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Shipping this week: Ten years in the making edition
This is it. Ten years of development have finally culminated in an actual finished product. We are speaking, of course, of Too Human. It's finally coming out folks. Will it be worth the wait? Will the quest for phat lootz pull you in? There haven't been any major online reviews posted as of this writing, so take that for what it's worth. We're also getting Namco Banadai's Smash Court Tennis 3 this week. So, you've got to choose between cybernetic-Norse dungeon crawling ... and tennis. What's it gonna be?[Via Joystiq]
On eve of Too Human launch, Epic dispute resurfaces
It's been quite awhile since we've heard anything about the Silicon Knights and Epic Games lawsuit -- we last reported on it in January 2008 and were all prepared to make jokes about the lawsuit being on the cusp of vaporware like Duke Nukem Forever is and Too Human was. Thankfully, our curiosity has been rewarded; on the eve of the latter game's launch, Silicon Knights President Denis Dyack managed to put the legal proceedings back into the limelight.In an interview with Develop, Dyack said that the trial is proceeding and that he was confident in his claims. "We're hopeful that justice will be done. We all feel really strongly that [Epic Games has] defrauded us, and a major portion of the industry," he said.To recap: In late July 2007, Silicon Knights filed a lawsuit against Epic Games over what it felt was inadequate support for its Unreal Engine 3, thus harming development of Too Human. Epic responded and filed a countersuit. In November, Epic's motion for dismissal was denied. In January 2008, multiple subpoenas were issued to other UE3 licensees. As for Too Human's involvement, we'll be keeping a mental tally of how many reviews mention the lawsuit.
Video: Too Human's crazy combos
A new video of Too Human dropped on GameTrailers today. With the release of the game (finally) only a week away, we figured we'd give it one last look before we dig our claws into the real thing. The video in question covers the game's combo system. While anyone who wants to has had a chance to test it out for themselves with the Too Human demo, the video shows off the kinds of stunts Baldur can pull off at higher levels. Watch the video and see him zipping everywhere at once in a seemingly never ending string of attacks, even taking some time to land some spiffy air combos. Have a look and start counting the days. From Fable 2 to Gears of War 2 to Too Human (say that three times fast): check out all of Microsoft Game Studios' heavy-hitters coming out this year!
Top 5: Upcoming Original IPs from Third Parties
var digg_url = 'http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/11/top-5-upcoming-original-ips-from-third-parties/'; Man, there are those who really love to complain. After viewing Zero Punctuation's latest video, I've decided that the old phrase distributed liberally by parents and teachers is indeed very true: "you can't please everyone." Nintendo themselves must have felt this pretty hard after their E3 showing was widely perceived as sub-par. On the gamers' side, even those who were most disappointed usually turned to any of the numerous third party efforts for hope. Understanding that Zero Punctuation is mostly intended as farce, it's difficult to call them out. Yet one glaring assertion must be rebutted: E3 2008 was most definitely not the year of the sequel. In fact, on the Nintendo side, the exact opposite was true. For the first time in a long while, I'm much more excited about upcoming third party releases than Nintendo titles as a whole (save for Wario Land: Shake It!). As those of us who braved the GameCube generation quickly learned, a console cannot survive on first party titles alone -- even those of the highest quality. Here are the top five original third party games that we are excited about. NEXT >> #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; } The Top 5 is a weekly feature that provides us with a forum to share our opinions on various aspects of the video game culture, and provides you with a forum to tell us how wrong we are. To further voice your opinions, check out What Are You Playing?, submit a vote in the Wii Fanboy Poll, and take part in the daily discussions of Wii Warm Up.
Dyack: Too Human campaign will take "around fifteen hours"
If there was a magic ratio between the amount of time that a game is in development and the length of the final product, many of us would assume that the first installment in Silicon Knight's Norse-inspired trilogy, Too Human, would take roughly ten months to complete. However, Silicon founder Denis Dyack has expressed his concerns with lengthy games in the past, so it should come as no surprise that in a recent interview with gaming site Kikizo, Dyack explained that your first playthrough of his upcoming action/RPG hybrid should take "around fifteen hours".Dyack goes on to explain that in order to hit level fifty (the game's level cap) might take between fifty and eighty hours, and searching for the game's "epic loot" will tack even more time to the title. If the length of Silicon's quickly approaching title doesn't interest you, perhaps Dyack's mad vision of a one-console future, discussed in the same interview, might catch your attention -- if only to make you furiously wonder what a console civil war would look like.
Too Human is too gold
Fans of cyber-Norse mythology rejoice! Microsoft has announced that Silicon Knights' Too Human has officially gone gold. That means that after ten long years, it's done. The press release also notes that the Too Human demo -- currently available on Xbox Live Marketplace -- "has already been downloaded more than any other action demo on Xbox LIVE Marketplace in its first week of availability and has been one of the top played titles on Xbox LIVE overall." Keen observers will note that the Too Human demo landed at number 8 on the most recent list of top Live games played. The game is scheduled to hit retail shelves on August 19.
