We didn't learn any new details on what that story would entail, though we did see some later level combat and a couple of new areas. The first new locale we were shown was the Aesir hub. The area was nothing out of the ordinary in the extraordinary world of Too Human, but its significance was felt nonetheless. This is the place where you can buy new weapons and enhancements and other related commercial activities.

The hub is also where Dyack talked about the inventory system Too Human offers. Like other games where loot is important, epic sets can be found that add powerful enhancements if completed and equipped. We saw one such and it looked mighty impressive (not too surprising as the game runs in true 720p with 4x anti-aliasing and can still handle 50-70 enemies on screen at once). Collecting the set won't be as cumbersome as you might think. Too Human will automatically analyze new pickups and determine whether it is better than what you currently possess -- a handy tool when your inventory maxes out and it decides for you what to keep and what to toss or sell. Don't worry; you can set your own parameters for what should be auto-dumped.

The next new area we saw was called the Ice Forest. This frozen landscape featured a level 14 character up against some tougher enemies and variants. The game scales with you, encouraging replayability. Part of that is done through the introduction of more challenging variations of earlier enemies. We saw one that could freeze Baldur, a condition that didn't look too fun. Though it was claimed that this section of the game would be tough, the person demoing it was clearly skilled as they dispatched the enemies with ease.


The level cap for that first game is 50, though reaching it is no easy task. There's one case of a Silicon Knights employee with a character in the mid-40s. The time it took to reach there was more than 40 hours. Balancing isn't done, but 40 to 60 hours to reach that point sounded about right to Dyack. "I would say conceptually or content-wise it's bigger than most games I've seen in a very long time."

The art style in Too Human is top notch.


In our short time with the game, we noticed a substantial improvement in the polish on the game. The combat feels tighter and the framerate is a bit more stable. We still had a few instances where the camera wasn't ideal and the game is yet a work in progress, but what we played felt on track. With such an epic game, however, it's tough to get a good idea on how the final product will turn out when you only get to play for 15 minutes.

On the always hot topic of an upcoming Too Human demo, Dyack wants to assure gamers that it is still on the way. "My promise! It'll be there before the game releases on Xbox Live." We had no luck on learning when that release date might be. Perhaps we'll learn more next time the game is shown, which, according to Dyack, is when we'll finally learn about the co-op features Too Human has to offer.

I'm still not entirely sure if Too Human is going to be a slam dunk, but after a demo at GDC one thing is clear: Silicon Knights' Xbox 360 title has some serious technical chops.

"Take a good look at this loading screen," said director Denis Dyack as he started up the game from the title screen. "It's the only time you'll see it during the demo." By the time he was finished with the sentence, the near-final version of Too Human was off and running, and not once did we see a load screen for the first thirty minutes of the game.

Even as it jumped from environment to environment. Silicon Knights are master storytellers above all, and their Too Human tech is there to serve this purpose. The first half hour of the game zips back and forth between gameplay and cut-scenes and expository flashbacks, each taking place in different, wide-open, detailed environments, and not one transition brought with it a halt in the pacing.

Too Human, due out sometime later this year from Microsoft for Xbox 360, is best described a cross between God of War's cinematic, epic action sequences and loot-grinding RPGs like Diablo. On the one hand, you've got these wonderful cut scenes telling a story of Norse mythology in a cybernetic age, where robotic Valkyries take departed souls to Valhalla on golden metal wings. While Silicon Knights still doesn't want to spill many story details, what I saw thus far has me hooked.

And on the other, you've got the massive menu screens full of "epic loot" and skill trees. While you are constantly finding new armors, weapons, and runes to give them stat boosts, the menu system used to swap them out is pretty intuitive -- if complex. You can scroll through all your various types of stuff and compare it to what you're currently wearing, to see if you want to swap it out. Armor does degrade, so eventually you'll want to put on something new because you won't have the protection anymore.



Since all the cut scenes are in real-time, main character Baldur's gear will always reflect what you're wearing -- even if the armor is degrading and flashing red, that'll show up in the cinematics.

there are also "challenge rooms" that you can enter and try to wipe out a group of enemies in a certain time (two minutes, in the room we played). If you succeed, you get to bash open a breakable object full of loot; if you fail, you're booted out and you can never try again.

Another way you can have fun while grinding enemies is to do mini-quests that you can see in the menu screen. To get a few more runes to upgrade your weapons, for example, you can kill six trolls by mounting them. "Trolls" in Too Human are giant walking mechs, of course. To kill them you can shoot or bash out their armor, then press A when you are near them to jump on them. This initiates the "troll-surfing" portion of the game, where you will push the analog stick back and forth to balance on the troll, then slam the right stick to smash his head in.

Anyway, all this is surely only a tiny slice of Too Human. Did I have a good time? I am not exactly an RPG person. I do not grind epic mobs for loot, or mob epic loots for grind, or any of that. But Too Human was certainly fun, and the story is definitely intriguing, and if anybody can have me looting epic grinds, it's Silicon Knights.

Ok, if they get steady framerate, lagfree multiplayer and LOTS of items i'll be drooling all over this. I don't even care about graphics, animations and story. Cause all I want is a Diablo like game I can have fun with. When you're playing the game through for the 150th time. You don't really care for the story anyways. It's just a cherry at the top of a cake.

Awesome
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/30817.html

Don't get me wrong, I love a good story, Mass Effect, Bioshock, gaming bliss *drools*. But this game doesn't even need it to be succesfull :) Who cared about Diablo 2 story after the 50th playthrough?

The game looks a lot better than before,but some parts are still bad...That opening cutscene in the bar,is still directed horribly....Especialy the part with baldur runing with the sword,which felt weightless,and it realy didnt feel satisfying.The cutscene from LO,where Kaim runned on that crane machine,and stuck his sword in,was one of the most impressive cutscenes ever.In too human it was quite the oposite.Its still a day one purchase for me,but i just wonder how their cutscene direction isnt anywhere that of eternal darkness...Its like they just made the game look a lot better,instead of making it feel better.

Does anyone know if there is like high quality footage of that too human walkthrough available!?

I'm loving all the new footage I've seen so far though. All though it needs a little bit of polishing it looks pretty good so far.

Also really like the idea about the whole human vs. cybernetic alignment. Especially it seems to effect the gameplay according to the RPG round about video on IGN. Seems really interesting.....