Azurik 2 confirmed.

Wait, so you haven't actually played it yet, but you're already deeming it a "beautiful mess". Do you remember Diablo and how simple the fighting was? Do you remember how awesome that game ended up being? If you haven't even given the game a chance, then why are you even bothering to critique it? So what if it's taken years to make. Silicon Knights has a pretty decent record thus far.

I'll admit, the fighting does look simple, but it was also simple in games like God of War and Devil May Cry.

I'm a huge Silicon Knights fan, but I'll have to agree. Those big, open arena environments are pretty uninspiring. Please prove me wrong, SK.

Gameplay looks empty. seems like just a move and mash environment.

The combat looks pretty crap. I found combat the weakest aspects of Blood Omen and Eternal Darkness too, but I'm not sure this game has what made those games overcome the poor combat system.

One of my more anticipated games of 2008.

Silicon Knights has a solid track record. I saw the E3 demo and still wasn't turned off by the game. I'm more excited about the multiplayer aspect and the Norse mythos behind the game.

It'll be interesting to see how they have implemented the right-thumbstick combat.

There's a pretty good preview that just came up on IGN: [xbox360.ign.com]

looks "clunky" from what I have seen

i'm gonna give silicon knights the benefit of the doubt on this one til it comes out.

@PoorPensive: My exact thoughts. The animations are way to stiff as well.

The animation is all kinds of choppy and seems to be full of the time-tested canned animation sequences where your character can't move until it's finished playing all the way through.

Which, you know, sort of takes the realism out of photorealistic gaming.

But if the story's good I'm not going to give a flying bull pucky.

Looks really nice. It does seem like you're attacking the gameplay for no reason. If someone were to say they think KZ2 will be a "beautiful mess", millions of fanboys would cry out in anger eventhough the general consensus is that the original KZ gameplay was far from interesting.

@atma: No, I haven't played it. No, I'm not "deeming" it anything. I'm just guessing, based on a number of factors. I'll happily be proven wrong when the game ships next year. Maybe the forthcoming demo will change my mind.

@Spartan1308: must have missed the memo it makes you cool to talk shit about too human. Still cant wait to actually get my hands on the game before i decide if its going to be amazing or crappy. I think the lead chr is great and im really hoping this game turns out well.

I don't know why everyone's raggin' on this game already. If it weren't for that rushed E3 gameplay demo, everyone would be eating up every piece of info on this game. Either way, I read a preview awhile ago and the gameplay sounded very awesome. The game is also 4 player co-opalicious.

I still like the look, but I realize there can be a fine line between a good game and a great game. MS really needs this to be a great game, especially as it's meant to be a trilogy. It is in MS's best interests to send some "helpers" to the developer so that it reaches its full potential.

I really want Too Human to not suck because they seem to have some interesting ideas. You'd hope they'd have the gameplay in better shape after how long the game has been in development but perhaps it'll come together after some playtesting as they polish the game up.

It might not sound that likely but just look at what Naughty Dog has done with Uncharted - nearly everyone complained about the controls and gameplay and ND put in a ton of work to iron out those kinks. Gameplay previews since then have been quite positive.

The game has excellent technical graphics... but the combat looks kinda weak and extremely robotic... not fluid and smooth like other games of even the previous generation.

Gonna wait for a demo or review before passing judgment... I really want this game to be good.

Hm, I beg to differ. In the action trailer (also on GT), not sure about this one, you see interactive fighting with one of the really large machine beasts. You not just hack and slay it, but you jump on it dynamically and do sort of special, better moves (I am willing to bet they are not cutscene interactive like in other games). More like you press the jump button in the right direction and you get stuck on that thing until it manages to get you off.

That's what it looked like. Can't get enough footage though. Loving what I recently saw so far :)

@Shah: Edit: Ah no, it was this exact one. Watched it again now. ;)

I think it's going to be the best game ever, and I'm an anti-Microsoft person. The melee is controlled with the right analog stick, and the guns are the triggers! Dyack was saying that a lot of people don't "believe" in the right stick because it's usually just the camera, but they're going all next-gen on it.

Come on a long way since I last saw the game. Nice.

Lets hope this eye candy plays better than Daikatana.