Too Human Demo: Play as all classes
We know we're a bit late with this video, and for that we apologize. We suppose we've been too busy playing the Too Human demo to write about this nifty little Easter egg it has hiding inside. As the more perceptive of you have no doubt surmised from the headline, it's possible to play as every class in the demo. While the Champion class is the only selection initially available, it turns out that other classes are unlocked over time. So, all you have to do is wait a few months and you can try them yourself! If waiting doesn't sound too fun, you can also adjust your Xbox 360's clock manually. It's like time travel without all the hassle of procuring a DeLorean. This only unlocks two more classes though. The final two require some fast fingers. Check out the video after the break to learn how to unlock every class in the Too Human demo.
Too Human demo classes unlock over time, internal clock shift makes them all available
Despite some minor qualms with the game's control scheme, we're actually somewhat fond of what we've seen from Silicon Knights' Norse mythology flavored action/RPG, Too Human. We were disappointed, however, when we discovered the game's demo, released during E3, only contained one out of five of the game's playable classes -- the Champion. Fortunately, Silicon Knights included a clever time release system with the demo, which will unlock other classes as we approach Too Human's August 19 release date.The Berserker class actually appeared on Friday, and according to mysteriously informed GameFAQs commenter Dimascus, the Commando will report for duty on August 12. However, patience isn't really a virtue possessed by most gamers, so it's no surprise that many Too Human players discovered that with by tinkering with the 360's internal clock and doing a bit of tricky menu navigation, it's possible to play as all five of the classes before their initial dates of arrival. We've got Dimascus' method after the jump -- are you brave enough to propel your 360 into the future?[Thanks, Boff.]
Too Human settles on August 29th Euro release
This morning, Microsoft issued a fancy shmancy European press release announcing the official release date for Silicon Knights' Too Human in Europe. The official release date is Friday, August 29th, which is only a week or so after the game hits retailers in North America. Now run along fanboys, go play the game demo and see for yourself if Mr. Denis Dyack deserves all the hating.
Molyneux: 'I feel sorry for Denis Dyack'
Fable frontman Peter Molyneux has raised his metaphorical fist of solidarity, showing support for fellow game designer and Too Human trumpeter Denis Dyack. "I feel sorry for Denis Dyack because you know, I think a few things were said wrong, there was that really unfortunate showing at E3 a few years ago," Molyneux told VideoGamer.com at E3 last week. "Everyone got on the bandwagon of saying things about Too Human. Now I've played it and, you know, it's a good game. It doesn't deserve a lot of that harsh criticism. But as soon as something starts it's very hard to turn the tide and pull it back again." Molyneux, of course, speaks from experience, having survived a similar "avalanche" of negative criticism after the first Fable game was released in 2004 and failed to meet expectations hyped by Molyneux himself. While Molyneux doesn't offer any sage advice for braving the inevitable storm to come (you don't actually have "something" in your back pocket, do you Mr. Dyack?), might we suggest, sir, that you quietly step away from the computer and out into the open air. Take a deep breath. You'll be safe there. Remember, it's not the whole world that's judging you (just a teeny, tiny nugget of web real estate). And besides, just like your pal Peter, you've always got the sequel to make good on empty promises.
Too secret Too Human achievements
Today, in achievement news, the fellas over at 360Sync were able to score a list of all 50 Too Human achievements including descriptions, Gamerscore values and achievements artwork. Though, most of them (21 to be exact) are the dreadfully dreadful "secret" achievements of which we only get to view their Gamerscore values. Stupid secret achievements, always trying to be so darn secretive. We can only hope that by the time we achieve the "True Son of Odin" achievement we'll have earned all the secret ones as well. If not, a few Silicon Knights heads will roll.
E308: Too Human screens, character art
In development for nearly a decade, Too Human is an action-RPG from Canadian developer Silicon Knights. Its story revolves around an alternate reality where Norse mythology and cybernetics govern the world. As Baldur, son of Odin, players are tasked with fighting off a mechanized horde of invaders hellbent on destroying the human species. Sounds cool right? Well, you don't have to rely on our "back of the box" style description because you can play Too Human right now! The demo, as we've mentioned before, is on Xbox Live right now. Give it a shot. Expect a special X3F Demo Impressions video of the Too Human Demo soon. In the meantime, check out our galleries of screenshots and character art from E3 2008.%Gallery-27736%%Gallery-27737%
Too Human demo now available
As promised, the Too Human demo is now available for download. We haven't had a chance to play it yet, because we're trying to get ready for the MS press conference in a couple hours and make sure that certain bloggers clean up (it's like trying to bathe cats, seriously). Let us know what you think about the Too Human demo -- especially those controls -- and be sure to come back in a little bit for our Microsoft Press Conference liveblog.[Via X3F, Thanks Fernando]
E308: Too Human Demo Online now
After all the controversy that has surrounded the game, gamers can finally give Too Human a shot for themselves. While it's possible that the demo of the Norse inspired dungeon crawler might not give one the full flavor of the game considering how story and loot driven the experience is supposed to be. Still, something is better than nothing, especially with a game that has been so divisive as this one. The demo is 1.1 gigs and is online now.
