"
At least we know what sites are giving legit reviews and which ones are just corporate cronies.

[Tawnokoi]

7/10 is hardly "amazing", but I see your point.

(Then again, Gamespot gave it a 5.5 with some noticeable TH advertising here and there, so it looks like they're slowly redeeming themselves from the Kane & Lynch scandal...)

[solidjun5]

This does not bode well for Ripten! You better be careful Ripten! Adam Pierria is going to blog about it and b!tch and say "OMG you gave Avatar the last bender a higher score!! That is just wrong!"

I guess the Petulant Individual (Dyack) still have the support from the other petulant individual (Pierra).

EDIT: It's kevin, not Adam Pierria. I kind Adam Sessler is cool.

[Zahaladeen]

...that is both smart AND funny.

Poor fellow feels as if he needs to give "mercy" points to video games because of poor public perception. I say, review the game on its own merits. The result, as in this case, was that Too Human is not a good game. Period.

[UnasFortuna]

The thing that was actually funny about Kevin's rant on his "blog video" was that he brought up some valid points as to some "MAJOR" flaws in the game and gameplay which he attributed as to only minor flaws. I personally bought the game just to give it a chance because I like these type of games. It is okay but it definitely deserves the lower than expected scores it is getting. This game was overly hyped as are a couple of 360 games (of course... the same goes for some PS3 games). I should have rented this one.

[360rxorz]

Hahahaha what a biased review! This game has an average of 70 oout of 100 (which is better than any game on the PS3) and they give it a 4? Hahaha I bet Sony paid them off! Hahaha Ripten are so unproffecional, they are not to be trusted. Hahahaha thi is better than any RPG on the PS3... O hwait, you dont have any RPGS ahahahahahaha!!

[nieto]

what average is that?
http://www.metacritic.com/g... = 68

http://www.gamerankings.com... = 69

68
Game Informer
Too Human is about players sculpting their ideal killing machines. If you enjoy leveling and looting, it's worth a look. If you only have a moderate interest, Too Human's aggravating gameplay and irreparable plot won't deliver many thrills. [Sept 2008, p.104]
Read Full Review

68
Xbox World 360 Magazine UK
Ultimately though, when you start to crave any given section of the game to end just because you're so utterly bored of it, when you're hacking your way through another swarm of metal enemies utterly identical to those you fought in the last twelve (almost) identical rooms, you're inevitably going to start to feel like there's something not quite right with Too Human. And you'd be right.
Read Full Review

65
Official Xbox Magazine
Obvious problems (the shaky camera, poor targeting system, and inconsistent frame rate) match up with sheer annoyances (the 25-second-long, unskippable death sequences) to degrade the expectedly repetitive experience, but that’s not all that stuck in our craw. Capping the enjoyable online co-op at just two players (with no local play) seems ludicrous in this day and age; even PSO was rocking four players on a 56K connection in 2001!
Read Full Review

65
Extreme Gamer
Nothing more than a standard hack n’ slash adventure. Glitches, poor A.I., and generic gameplay all contribute to Too Human lackluster showing.
Read Full Review

65
GameTrailers
It’s an incredibly repetitive game that has a lot of depth on the surface that becomes irrelevant once it’s put into practice. Fans of dungeon-crawling loot hunts should rent, but everyone else will tire of its shortcomings even before its brief campaign is complete.
Read Full Review

65
IGN AU
The automatic nature of the combat almost mirrors Too Human's approach to gameplay as a whole: this is autopilot gaming: routine revival, hand-held progression, a loot free-for-all and a microwave dinner storyline.
Read Full Review

65
Team Xbox
I don’t need games that make me this mad for so little payoff.
Read Full Review

60
Worth Playing
Too Human has been in production in various forms for 10 years, but somehow, it still feels like an unfinished game. The plot is half-baked, the gameplay is simplistic, the replay value is hurt by the lack of variety, and glitches are commonplace. While the very basic framework of a fun game is there, it's weakened by all the flaws.
Read Full Review

60
EuroGamer
Perhaps biggest problem with the game: it's too short.
Read Full Review

60
Giant Bomb
If anything meaningful happens in this game aside from establishing a villain, it was lost on me. The only way I got anything interesting out of it was to start searching for web pages devoted to Baldur's place in Norse mythology to see how many liberties Silicon Knights is taking with its fiction and to see what sorts of things could lie ahead in the next games. As a game, the action is a little too straightforward for its own good.
Read Full Review

55
GameSpot
A perfect example of awesome but unrealized potential.
Read Full Review

50
GameSpy
Deprived of a decent storyline, innovative mechanics, and limited variation in either enemies or environments, Too Human is barely worthy of a weekend rental.
Read Full Review

50
GameDaily
Its role-playing elements prove uninteresting, with an unbalanced upgrade system and no major differences between the five available classes. Its fighting is stale, with loose multi-directional melee combat and horribly broken long-range targeting. Finally, the presentation falls short, with unpolished visuals and bothersome glitches.
Read Full Review

42
1UP
The game is simply schizophrenic; it attempts to be all things to all people and never succeeds in executing any of them well. The end result is in dire need of polish and focus, and that doesn't solely apply to gameplay mechanics.
Read Full Review

THIS GAME SUCKS!!!!!

