Quantcast
Community Discussion: Blog by Jim Sterling | Alternate Reviewality: Too HumanDestructoid
LIGHTS:  ON | OFF
surf dtoid with arrow keys



REMOVE ALL ADS?
Guaranteed contest entry?
A new video show?
Something else?

Vote in our membership poll


Meet the destructoid Team >>   Jim Sterling
Jim Sterling's blog
★ destructoid | Reviews Editor ★
click to hide banner header
About
Destructoid reviews editor, responsible for running and maintaining the cutting edge videogame critique that people ignore because all they want to see are the scores at the end. Also a regular features contributor and news commentator, as well as the host of Podtoid, Destructoid's psychologically distressing podcast.

Check out more of your ol' pal Jim on the weekly Escapist show Jimquisition, as well as a range of semi-regular articles including Art Juice, Blatantly Better, and at least two other things!
Player Profile
Follow me:
Twitter:@JimSterling
Facebook:Link
Google+:Link
Jim Sterling's sites
Badges
Following (42)  




What can I say about Silicon Knights' masterpiece, Too Human, that hasn't already been said before? From its engaging and enthralling storyline to the kind of gameplay that should have been seen in the medium six years ago, Too Human is an unrelenting triumph that grabs hold of the player and refuses to let go. From the moment you insert the disc into the Xbox 360 to that climactic moment when the end credits roll, you will be little more than a helpless fish caught on the end of a line. The bait? Awesome exposition. The hook? Rock solid gameplay. And the fisherman? Only the greatest mind this unworthy industry has been honored to ever know.

The story behind Too Human is as brilliant as it is fantastic. Taking on the role of Baldur, you are a member of The Aesir, a band of Godlike beings sworn to protect humanity from a race of murderous machines. The sheer genius of Denis Dyack's wonderfully crafted tale that seamlessly blends Norse myth and sci-fi trappings is at times subtly perfect and at others Earth-shatteringly rousing. After experiencing the first chapter of this epic saga in full, I felt ... insignificant. Pathetic, even, to think that I had the sheer nerve to exist in the same world as such effortlessly superb narrative.

If the story is terrific, then the gameplay is impeccable. Using a unique and innovative analog stick combat system, Silicon Knights has redefined in-game action as we know it. Taking down hordes of robotic enemies -- brilliantly given names like goblins and dark elves -- is a blast and so simple to perform, you'll feel like you're doing nothing at all. However, you ARE doing something -- you are taking part ... conspiring, if you will ... in something that will turn the videogames industry on its head. Mark my words, Too Human is the future of gaming, and that makes for a future so bright, you may very well scar your retinas if you look too long into it.

Of particular note is the hauntingly beautiful Valkyrie cutscene that we are privileged to view every time Baldur dies. The way that it runs through the game as a central theme is incredibly poignant and simply gets more interesting, engrossing and stunningly astounding every time you see it. It's so deep and philosophical that sometimes I almost felt like crying -- like throwing the controller to the floor and swiftly following it, crooking the knee and weeping nakedly before the power that is Too Human -- possibly the greatest interactive experience that has ever been created.

This game is everything I wanted and more. No other title has done anything to surpass the accomplishment that is Too Human, and I don't think anything will come close until Silicon Knights bests itself yet again with Too Human 2. If I have one criticism of the game, it's that I know we only have two more sequels in the works. If I had it my way, this franchise would continue forever and ever.

Having closed the book on this chapter of the Too Human sage -- a trilogy set to humble Tolkein himself -- all I can say is thank you. Thank you, Silicon Knights, for changing my life forever, in the most beautiful way possible.

Score: 11 (The best game ever made.)
Photo



Is this blog awesome? Vote it up!





Did you know? You can now get daily or weekly email notifications when humans reply to your comments.

Legacy Comments (will be imported soon)


LOL at least here you can get out all your aggresion that you cant say in a review.
Pretty professional of you id say Jim.
Oh the lower section of the picture needs more of a focal point to draw us into the depth of the forced reality impoessed by the precense of the central character.

I suggest a penis, or perhaps an open cunt Valkyrie though I do understand this is your art.
You divided by zero didn't you?
The overpowering stench of sarcasm aroused me.
<3 indeed
Oh no, someone opened the portal to Bizarro World!
"This thing is picking up nothing but sarcasm."

