This September saw the release of (arguably) the most anticipated game for the Xbox 360, this side of Fable 2 or the Gears of War sequel. Those of you who have been following this game know that it has had a long and splintered development cycle with major changes including platform jumps and game engine woes. Planned as a trilogy, Silicon Knights have announced not one, but three Too Human titles for the Xbox 360. Sadly, we are disappointed to say that the troubled past of this game is all too glaring in its very first installment. We are not saying that this game is a complete waste of time and money; however we did have a certain high expectation from the title. How could we not? Silicon Knights has made some of the most memorable and critically acclaimed games; not to overlook the fact that the world in which Too Human has been set is quite intriguing, with limitless possibilities.

The setup

The game is set in a war-torn universe which is beset by perpetual nuclear winter due to the incessant bombing by two warring factions -- the humans and the cybernetics. Right in the middle of this fued are the Aesir, the Viking Gods and sworn protectors of the human race. The gods have ironically resorted to using cybernetics to give themselves a fighting chance over the seemingly unwinnable war against the machine forces, which all but dominate the entire world. Without giving too much away, we must say that contrary to the divine stature of the Aesir, you'll find that the Gods are all Too Human, both physically and emotionally -- in the decisions they make and their actions. So effectively, apart from the occasional prostration by the human guards and the banter between the Gods, you do not feel that you are anything more than a vulnerable human being.

The protagonist of the game is Baldur -- favored son of Odin and a skilled warrior. The game kicks off by presenting the player with a choice of class, namely -- Berserker, Champion, Defender, Commando and Bio Engineer. We won't delve too much into each class as they are names for your customary RPG classes of melee specialist, ranged specialist, tank, healer and a balanced warrior. The class (or skill) progression is achieved through two discrete skill trees -- one based on your core class and the other based on the choice you make between cybernetic and human (alignment). Each skill tree has three branches to follow; however, all of them are not simultaneously accessible and you need to select any one branch to reach the end of the tree.

The choice between human and cybernetic alignments is available in the later part of the game and mainly offers players two distinct bonuses -- damage or combo. The alignment skill tree is common between all the classes and is split into two branches, which are simultaneously accessible.

There are also two major classes of weapons -- melee and ranged and they each have multiple weapon types such as pistols, rifles, one-handed sword, mace, etc. There are three skills available to all the classes -- Spider Mines, Ruiner, Battle Cry and Sentient Weapon. The specific effects of each of these skills depends on the players' class and the path selected in the skill tree. These skills are powered by a combo meter that can take a while to fill up, especially if you using ranged attack. The Sentient Weapon skill is a great way to quickly fill your combo meter; however its availability is scarce and unclear.