[Kufi-]

or M$ paid other sites

[IzKyD1331]

ahahahahaha 360rxorz fails hahahaha how lame hahahahaha what a loser hahahaaha your console sucks hahahaha he was paid to make that review hahahaha

do you see how f@cking annoying this is? this is how you sound every time you post a comment, just STFU!

[AIi_The_Brit]

better than any game on the PS3?

need i remind you MGS4 got around 55+ 10/10s..

and instantly

you fail

[juuken]

http://itsacelebration.ytmn...

FLOP!

[divideby0]

My fav. genre and was a must buy until they crippled the online portion of the game...
I am now 3hrs into the game and have enjoyed it, but I am already bored with it, but will keep playing.
Eternal darkness on game cube was 10x more impressive as a game.
I would have been very upset to spend 60 bucks on this...kudos to the reviews for giving me a heads up

[felidae]

lol@TheMART saying this game kicks a$$

lolol.

[QuizPyro]

were are you bots now wow EPIC FAIL any more pics

[ChrisGTR1]

its really odd why theres so much hate for this game. its like everyone is out to make too human and denis look bad. i bought the game and really love this game. i honestly think this is as good as mass effect, actually better cause of the 2 player coop. trading items, leveling up. tons and tons of loot, this is a real diablo fans paradise. did none of these reviewers ever play diablo? seriously this is messed up cause this game is honestly very good.

[Zahaladeen]

Seriously... gamers should not game drunk. It effects your judgement.

[ChrisGTR1]

thats exactly what im talking about right there. just cause this is a damn diablo type game its an instant fail or something? must every game have to be FPS shooter to be good? this game IS A GOOD GAME! am i the only person in here that likes diablo?!? i think this game got these horrible scores cause this type of game is mainly for the pc crowd or something.

[kenshin22up]

diablo fan paradise? better than mass effect?
Oh please, you must be smoking something real crazy to even compare Blizzard's master piece and a game worthy of last year's GOTY status to Too human.

[ChrisGTR1]

<facepalm> why do you even bother responding when you clearly havent even played too human.

[Zahaladeen]

...and I've played Mass Effect. And I've played Too Human. And to compare Too Human to either undermines your credibility.

It's one thing to disagree. It's quite another to make such a public error in judgement just for the sake of being a contrarian.

There is no way, _no way_, that Too Human rates as Game of the Year material.

[ChrisGTR1]

....so when did you play too human and for how long?

what im saying by comparing it to mass effect is that this game to me is one of the very best games on the 360. up there with mass effect exept that it has coop so i like it better because of the coop.

[Dark Collosis]

I agree that this game is very good indeed and a looters paradise game.. I also noticed that the graphics have been upgraded a little sence the demo and are by no means less than a 8/10 rating.. It realy makes you wonder why so much hate and what kind of gamers are doing these articles? I love the game and am a very happy 360 owner even with all this hate... I could care less if it was rated a 1/10 now that i KNOW just how good this game is.. Too bad for these MS haters who will not ever know just how good of a dungeon crawler this game really is.. Talk about fanboys... hate on...

[ChrisGTR1]

exactly, they might as well just give it 0.1 score it dosent make a diffrence. i think this is the second time that this has happened to a good game, first assasins creed and now this. game reviewers are really hurting their cred when they pull off fanboy bs like giving a 5.5 score. kung fu panda got scored higher than too human wtf?!

@Zahaladeen yea so there goes your whole argument, you havent even played too human so you fail to compare mass effect to anything. play the games before reply with made up bs.

[orakga]

What makes you guys assume that just because people criticize this game they are PS3 fanboys?

I almost bought a 2nd 360 just so that I can play this game with my GF online. Yes, I thought this was going to be the second coming of Christ, errr... I mean Diablo.

But it's not. Not even close. Diablo is a finely polished online masterpiece. On the other hand, Too Human simply isn't as great as people are trying to sell it to be.

Not all people who criticize PS3 games are 360 fanboys. And not everybody who criticizes 360 games are PS3 fanboys. Please realize that by assuming otherwise you are revealing your own fanboy nature.

