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Too Human xbox360 Game Reviews
Too Human
Critic Score
Metascore: 65 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
7.2 out of 10
based on 75 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 341 votes
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Rate this game

As the Cybernetic God Baldur, you get thrust into the midst of an ongoing battle that threatens the existence of mankind. An ancient machine presence has forced the God’s hand. In the first of a three part trilogy, Baldur is charged with defending mankind from an onslaught of monstrous war machines bent on eradication of human life. It takes more than brawn and raw strength to supplant the machine hordes. Utilize a sophisticated blend of seamless melee and firearms combat to vanquish foes close and far. Feel each punishing blow through advanced visual effects. Intuitive combat provides new level of accessibility: Perform Baldur’s elaborate and complex combat maneuvers through the press of a button and chain together rapid-fire combos with ease. Through the use of an intuitive combat system, Too Human provides gameplay that is easy to learn and rewarding to master and introduces combinations of weapons combat on a high level. The story chronicles the ongoing struggle between Cybernetic gods, machine giants and mortal men on a massive scale never before seen. Play the role of a cybernetic god charged with protecting the human race against a relentless onslaught of machines. [Microsoft]

PUBLISHER: Microsoft
DEVELOPER: Silicon Knights
GENRE(S): Action, Adventure
PLAYERS: 1
ESRB RATING: T (Teen)
RELEASE DATE: August 19, 2008

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

90
GamerNode
The game is a triumph in everything it aims to do: an intriguing story, breathtaking cinematography and narrative, a unique and effective combat system, extensive customization options, and a meaningful concept.
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88
Ferrago
Those who hate it will throw down the controller a long time before the ass-serving and seemingly shallow controls give way to fulfilling battles and a truly awesome character; while those who love it will stubbornly plough forward from death to death, ever-reaching for the next level, and the next level, in order to experience the sheer visceral pleasure of directing Baldur in his almost invincible dance of death.
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87
Planet Xbox 360
If "World of Warcraft" had a baby with "Star Wars" and the doctor pumped it full of steroids the final result would be Silicon Knight’s Too Human.
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86
GameFocus
Amazingly Too Human has some amazing graphics power behind it, with some wide open complex levels, dozens of monsters and the player or players destroying everything in sight, the game never slows down or lags at all. When we are used to games with 4 to 10 characters on the screen at once, seeing so many is a pure visual feast.
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85
MEGamers
Forget the graphics, cut scenes, little glitches, stupid supporting AI and the voice acting and concentrate on the excellent gameplay engine Silicon Knights have built. You will find yourself playing the same levels over and over again to build up your character and power up your inventory, while having a ton of fun.
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84
XboxAddict
Again, overall the game is very well done and should be played by anyone that like a good action game or even an RPG.
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80
AtomicGamer
For every great idea, like low-penalty deaths that don’t force you to replay sections, there’s equally flawed ones, like the lush, alternate-reality cyberspace you occasionally visit for light puzzling, that would’ve best been left on the cutting room floor.
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80
ZTGameDomain
In the end, despite its flaws, I'm having a blast with Too Human. The looting and leveling is incredibly addictive, and if you let yourself dig a little bit you'll find a surprising amount of depth in the combat system. However I can't help but feel like the game isn't living up to it's full potential.
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80
Total Video Games
Too Human easily reaches the standards set by Silicon Knights' previous work. Merging the addictive qualities of Diablo with a thoroughly innovative and entertaining combat system, Too Human offers an engaging blend of instant gratification and long-term depth despite the occasional failing.
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80
GamePro
It's ultimately the inspired intermingling of the disparate abilities bestowed on partnered players that makes Too Human worth playing.
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80
G4 TV
The game is that well constructed, and when it's firing on all cylinders there' nothing out there that can beat it for sheer satisfaction.
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79
DailyGame
Often the cut-scenes are more compelling than the gameplay, but the game does ultimately salvage itself from being the eternal butt of Xbox 360 jokes from this point forward.
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78
Xbox360Achievements
The RPG nature of the back end system is a true pleasure at times. Kitting Baldur out from head to toe in badass armour is one of Too Human’s fortes. Other than the main story quest though there isn’t really that much to do and the game gets incredibly repetitive.
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78
IGN
The character customization options and great class and skill system are the kind of foundation games should be built on. But then it’s all made rather moot by the fact that dying doesn’t matter and all of the enemies scale to you. The sense of accomplishment just isn’t there.
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75
IGN UK
Unbound from the lumbering storytelling, when you and a friend are tackling levels at your leisure, hurling crowds of mechmen skywards, it’s exactly the sort of brainless destruction the game should be.