Commenting on gameplay from a video is pretty stupid, because, well, you ain't playing the game.

In the shots of the gameplay... it really looks like highly detailed miniatures moving about on a table-top surface. To my mind, the Wii has achieved much more convincing graphics with Metroid Prime 3 and Mario Galaxy.

sad, I really don't like the art of this game so far. Specifically the character and enemy designs. Gameplay looks uninteresting, too.

I'm personally sick t death of brightly colored magic RPG particle effects in neon colors with giant ghostly shapes lashing out at enemies, especially in what looks like a gritty environment...

It would be interesting if it followed norse legend through analogy, and not in anyliteral way, and explained how certain types of 'epic' events arise over and over again in the arcs of history, like patterns of branches in the Yggdrasil. Such as the Yggdrassil itself could be some sort of 'machine' that grew down to the core of the earth and regulated the world by balancing geothermal and atmospheric conditions, and this underworld could be where the machine stored the memories of the 'dead', and thereby be an underworld populated by 'spirits' of a sort. They may be doing something like this, who knows

The idea of men versus machine is cliche, but there's potential to do interesting things with it, but it doesn't look like this one will...

@sendmail:
There is a lot of irrational hatred for this game because of 1) E3 and 2) Dyack.

People need to read the IGN article mentioned above:

"Too Human isn't God of War. It isn't Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden, either. It certainly looks like a traditional action game which may be where a lot of the confusion and backlash originated when Too Human was first shown at E3 back in 2006. In fact, the game is an RPG in the vein of Diablo with some heavy action elements tossed in to make things a tad more interesting than repeatedly clicking on a single button."

I've been of the opinion that this was going to be a button masher from the beginning.
Same old formula of "hit the A button to do an unlikely and impressive looking combo that leaves you feeling empty inside".

This game is so far away from my 'anticipated games list' that you can't even see it from there.

Developers. Here's a hint: Gameplay > Graphics. I know. Crazy, right? But it's true.
Some of the best games EVERY had shit graphics, and amazing gameplay. Katamari Damacy was a runaway hit, and it looks like ass.
Conversely, some of the worst games I've ever played were passably bloomy and anti-alaisy. Take for example, the first years worth of games on either the 360 or PS3. Lots of pretty, but no good games in the bunch. I'm specifically looking at you, Lair.

If you're making a game, and it comes down to making a game more pretty, or better thought out, GO WITH OPTION TWO. This portato has been in development long enough that they KNOW it's going to be crap. They're desperately trying to fix it/blame Epic. And maybe there's something to that. Maybe they spent so much time and money wrestling with the engine that they couldn't come up with anything other than a bad Double Dragon Clone. With... cyber vikings. I don't know.

I'm just sick of this endless parade of crap games with "teh awesome grafix". And before any fantrolls crucify me for heresey, I'm looking at ALL THREE console manufacturers, and almost EVERY publisher on this one. It's a trend that's been ongoing for years, and I'm ready for it to end.

Great visuals are nice, but I'd take solid gameplay in their place 9 times of 10.

@XbhaskarX: If it turns out that Too Human really is that game, I'll retract my statement. But I've yet to see and inventory screen, or any sort of RPG mechanic.

Keep in mind, "RPG", has, in the past, been used to refer to learning a new combo.

You've unlocked Gut Reaper! Hit "a, a, a, a, a".

I must say, the graphics sure are purr-ti. but the animation and particle effects look very unfinished. i love the art style and the epic music.

@InsomniaBob:
You have a point, but usually games don't really make a big deal about showing off their inventory screens, so I'm not sure that means anything.
We'll have to wait and see if this game is an RPG along the lines of Diablo (with 4 player co-op over XBL), but given that IGN has seen it and says it is, I see no reason to assume otherwise.

I still have faith in Silicon Knights, considering how awesome Eternal Darkness was. Plus at least conceptually this game sounds great. I mean, it's Viking myth only everyone's a cyborg! How awesome is that?

From the videos I've seen, it looks like the gameplay is a Devil May Cry ripoff. I guess we'll see how it turns out tho, when it's released in 2010.

@McWhertor:"No, I haven't played it. No, I'm not "deeming" it anything."