---

Edit: Chris, that other guy said that he DID play Too Human, as well as all the other games mentioned. So his argument remains intact.

[ChrisGTR1]

yea well he never answerd my question. when did he play it and how long. still unaswerd and he still has bubbles so theres no reason to not answer it. have you played too human? i strongly suggest you play the demo at leased 2 times in order to appreciate it. so far im 8 hours in and everything is top knoch. well the only complain i have is some of the cutscenes kind of shake a bit. looks wierd. and the targeting is pretty bad but i only use a sword so not such a problem.other than that everythings A+

[Obama]

The game is pretty...pretty UGLY.

[NoxiousD]

Man, these reviews are really horrible, I went on forums and various sites and well... this game really failed... thank god the xbox 360 is getting a price drop the last decent game they really, really had was Halo 2.

[juuken]

Owwww.
Just owwww.
Painful score.
Nobody tell Dyack about this. He might just batsh*t insane. o.o

[FantasyStar]

All that work just to be torn apart by bandwagon reviews and prejudice gamers.

[Dark Collosis]

Even with all this rediculous hate that this game is getting from all these fanboys and haters this game will live on i guarantee it.. This game once played by the nonbiast gamers out there will spread like wildfire and be loved for many months to come.. There will be 2 more and both will be scored more fairly.. I love the fact this game is underrated right now, because i know through playing it just how good it is and there isnt ANYTHING like it on any console right now.. Too Human is just that good of a dungeon crawler and its original ip will win out over this hate. I will again preorder TH2 just as soon as its anounced... game on..

[FantasyStar]

You really liked this game? Im not judging because I never even tried the demo. But the scale of bad reviewers has my skeptic radar off the ****ing charts. What're your thoughts?

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Why ask anyone about the game when the demo is free? Just go download it and try it. If you like dungeon crawls with lots of loot you will enjoy this game.

[Denis_Dyack]

What's wrong Ripten? Too much innovation for you to handle?

Too Human is Too Great for these reviewers to handle

[thebudgetgamer]

the two grouos i trust with reviews gave it totaly different scores
game informer 6.75
xplay 4/5
it seems cool but im stuck between the two scores

[Zahaladeen]

...Dennis Dyack. And as for innovation I suppose your right. "A game that you can play with your feet" is pretty innovative.

[Nostradavis]

Oh I get it Dennis, the poor controls are designed to be just that because that is "innovative". Too amazing.

Hey, let us know when you are done rearranging the deck chairs on your Titanic game Dennis.

Until then I guess this link will have to do:
http://itsacelebration.ytmn...

[Justin_Arnold]

I admire the minerals it took to come onto this forum and post. However, I stand by my review. With so many problems this game should have stayed in development.

[00000000000000000001]

Ripten wouldn't know a good game if it hit him in the face!

[divideby0]

I am 3 hrs in and do not see the innovation..why crippling the online portion of the game is totally beyond me...heck we played Norath on the PS2 with if I recall 4 and that was like 5 yrs or more ago.
I guess I was expecting way to much after so much enjoying ED on the cube

[TL24]

This review is right on the god damn spot! Too Bad for Too Human.

[IaMs12]

i was really hoping this game will tickle my fancy but it didnt... this game is a matter of opinion thats it... i believe it will sell well but not great... i see this flooding the "used" section of gamestop in the 6 months

[Snukadaman_]

But that 10 years is not all xbox 360 development...it took 2-3 years for that. Its a flop I will live with it...im not defending its case for being a flop...all i am saying is this game is not as bad as people are saying. it is as people say lair is not that bad but I did not purchase lair I purchased too human.

[DA_SHREDDER]

I totally agree with this reviewer.

[GarandShooter]

'Too Human is a rental if you like your Norse gods packing more electronics than a Radio Shack, but for everyone else it’s a pass. I would only recommend it to people who have cut me off in traffic or talk during movies.'

Now, that's funny, I don't care who you are.

[orakga]

actual substance of the review aside, I agree. that comment is funny. I'm gonna use it later.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

actually I retract.... read it wrong... we are all good here. :)

[cereal_killa]

And seeing there game play/review tells me that this game isn t what it s cracked up to be I for one have not tried the demo so i wont say its garbage but i was watching the review and thought it looked like a button masher game but they said it was a stick masher game and it just reminded of me of Ninja Gaiden 2 with different characters.(IMO)

[beavis4play]

if kevin pereira didn't like gamespots 6.5 for TH......what's he gonna do when he reads this review?

[GiantEnemyCrab]

nothing at all.. Ripten is a nobody site and frankly nobody cares about what they think. Well unless they are fitting someones agenda.