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75
NZGamer
The combat is fast, frantic and fun, requiring you to think and move quickly, and each of the classes are very different to play. Sure there's not much variety in the type of bad guys you come up against but the enemies which are present are generally very nice to look at and very satisfying to obliterate with your weapon of choice. It's easily the best action RPG on the 360 and arguably the best on any of the modern consoles.
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75
MS Xbox World
A breath of fresh air to the common shooter on the Xbox 360. I do feel that any RPG fan or hack and slash genre fan should try this out, but it is definitely the title you should 'try before you buy'.
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75
Gameplanet
People will either really love it or really hate it with the odd few sitting around the middle.
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75
Game Over Online
Diablo got to be the icon and the benchmark that it is by giving players great tools for building countless different character types and then throwing them mercilessly into a constantly changing proving ground of monster slaying mayhem. Too Human may be working off that same blueprint for success, but, like so many other imitators before it, it never quite gets there.
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75
Gamers.at
Nordic Myth meets Cyberpunk... Too Human has immense potential but unfortunately fails completely when it comes to meeting the high expectations.
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74
Cheat Code Central
A bit too repetitive for its own good, but the unique controls and the online co-op are quite nice indeed.
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73
Game Positive
Ultimately, if you're willing to learn the ropes, there's some good fun to be had in Too Human - and gamers that know what to expect are less likely to be disappointed.
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73
Da Gameboyz
For most casual players I would steer them towards their local video store, but for fans of this genre I would most likely tell them to pick up and buy this game.
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72
3DJuegos
Too Human turns itself too quickly into an entertainment of fast, reiterative and excessively easy consumption, but it also counts with some elements that save it from forgetfulness. Good music, simple action, pleasant treatment and a good personalisation of weapons and objects are among its virtues. However, other components such as the argument or the role part, designed to give the game its own personal touch, fail resoundingly.
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71
Gamer 2.0
While the game has some problems, the good often cancels out the bad and action fans will no doubt enjoy the immense amount of destruction the game will throw at you.
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71
GamingExcellence
Despite falling short, Too Human ends in a way that suggests there will be future games made, which will thus permit the developers to take what they got wrong and make it right.
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70
Official Xbox Magazine UK
It's the sort of game that, when things are going badly, leaves you spending a lot of time not being able to do anything about it. You've made a mistake, and now you have to sit back and twiddle your thumbs.
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70
Pelit (Finland)
An interesting combination of ancient mythology and modern scifi-stories, but ultimately it's chunky and tedious gameplay prevents it from becoming a significant represententative of the scifi-action-rpg-subgenre already dominated by Mass Effect. Which is a pity, for there was massive potential here. [Sept 2008]
70
Gaming Target
Too Human is an interesting game disguised as a terrible action game.
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70
Armchair Empire
Honestly, when you want to tune out and just hack through hordes of rushing enemies for a half hour, Too Human fits the bill.
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70
LEVEL (Czech Republic)
Too complicated. Yet excellent narrative concerned with matters of human existence. Too Human is an attractive drama set in the rich world suffering from a way too complex game system. Sudden cut in one thirds of a story will not make you happy. [Sept 2008]
70
Maxi Consolas (Portugal)
Although it has some interesting ideas, both the combat and the game mechanics are very repetitive. The technical aspect could also have some improvements, as it shows a game that has been continuously patched trough its long development cycle. [Sept 2008]
70
Gamervision
Like I have mentioned before, the title isn’t without its many flaws and problems, but the good aspects of the title heavily outweigh the bad, and the amount of hate for the game seems disingenuous. That said; it feels like the game could have benefited from another year of development time, which might sound crazy given the game’s delays.
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70
WonderwallWeb
This game should have been so much better considering how long it’s been in production, but it’s not and it shows.
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70
Gameplayer
If wading knee deep in the dead to get at a piece of armour that’s 5% better than what you’re currently wearing isn’t the kind of adventuring that excites you, then you’re in trouble, because Too Human is exactly this type of game. Kill, loot, compare, equip, repeat.
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70
VideoGamer
This is the most disappointing thing about Too Human. Not the repetitive combat, or the technical issues, or the frustrating, endless death, but the plot. While the issue may be explored further in the next game, we expected more from the first. It's a big let down.
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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.
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68
Games Master UK
No doubt destined for cult status, but it's too annoying too often to reach true greatness. [Oct 2008, p.68]
68
Xbox World Australia
In the end, the game really is just too human: flawed, ageing but with the potential to do great things.
Read Full Review
67
Gaming Age
While Too Human doesn't really seem to excel at any of the things it attempts to do, it still ends up being fun to play despite the flaws. Sure, it's annoying to see that damn Valkyrie death animation every time you die, and I'd love to be able to pick out my long range targets, but I still find myself coming back to play for an hour or two every night, at least until I hit 50 with my Defender.
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67
Console Monster
Too Human feels unfinished and broken. After 10 years in development, you'd think that maybe it would have a lot less bugs and problems that it actually does. Unfortunately that's not true.
