DFS3
09-18-2008, 01:56 AM
Too Human is probably the most consistently frustrating game that keeps me coming back to play again (possibly the most frustrating game I've ever played, period). I guess that means that at its core, there's a really amazing game hidden somewhere. This will probably be a litany of things that make me mad about this game, so if you don't care to read it consider yourself warned.
I think the game is really beautiful to look at in most respects, and the central concept of the game and the control scheme are really brilliant. The dialogue is a bit lame, but the cybernetic take on Norse gods is really interesting in spite of it. I like the length of the levels, contrary to what many others feel, because it really feels epic. I love that you don't have to go to a shop to sell items or gather things to craft gear because it keeps you playing.
However, this game needed a lot more play-testing. Plenty of people (reviewers and others) have griped about the ridiculous valkyrie and frequent death. Although I almost never die any more after learning how to play my character strategically (I've got all the unbeatable achievements), the valkyrie is still as much of a buzzkill on those rare deaths as it was at the start. It was so annoying that early on I almost gave up on the game entirely, though I'm glad I didn't. The death is one major flaw that can essentially be worked around; unfortunately, it's probably the only one. I've seen this defended as being no worse or different from losing XP or gold in other games, but in those other games you can use potions or healing spells to avoid dying.
On a related note, I find the end-game is less fun to play than leveling since at 50 there seems to be a constant flood of enemies that give you status ailments/debuffs. Thankfully my 50 is a BE so I can remove them, but it still sucks to constantly be using my combo meter to remove debuffs. I can't see myself having the patience to deal with it on my commando or zerker if I level them to 50.
I really can't comprehend the thought process that went into the camera. I can deal with not being able to swivel the camera since most of the time I want it simply to follow me anyway, but the way the camera will swing around to focus on something pretty in the background instead of your character is just baffling to me. It's honestly the worst game camera I've seen since Mario 64, and probably even worse than Mario 64's since you can't move this camera at all.
Some of the things I hope to see fixed in addition to the above if there is a sequel (something I'm unsure of given the critically poor reception of the game) are:
-The ability to switch ammo types on ranged weapons so you don't have to give up a weapon's runes to get a different ammo type.
-A ranged lock system that works properly, including ballistic lock dropping off a dead target immediately and automatically, pistols that don't randomly lock onto non-existent targets, and secondary attacks (i.e. grenades) that shoot the direction you are facing rather than suddenly choosing a random target after firing.
-Some kind of targeting priority so that when you jump to melee juggle you don't randomly redirect mid-air-dash to a target on the ground instead of the target in the air.
-Enemies that don't cluster directly beneath you in the air so that when you fall down you get stuck on their heads and lose your combo.
-More work on the stick tilt so that you don't have to tap your stick 15 times to slide instead of swinging your sword in place feeling like a fool.
-More inventory space for charms and/or the ability to complete charm objectives without having them in the active slot so you don't have to constantly micro-manage your charms to actually get them done.
-A sorting function for charms and runes such that you can cycle through options to sort by degree of completion, types of bonuses (for runes) or quests (for charms), or by symbol.
-The ability to equip items in cyberspace so you can manage runes and charms without having to lose drops. If you can take items out of cyberspace into the real world, there is no reasonable story justification for not being able to manage your items in cyberspace.
-Some way to get rid of debuffs for all character types, even if it's a consumable system like other games have.
-The ability to skip ALL cut scenes that you have seen at least once before.
-The ability to mix up the skill trees. You shouldn't have to take 6 points in a crappy spider ability if you want a good battle cry. The different tiers should have level requirements rather than point-placement requirements.
Granted, I know the devs aren't sitting here browsing this forum for new ideas for the sequel, but if these things had been changed for the first game it would have been a really amazing game. As it is now, I won't buy a copy until it hits bargain pricing. I just am still stunned that so many of these obvious ideas never made it into the game, especially the combat issues which frankly seem to suffer from a severe lack of playtesting.
I think the game is really beautiful to look at in most respects, and the central concept of the game and the control scheme are really brilliant. The dialogue is a bit lame, but the cybernetic take on Norse gods is really interesting in spite of it. I like the length of the levels, contrary to what many others feel, because it really feels epic. I love that you don't have to go to a shop to sell items or gather things to craft gear because it keeps you playing.
However, this game needed a lot more play-testing. Plenty of people (reviewers and others) have griped about the ridiculous valkyrie and frequent death. Although I almost never die any more after learning how to play my character strategically (I've got all the unbeatable achievements), the valkyrie is still as much of a buzzkill on those rare deaths as it was at the start. It was so annoying that early on I almost gave up on the game entirely, though I'm glad I didn't. The death is one major flaw that can essentially be worked around; unfortunately, it's probably the only one. I've seen this defended as being no worse or different from losing XP or gold in other games, but in those other games you can use potions or healing spells to avoid dying.
On a related note, I find the end-game is less fun to play than leveling since at 50 there seems to be a constant flood of enemies that give you status ailments/debuffs. Thankfully my 50 is a BE so I can remove them, but it still sucks to constantly be using my combo meter to remove debuffs. I can't see myself having the patience to deal with it on my commando or zerker if I level them to 50.
I really can't comprehend the thought process that went into the camera. I can deal with not being able to swivel the camera since most of the time I want it simply to follow me anyway, but the way the camera will swing around to focus on something pretty in the background instead of your character is just baffling to me. It's honestly the worst game camera I've seen since Mario 64, and probably even worse than Mario 64's since you can't move this camera at all.
Some of the things I hope to see fixed in addition to the above if there is a sequel (something I'm unsure of given the critically poor reception of the game) are:
-The ability to switch ammo types on ranged weapons so you don't have to give up a weapon's runes to get a different ammo type.
-A ranged lock system that works properly, including ballistic lock dropping off a dead target immediately and automatically, pistols that don't randomly lock onto non-existent targets, and secondary attacks (i.e. grenades) that shoot the direction you are facing rather than suddenly choosing a random target after firing.
-Some kind of targeting priority so that when you jump to melee juggle you don't randomly redirect mid-air-dash to a target on the ground instead of the target in the air.
-Enemies that don't cluster directly beneath you in the air so that when you fall down you get stuck on their heads and lose your combo.
-More work on the stick tilt so that you don't have to tap your stick 15 times to slide instead of swinging your sword in place feeling like a fool.
-More inventory space for charms and/or the ability to complete charm objectives without having them in the active slot so you don't have to constantly micro-manage your charms to actually get them done.
-A sorting function for charms and runes such that you can cycle through options to sort by degree of completion, types of bonuses (for runes) or quests (for charms), or by symbol.
-The ability to equip items in cyberspace so you can manage runes and charms without having to lose drops. If you can take items out of cyberspace into the real world, there is no reasonable story justification for not being able to manage your items in cyberspace.
-Some way to get rid of debuffs for all character types, even if it's a consumable system like other games have.
-The ability to skip ALL cut scenes that you have seen at least once before.
-The ability to mix up the skill trees. You shouldn't have to take 6 points in a crappy spider ability if you want a good battle cry. The different tiers should have level requirements rather than point-placement requirements.
Granted, I know the devs aren't sitting here browsing this forum for new ideas for the sequel, but if these things had been changed for the first game it would have been a really amazing game. As it is now, I won't buy a copy until it hits bargain pricing. I just am still stunned that so many of these obvious ideas never made it into the game, especially the combat issues which frankly seem to suffer from a severe lack of playtesting.