[beavis4play]

i guess it's a "nobody site" to you because it doesn't serve YOUR agenda. see, that knife cuts both ways.

i'll say i don't care about reviews one way or the other. i'll play games that interest me regardless. i was really just poking fun at KP and that ridiculous video he made the other night.

[Twizlex]

Personally, I disagree with the review also, but the dude that wrote it hasn't been there very long and maybe is trying to make a name for himself. The site itself, other than this review, I really like.

[heyheyhey]

epic fail- lets move on

im hoping Silicon Knights sees sense and makes a superior PC version where they can fix the horrible camera and stuff just like BioWare did with Mass Effect

[Montrealien]

yeah cause Mass effect on the xbox was unbearable...

*rolls eyes*

:p

[GiantEnemyCrab]

Bought the game, have about 6 hours into it. My opinion is it deserves better than a 4 and more around 7.5-8. There are some things broken but the combat and looting are fun and very satisfying.

[n4gzz]

exactly, demo is there. Play demo, like it then buy it. don't like it, don't buy it. Who cares about other people's opinion when you can build your own by playing demo.

[Droid]

I said this game would flop so hard over a year ago, and now I'm having so much fun messaging all the n00bs on my Live list who are actually trying to play it, LOL.

TOO FLOP

[10YearFlop]

"I said this game would flop so hard over a year ago"

http://www.n4g.com/up/50695...

"Joined N4G 22 hours ago"

SELF OWNED

[tommy-cronin]

They only gave it a bad review because they knew how long this game was in development for, just for people to visit their page and argue over it so then it makes it big on n4g and to no suprise it did

[Taco]

This game is a perfect example of why hype is a bad thing. All hype does is raise gamers' expectations. And when gamers' expectations rise too high, then they will just be doomed for dissapointment.

Of course, it certainly doesn't help that Denis Dyack was high on publicity. He was only feeding the hype which only contributed to the dissapointment.

Of course, it also doesn't help that Too Human itself was subpar, now did it?

-Beef Taco

[KBDuB]

Too Fun. Fun(the point of video games)

I'm playin it right now and am enjoy it.

[SkolarVisari]

You know Jet li Rise to honor used a simillar system and it wasn't rap like Too Human. It was actually kind of fun. Too Human is not in anyway innovative for using the right stick to attack. They took a system that mostly worked and made the whole thing boring!

[PirateThom]

And that game, made by SCEA, over 4 years ago, has the same metacritic rating as Too Human... but one has over 70 reviews (Rise to Honour) and 1 has a mere 32 (Too Human).

[Montrealien]

And I enjoy both of those games...

*shoves an Twinki in his mouth*

Too Human, It's a videogame.

[Mr BlueScreen]

As bad as this review is and as much as I love Sony I would have to say don't always listen to reviewer's Reviews. After the Haze reviews and Liar reviews I would have to say try the game. I happened to love Haze. Didn't mind Liar after the controls were fixed. Try it before you buy it. Its also a matter of opinion.
Its too bad the game will go down as a flop. No game should ever go down as a flop due to all the hard work the developers go through to make a great game.

[Morgue]

Just like the game, the reviews are also being hyped. I could care less about this game and with so many other titles being released in October I'll save my $60 for something else.

[Kilo_Bravo]

...looks like someone pulled another Daikatana.

[Montrealien]

Problem is, Daikatana did not sell well, Too Human will.

[Montrealien]

A reviewer claims that a game is a victim of it's own hype? Very professional. I didn't even bother reading after I saw that.

[Cherchez La Ghost]

About 2/3's of these people who review games kill me!! I just spent 3 1/2 hours playing Too Human. When you get used to the controls and understanding the upgrades for Skill tree, the game gets better. I'm at the storyline where Thor chokes Loki. This game is not as bad for what people make it to be.

[ChefDejon]

power of Green - 519 days 17 hours ago
PM
Track
Ignore
2 - 1.1
How can you be so sure?, why would anybody claim what this dude is saying after E3. Such anger and hate TH's gameplay will put Heavenly Swords to shame watch! attack me all you want i'm offten right, and the amount of my bubbles prove it.

Who every dissagreed! with my post have you done any reading on this game? did you even read this story?. The RPG element will own all by itself; then you add the story and the advanced fighting system and you have something untouchable. Do you know how many millions of people are are waiting for this game? due to the story alone based on the myth.

[SkolarVisari]

I love how people say Ninja Gaiden is a button masher, it's one of the most skill based hack and slash games in existence. If you just mash buttons you will get rocked period. Ninja Gaiden should not even be mentioned when talking about Too Human especially in the negative.