Microsoft bringing home Too Human demo next week
We can go ahead and cross off one square from our press conference bingo. Microsoft has announced that, as part of their annual "Bringing it Home" series, the Too Human demo is coming to Xbox Live next week during E3 (via IGN). No word yet one what else will be available, but expect a usual flock of videos, themes, gamerpics and other random surprises. So how does Dyack's epic stack up to the hype? Find out yourself next week.
Too Human makes spiders friendly again
Let's face it, spiders are scary. They're creepy, crawly, sometimes hairy, and they are positively loaded with legs. And eyes. They also make webs and have nasty pincer mouths. Nobody likes spiders. Anyone who claims to like spiders is lying. They would be lying ... unless of course they were talking about the awesome robot spiders in Too Human! Yes, we've been hit with yet another video featuring Silicon Knights head Dennis Dyack extolling the many virtues of Too Human. This time it's about spiders, helpful little robots that can be summoned to your aid when crawling the cyber-Norse dungeons of Too Human. They can help you juggle foes, destroy incoming missiles, and oh so much more. Watch the video above and sleep well knowing that not all spiders are evil.
IGN to Silicon Knights: Here's how to fix Too Human
With initial previews of Silicon Knights' Too Human painting the long-in-development action RPG as a few miles short of Valhalla, IGN has stepped up, offering the developer a handful of advice concerning items that site would like to see corrected before the game ships in August.According to IGN, among the issues needing a little extra lovin' are the game's lock-happy camera, random loot drops, and "sluggish" framerate, as well as a general lack of combat hand-holding and backstory -- each of which the site is only too happy to offer up a helpful tip or two to correct. Of course, with Dyack and Co. set to take their seemingly flawed action romp on the road next month, we doubt that a few choice words from an outside source will help right a decade of stumbling.
Too Human previews start rolling in
It looks like the promised early preview copies of Too Human have started to arrive, as we're now being flooded with new video from the game as well as previews from both Wired and MTV's Multiplayer. Joystiq has gone to the trouble of summing up both previews. We recommend reading both previews if you have the time. Having read the previews, the reaction definitely seems to be a mixed one. Both previews note that the game is very short, clocking in at around 10 hours, and that the cliffhanger ending doesn't live up to the rest of the game, with Wired's Chris Kohler noting noting that there was "not nearly enough payoff for all the story exposition." What story is present is apparently well told though, and, more importantly, the gameplay is reportedly very solid, as MTV's Steven Totilo notes the game "has the potential to win fans of pure play."That said, Kohler notes that the game can be played again using the same character and that the game will be repopulated with more challenging enemies and remixed levels. From the sound of both previews, Too Human will find a home with fans of dungeon crawlers who intend to play through multiple times and get the best loot, but may suffer with those who only intend to play through once in order to enjoy the story. Frankly, we'd settle for a good dungeon crawl on the 360. We'll have to wait and see if the game delivers when the reviews start showing up in August.In the meantime, enjoy some more Too Human footage after the break.
Behold: New Too Human previews hit
We're just two months out from the release of Too Human, a game that would have garnered its share of attention – though not nearly as much as it's getting for being in development 10 years across at least three platforms. The game (the first in a planned trilogy) is finally hitting on Xbox 360, and two of our blogosphere compatriots have offered up their thoughts on its current state in new previews. Read what MTV and Wired had to say after the break. Source: 'Too Human' Xbox 360 Preview, In The Shadow of 'Metal Gear' – MTVSource: Too Human in 10 hours – Wired%Gallery-16464%
GoldenEye 007's KLOBB returns in Too Human
Silicon Knights' long-awaited Xbox 360 action game Too Human is giving a shout out to a N64 classic, according to Wired. GoldenEye 007, the groundbreaking console FPS developed by Rare, featured a gun called the "KLOBB" – a nod to then Nintendo designer Ken Lobb, who helped out during the game's development. The gun was also the weakest in the game. D'oh!Too Human promises hundreds of items ... and one of them, as Wired has uncovered, is the KLOBB. Not surprising considering that Ken Lobb is now serving as Creative Director at Microsoft Game Studios and is working closely with Silicon Knights on its game. For the record, it has a damage rating of 18.%Gallery-16464%
