Backloggers Anonymous

On this, the final episode of Backloggers Anonymous covering Too Human, we discuss the final two missions, the overall plot and story, and dig a little deeper into the issues we had with some of the choices the game designers made. Joaquim gives up on his quest for dragon armor, Julian explains his love/hate relationship with Denis Dyack, and I, now free from pain meds, discusses my difficulty understanding Baldur as a character. Finally, we say our goodbyes and offer our final opinions of our journey though Too Human.

A few ideas were discussed in this podcast that turned out to have pretty solid evidence behind them. Joaquim restates his theory that ODIN may not be an actual person, but something digital. Angelo supports this theory with some information he found in the game. Turns out, all we had to actually do was look in the instruction manual (remember those?) We found out that ODIN stands for Organically Distributed Intelligence Network. He is, in fact, a digital construct and not flesh and bone, and those mechanical ravens that show up from time to time are his eyes and ears.

Julian also states that he believes Too Human was conceived originally as a single game, and that it was broken up into three pieces to make it into a trilogy instead of a single multi-disk game, which contributed to the overall shortness of the title, and it's sudden, blunt ending. Distructoid posted a quote (and this great picture I stole for this article) from Dyack that doesn't outright confirm this suspicion, but does add a little fuel to it:

"The story was done a long time ago," [Dyack] said. "The theme of the first game is discovery, the theme of the second game is revenge, and the third game, enlightenment."

As for myself, those who follow me on Twitter (@pixlaj) know that I've been quite taken with the Too Human soundtrack. I've included my personal favorite selection from the score at the end of the soundtrack in it's entirety. There's no outtakes after it or anything, so if Norse inspired metal isn't your thing, feel free to skip it. I won't be hurt. Promise.

And with that, fellow Backloggers, we have officially recovered Too Human from our backlog. We'll be playing through Darksiders next, so grab a copy and get ready to play along!

Welcome back to Backloggers Anonymous for part two of our three part series on Too Human. At this point, we've finished half of the game (the first two missions) and have gotten a pretty good feel for what the title has to offer.

We get started by talking about the assorted issues that get in the way of really enjoying the title. Some gameplay issues and interface problems get a pretty fair tongue lashing from the team. The game is not without its virtues though, and they get their fair share of time in the spotlight.

If you've been playing along, you've probably got some experiences of your own to share, so sound off in the comments below and let us know how you're experience has been so far.

Fair warning, I'm recovering from a recent surgery, and that means pain meds (don't worry, I'm fine.) Basically, I've been on my couch for a week now watching some of the weirder stuff on the TV, not shaving, and letting my hair grow out of control. In other words, I'm a quick spray tan away from being this guy:

So how does that factor in with my game playing? Well listen and find out. There's even some outtakes on this episode that elaborate a little further, so sit back and enjoy, then get back to trimming down that backlog!

We call it our library, our collection, our pile of shame. They are games we meant to play, meant to finish, or even just meant to take out of the shrink wrap. We had to own them, had to experience them, and yet there they sit collecting dust. Gamers call it their backlog. We call it a problem, and we aim to deal with this problem one meeting at a time. 

Welcome to Backloggers Anonymous  a program dedicated to dealing with this problem by checking these games off our list one title at a time. For the next few weeks, we'll be dealing with a title that had garnered some infamy for a few different reasons: Silicon Knights' Too Human.

After multiple revisions, platform changes, delays, and even an engine change, Too Human was released in August of 2008 to some less than positive reviews, causing some purchasers to shelve their copies in favor of other titles. Once intended to be the start of an epic Xbox 360 exclusive trilogy, the series seemed destined to be forgotten by all but it's most dedicated fans and supporters.

Unfortunately, Too Human once again is in the news, and once again, that news isn't good. After being sued by Epic who stated they illegally used their Unreal technology in their games, a judge has ruled that all unsold copies of two of their games are to be recalled and destroyed in December. Too Human is one of those titles. Needless to say, if you want a new copy, you better move fast!

If you are one of those people who never got around to playing this game, or if you're just interested in rescuing one wayward disk before it hits an industrial shredding machine, feel free to join, Julian, Joaquim, and myself as we experience this title for ourselves, and let us know what you think in the comments below. See you in a couple of weeks for part two!