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66
RPG Fan
Too Human is repetitive, unbalanced, and frustrating, made complete with an uninteresting story.
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65
Kombo
Even with all the game's problems, I still managed to enjoy Too Human somewhat, simply because it did an excellent job of tapping into the part of my brain that wishes I had spent more time playing with dolls growing up.
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65
PTGamers
Technical problems are abundant, the character development is mostly irrelevant and the adventure is linear.
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65
PALGN
Too Human is a very competent action-RPG let down by clunky controls and a pervasive air of sloppiness. It's definitely worth a look for the dungeon-crawling Diablo crowd, but most will regard it as nothing more than an ambitious curiosity which never quite comes together.
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65
Gamer's Hell
Ultimately, despite the game's disappointments with a short length and excessive battling, we’re intrigued to see what becomes of Baldur and the Aesir in the coming sequels.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
Team Xbox
I don’t need games that make me this mad for so little payoff.
Read Full Review
63
GameZone
Too Human is another game that falls in the “could have been much more” category. Even though this game has been in development for many years, there are just too many design flaws that keep it from becoming a “must have” game.
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60
Edge Magazine
The irony is that many of Too Human’s problems wouldn’t exist if another pair of human players were allowed to enter the fold (as was originally intended) – speeding up play considerably and making ‘just one more run’ into something a little more manageable. [Oct 2008, p.92]
60
X360 Magazine UK
Too Human is by no means a bad videogame, it’s just very repetitive and highly disappointing. With ten years development time, you’d think it would be a bit more impressive than this.
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60
Wired
In short, I was left wanting to know more. The fact that you can start a new campaign with your character and continue to level him up didn't really entice me back into Too Human -- I want more story. To that end, I'm looking forward to the promised release of "Too Human 2."
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.
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60
EuroGamer
Perhaps biggest problem with the game: it's too short.
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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.
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60
Deeko
With the proper attention to detail Too Human 2 could very well be the game that Denis Dyack promised, but for right now it's only a shadow of the god it could be.
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58
Game Revolution
Too Human is amazingly short for an RPG, especially one that invites you to spend so much time collecting items and managing inventory.
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55
GameSpot
A perfect example of awesome but unrealized potential.
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51
ActionTrip
The classes and the huge amount of skills are mildly entertaining. You could rent the game and try it out, but that's as far as I'd go.
Read Full Review
50
Level7.nu
If you take into account the amount of time and effort Silicon Knights has put into this title it boggles the mind when looking at the final product. Too Human actually manages to utterly fail in almost everything it attempts to do and constantly manages to show off new caveats in the formula. Repetitive and stupid enemies, uninspiring combat and a plot line that leaves much to be desired. The online co-op mode does help a bit, but it can't save what must be the most hyped failure in gaming history.
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50
games(TM)
The resource management and skill chasing on offer is sound, but everything else is repetitive, undemanding, and forgettable. [Oct 2008, p.110]
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.
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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
45
Gamers' Temple
C'mon Silicon Knights, give us Eternal Darkness 2 instead of this silliness!
Read Full Review
42
GameShark
However you choose to play, by yourself with the full, messy story unfolding in front of you, or with a friend, bereft of a narrative but beset by twice as many enemies and twice as much potential loot, Too Human provides and uneven and ultimately unsatisfying experience.
Read Full Review
42
1UP
Too Human is also not a good action game. While it deserves some applause for a reasonable translation of PC classic Diablo's mouse-driven controls, its reliance on the right analog stick as a means for attack only works at the most basic level.
Read Full Review
40
360 Gamer Magazine UK
Feeble and misjudged in as many ways as a game can be, we simply can’t bring ourselves to recommend Too Human to anyone. There will be those that love it, as there were with the horrible demo. But we just hope this minority has fun, because we sure as hell didn’t.
40
Gamer.nl
Too Human wants to be everything, but ends up being nothing. Buggy controls and no challenge whatsoever take out a lot of the fun. And fun is why whe play games. For an action RPG the game lacks any form of RPG depth and the action part isn't strong enough to carry the game. What remains is a dull and tedious game of killing monsters. Too Human lacks any humanity.
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39
Electronic Gaming Monthly
This game's simply schizophrenic; it attempts to be all these things to all people, so in the end result is in dire need of polish and focus. [Oct 2008, p.88]
30
Variety
A disappointingly substandard role-playing game buried under the debris of a thousand forgettable robots slain in a hundred vacant hallways by one man in a silly outfit. After an initial burst of curiosity, this repetitive, derivative and ultimately ridiculous game will be remembered primarily for how little resulted from so much work.
Read Full Review
20
Destructoid
Maybe the idea was kind of clever, or you may have fun accidentally, but everything else is horrendous.