"Beautiful mess" seems like a fairly closed/definitive statement if you ask me. Back at E305 when Cliffy B. demonstrated Gears, people slammed the game because there appeared to be some noticable drops in framerate whenever the action got intense. Regardless, people still gave the game the benefit of the doubt and the ending results proved positive, as there was hardly any lag in the final product (regarding campaign).

If people can give Gears the benefit of the doubt, then why not the same for Too Human? In any event, it seems like you're trying too hard to be the tough "hard to impress" critic. You lost a lot of credibility with that "Beautiful mess" line.

Roger Ebert you're not.

I'm thinking this game is going to be good and not great.

And that's fine with me. I like the whole cyber-viking shtick alot and the gameplay although seemingly a bit uninspired still seems solid enough to make the game enjoyable.

I think people just love to hate on this game.

@InsomniaBob: I suggest you check out this video which showcases the RPG elements briefly. [media.xbox360.ign.com]
Also, I recommend you actually read the preview that he linked. It explains the RPG elements well and shows that it's actually very hard for the game to be a button masher since the melee control is relegated to the right stick and the guns use that and the triggers.

well...all I can say is, from a graphics standpoint it's impressive but when things start moving is where the problems come in. Combat looks dull and lifeless and the animation is trash. The clip where the two guys/gods/whatever were facing off like they were training was a joke. The animation was just so bad. I'll give SK the benefit of the doubt but let's be realistic. After all the noise they made about the UE3, Too Human is going to have to be damn near perfect in every respect in order for them to get a break.

RPG aspect of Too Human shown in this video:

[www.gametrailers.com]

Michael, can this video be added at the top?

My biggest worry for this game now that it's clearly a Diablo-style RPG: with four player co-op, I really hope that's not just four Baldurs (in other words, SK, please Halo 3-ize the co-op).

@Samos42: Thanks for that. Some faith restored. Combat still looks like a button mash fest, or I guess in this case, an analog stick jiggle fest, but at least this shows there's some more depth to the thing.

wow people have been bashing this game for 2 years without ever playing it. Personally i thought the RPG elements looked pretty cool in that video Xbhaskarx linked. Either way i'll wait until i actually play it before deciding on anything.

@atma: than you was playing DMC and god of war all wrong lol, gamers like me, make fighting games like god of war and dmc look good, with combos, but this game.... this game needs a mircale.....

*yawns, goes back to waiting for Ninja Gaiden II*

I think that Silicon Knights REALLY needs to fire their animators, or whoever's doing their animation blending or SOMETHING. We should have better animation these days.

We *DO* have better animation these days.

Otherwise, I think the game looks pretty good, if a little light on the enemy count.

"Epic" = 30 hours of button mashing in cavernous grey spaceship docks...

I'll hold out hope because Eternal Darkness looked really bland and uninteresting to me until I actually played it. If it does wind up being a mess though I'll still have plenty of other games to play on my 360 so it won't be that great of a disappointment.

i agree with mcwhertor with suck gameplay here but i disagree with the graphics, looks like outdated for the 360 nowhere near GoW, so wtf is the hype all about? if this is what microsoft is calling their big-hitters, i'm thinking is this what they call their "next-gen"?

Weren't they bitching and moaning about how the Unreal 3 engine couldn't do what they wanted it to do?

Seems to me that they are going to use it as a false scapegoat to cover up how crappy the game really is.

They should have just stuck with the critically aclaimed 'hype engine' that Halo 3 was built using.

yeah, they definitely overdid the thin depth of field. It's supposed to give you a sense of scale, but the DOF is too narrow, making everything look like macrophotography. Someone said it looks like little figures inside a tiny set, and they're exactly right. The DOF issues along with the shinyness of the models gives the sense of miniatures.

@exkon:

Does it really have a multiplayer?

@ProdigalMoon:

yeah but a fun 30 hours ;)

@chiablo:

I'm not sure but are they still using the unreal engine? I thought they sued because they couldn't use the unreal one, had to rewrite their own and sueing epic for damages caused to their delay in development since they showed a good working one in gears.

This game has received much too much bad press, and you guys haven't even laid your hands on it. It just seems like judgement was passed on this game before it even got a trial.