Jim, I could read you journalistic derision for hours on end <3
Fuck you, Jim, for being a sheep and defending Too Human like everyone else!
Good thing about this is that none of the front page trolls will read this.
Where the fuck is Hookah? Bring him in here, maybe this'll shut him up.

I can't wait until 3 Human. (And I keep going to type "hymen" instead of "human." Fuck.)
<3333333
Wow, this is the first review I've read for this game. I thought I'd have more fun smacking my balls with Thor's hammer itself, but this sounds revolutionary to me.

viva la Too Human!
I love you, Jim Sterling.
If Jim was a real bastard he would draw Hookah into the picture but i doubt he is that mean. Or mabye didnt think of it yet...
I must buy this now that Sterling approves of it.
I'm hard
YES. I JUST ORDERED IT!
Jim you are the greatest. :-)
Jim Sterling reviews are the ONLY reviews I need!
I sure do love you, Mr. Jim. If you ever come to Australia, I won't mock your whinging pom-ness.
They should definitely let you review Two Human.
Now I truly understand. The title Too Human refers to the reviewer, and his impossible task. For only a higher being could effectively understand and communicate the infinite facets of the game's brilliance.
oh outman







(anagram)
So rather than take the high road you start a blog acting like a petulant child, very mature, I can see why the D-toid likes you much, you're just like them.
god dammit, shut the FUCK up kyousuke
What did the flower pot say on the way down..? Oh god, not again!

42/10!!
Jim, you rule.
That's more like it. Though your post gets 2/10.
@Hookah
Jim has written for IGN, bud.
I like humans too!
@Hookah
It was freelance work. One doesn't usually stay with a particular publication, when the work submitted to said publication is freelance work. Because then it wouldn't... be... free... lance... work... anymore...

And nope, not applying for a job. I just defend those that deserve defending, and antagonize those who are being dimwitted, unfair pricks. You're just in the right place at the right time, babycakes. ^_^ Also, you're suggesting that being gay is lame? Hmm, interesting...
Wait. Regular Robin is straight? Bizzaro world indeed.
Now you're just being an ignorant prick, Hookah.

Go lick Denis Dyack's balls somewhere else. We don't need you around here. You bring nothing to the table.
Oh Jim. How do I manlove thee? Let me count the ways...
OH SHIT NO


The sarcasm is strong in this one, jedi.
LOL. nice, is that screenshot in game? LOOKS MIND BLOWING!
Dammit who was tailed by Hookah!
Oh no Jim, Malone said soemthign bad about you in a comment on the internets! Now you may never recover.. you better commit sappuku.
Btw its just a review Hookah which YOU started going on about so stop getting off on people shouting at you and thinking anyone cares what you think. Oh and if you post in the next review or article about this then you really are quite sad.
Just ignore Hookah, all he's looking for is attention. Jim already figured this out so just stop replying to him.
I don't know what is served by writing this post Jim...I think you are taking this writing gig a little too seriously mate.

I've rarely agreed with your reviews and it's easier to just agree to disagree, I enjoy the writings you put out but man...you have to stop taking this so personally! This post is kinda out of place imo.

<3
Huh, 11? Just 11 for the game Jesus himself would actually have bothered to play instead of saving us from sin.
You Sr. Jim are wrongz. WRONGZ because I am write.

Sir If an employee for Silly-cone Knights spits on the floor, that spit gets at least a 20 out of 10. Learn how to score correctly. Good day.
Greatest fucking review ever. How would it be said? 11 old ladies punched in the face, 11 chocobos ridden, 11 best weeks ever/slurpees, or in how you should have said it Jim, 11 straight ejaculations.
too human rulez .... what a great game ... i enjoy it so much :D
See Jim "The Haterade" Sterling, this is why you are not taken seriously. You pollute the internet with random ignorant thoughts. You believe because you have a position on a subject, that everyone else who doesn't it wrong. Your opinions are not facts.

Most of the comments are from puppets too. Can anyone think for themselves? It looks like Denis is right.
Too Human is actually pretty fun. It's not as fun as this review seems to indicate, but it's fun.

Back to Top
DLC   |   BEST Games of 2012   |   Best PC Games   |   Best PS3 Games   |   Best Xbox 360 Games   |   Best Wii U Games   |   Best 3DS Games




All content is yours to recycle through our Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing requiring attribution. Our communities are obsessed with videoGames, movies, anime, and toys.

Living the dream since March 16, 2006

Advertising on destructoid is available: Please contact them to learn more