The Controls: Hack 'N Slash Heaven

Too Human's most important feature by far is its unique combat system, which makes the gameplay original, entertaining and in some cases downright addictive. Silicon Knights makes interesting use of the Xbox 360 control pad. Ranged weapons are of course controlled by the pad's trigger buttons, and you can duel-wild pistols and target two different enemy machines. Targeting initially is a challenge, however; it took some time to get used to the game's auto-targeting system, which locks on to the nearest enemy. To switch enemies, you have to gently and deftly move the right thumbstick. You can also target different sections of larger foes, such as the giant Trolls, and take out specific armor points or weapons.

The pad's "A" button is for Baldur's jump, while "B" is used for defensive rolling. The "Y" button deploys a robotic "Spider" that is attached to your back; depending what path you take in the game's skill tree, you can deploy the spider as a remote turret (handy for melee classes), a mine dropper or sticky bomb thrower. All come in handy when Baldur is separated from the Wolves or other party members during battle. The "X" button, meanwhile, will enable your Battle Cries, which creates an energy field around Baldur illustrated by various runes (which players can collect throughout the game for different upgrades).

The right bumper button activates your Ruiner ability, which unleashes devastating energy attacks against all enemies in close proximity to Baldur. The Ruiners provide some of the best moments in Too Human's fierce, large scale battles; depending on your alignment and class choices, you can unleash a virtual bear (or other animals) to attack foes or simply trigger enormous explosions that blow away any nearby machines. You can also center the camera view with the left bumper, and zoom in and out with the directional pad. The directional pad also allows you to change the heads-up display to your liking.

Once you get used to the controls, you can enjoy Too Human's excellent hack 'n slash gameplay and take on some monster machines.

Now here's the strange part: for melee attacks, rather than traditional button-mashing in a God of War fashion, Too Human uses the Xbox 360 controller's right thumbstick. Flick it in the direction of an a goblin or troll, and Baldur will whip out whatever melee weapon you've selected and quickly slide toward the enemy, hacking and slashing with vivid, glowing light. Using the thumbstick in this manner required some adjustment; early on, I found myself moving the thumbstick in what I thought was one direction only to find Baldur moving in different direction. Eventually, I got a good feel for the melee attacks. And once I did, the fun really started.

The true allure of Too Human's gameplay is the combination attacks. For example, players can slide attack a nearby enemy and knock him up off the ground. Then, depending on your class, you can duel wield a couple of pistols and "juggle" the machine with bullets as it's suspended in mid-air or you can jump up to meet the enemy and enjoy some hang time as you slash, hammer and skewer it. The more types of stylish combinations you use, the more your combo meter fills up and enables you to perform devastating attacks, which in turn earns you experience points to reach the next level.

Now for the weapons: Too Human's inventory system suffers from the same issues as BioWare's Mass Effect; there are just too many types of weapon and armor, and it becomes a cumbersome task to sift through all of the items and decide which ones to use, salvage or sell (in co-op mode). Then again, the massive variety of weapons and armor will allow players to truly customize their characters. Although they have silly names, you can choose between a variety of swords, staffs and hammers (you can even dual wield twin swords and staffs), as well as pistols, rifles and heavy machine guns with rocket launchers.

Each type of weapon has value; for example, a plasma rifle may be better for taking out a particular type of goblin or dark elf while laser cannons might be better for larger enemies. There are also plenty of armor options, too, that will enhance your character's abilities and defenses. Armor will begin to break down each time you perish, which is fine because if you play the game right, you'll always be acquiring new item orbs after destroying enemies. Simply pause the game, sift through your complicated armor inventory, and select new digs and you're off and running again.

In terms of the RPG gameplay, Silicon Knights nailed it. The developer packed Too Human full of options. In addition to choosing a class, players get to select between three different branches on their primary skill tree. There's also a secondary skill tree with fewer but still valuable options. You also get to choose an alignment early in the game: Humanity or Cybernetics. Remaining human and forgoing implants grants you extra points for combo and ruiner attacks, while choosing cybernetics will bestow higher health and damage levels with enhanced spider bot attacks.

But that's not all; players can also pick up Runes and add them to your weapons and armor, which further specializes them. There are also Charms players can pick up in Cyberspace and, upon completing special quests, they will provide more powerful and rare abilities. And if that isn't enough for RPG fans, players can also use Blueprints in their inventory to craft and customize more weapons and armor. One thing you can say about this game is that it gives you plenty of options for character customization.

While Too Human's RPG offering is rich, the game's level design can occasionally be lackluster. While the visuals for each environment you encounter are eye-catching and epic in scale, Too Human gets in a rut at times and forces you to cover what looks like - and sometimes is - the same ground over and over again. To make matters worse, the game simply pumps out enemy machines in the same fashion like an assembly line for long stretches. Strong gameplay can only hide redundant level design for so long.

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