Dyack: Too Human campaign will take "around fifteen hours"
by Griffin McElroy 
{ Aug 9th 2008 at 7:30PM }
Dyack goes on to explain that in order to hit level fifty (the game's level cap) might take between fifty and eighty hours, and searching for the game's "epic loot" will tack even more time to the title. If the length of Silicon's quickly approaching title doesn't interest you, perhaps Dyack's mad vision of a one-console future, discussed in the same interview, might catch your attention -- if only to make you furiously wonder what a console civil war would look like.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Vcize @ Aug 9th 2008 7:39PM
Sounds about right to me, maybe even a little long. Other than pure RPGs, I'm not really into the 40 hour epics thing. Stuff starts to get repetitive once you hit double digits for most games.
Superstar90 @ Aug 9th 2008 7:41PM
I played the demo of this last night, it's so sloppy. It's not even button mashing, it's just random analog flicking and your character flies across the screen to do some ugly animation and your enemy is dead... also with an ugly animation. I think it may be because I chose the class with the max meelee stat, but all the enemies (at least in the first 2 parts) died in 1 hit.
I wanted to like it so much... but seriously. When I have hack and slash games like Ninja Gaiden, God of War and Devil May Cry, why would I play this?
ON TOPIC:
I can see the fans of this game being disappointed with it. If someone told me a game I was looking forward to was only going to be a 15hr (and an RPG too!) I would be pissed. Of course there is the fact that you can max level all the different classes (I think there is 5) so you have 5 x 80hrs... but thats only 15 hours of a story.
Zarim @ Aug 9th 2008 7:54PM
I agree, I felt a little confused at the simplicity of the melee combat. "So pointing my analog stick at the enemy is all I do?" Despite that I still had some fun with the demo and will probably pick it up. I will probably play as the ranged class however.
sifer2400 @ Aug 9th 2008 8:48PM
i Disagree i loved the analog action instead of just useless button mashing and trying to remember a bunch of combos that you could do with 2 buttons and he was a point that shit gets repetitive after a bit
Sheppy (of the Fidlious Clan of Wong) @ Aug 9th 2008 9:01PM
Well, here's my feelings on the combat system. Twin Stick shooters have recently been all the rage. People love geometry wars, etc. This same dynamic applied to a dungeon hacker seems interesting to me. It'll be a while before I can play the game though. The main complaints I've heard is the animation sucks though.
j.howlett @ Aug 9th 2008 10:17PM
i'll have to try and get one of my cousins to get the demo, because all this talk has me interested in the game. i loved the analog fighting in "rise to honor". that game also had a cover system when shooting and a rather alien looking Jet Li.
Obie @ Aug 9th 2008 7:47PM
Bless your heart Dennis, but Too Human is not really on my gaming radar. I would perk up if he made Eternal Darkness 2...in um....10 years. ;)
Jerk Face @ Aug 10th 2008 12:08AM
I think it might have been a blip on my radar if it wasn't such a pile of shit. At least from what the demo played like. No camera control + shitty controls + ugly character animations and models + only 2 player co-op = Fail
Alex @ Aug 10th 2008 3:53PM
I agree with Jerk Face. The demo sucked eggs. There isn't really any skill involved in killing things.
Dirt @ Aug 11th 2008 9:46AM
I totally loved the demo. Once I unlocked the Berzeker the game changed pretty significantly. You got to see how varied classes really are. I've never seen a fighter action game character move so fast. Imagine some insanely fast combo in Dynasty Warriors and then speed it up another 100%. Crazy fast death everywhere.
Cannot wait for this game.
15 Hours sounds like a good amount because I plan on playing each class through the game, and then there are two more games that come after this one anyways.
äsdf @ Aug 9th 2008 7:48PM
Sounds good. Cant wait.
aMac @ Aug 9th 2008 7:51PM
I want to know more about the Co-op.
I'd heard through rumours and misinformation (ie. someone on a forum) that you can't Co-op the main story, or if you do, you miss out on all the cutscenes (and therefore key story elements).
I'm really looking forwards to a new good co-op game, and it would be a shame to have to play this solo to get the story, and then co-op being jut an excuse to kill things with a buddy.
John @ Aug 9th 2008 11:25PM
Halo 2 did the same thing, as did Rainbow Six Vegas. I'm using those games, because those are pretty much the only two I remember playing co-op. On the other hand, diablo 2 kept the cinema scenes. That was nice.
Yuccadude @ Aug 10th 2008 12:30PM
Sorry John, but Halo 2 kept the cutscenes in Co-Op, and yeah, Vegas didn't and they fixed that for Vegas 2, so maybe Too Human 2 will have that fixed in 10 years.
Hyams @ Aug 9th 2008 7:53PM
Will the other two games also take ten years each to make?
John McPoop (PSN:johnnynumber5) @ Aug 9th 2008 8:11PM
I thought the demo was OK but it did not live up to the huge expectations of a whiny developer. I might pick it up used next year after some patches and updates. It is not a horrible game in fact it had a great concept but it was just not put together properly. If I had to describe it in one phrase it would have to be "poor implementation".
Trickob @ Aug 9th 2008 8:24PM
"fifteen hours"? sweet! that means about 30 hours for me!
Jhongerkong @ Aug 9th 2008 8:45PM
I wish it was a little longer, I mean, Twilight Princess is like 30-40 hours.
Tom18230 @ Aug 9th 2008 9:04PM
And mass effect is 50 hours long and call of duty is 6 hours long and halo 3 is 8 hours long.
Your point, exactly?
Jhongerkong @ Aug 9th 2008 9:07PM
My point was that I wished it was a little longer... I thought the point was pretty clear.
Tom18230 @ Aug 9th 2008 9:50PM
Why are you talking about twilight princess then? It's completely irrelevant.
Jhongerkong @ Aug 9th 2008 10:14PM
I was giving an example as to how long I wished this game was... I thought the point was pretty clear.
Superstar90 @ Aug 9th 2008 11:42PM
Lol, it took me at least 50 hours to beat Twilight Princess, that game is LONG. Rule about Zelda games:
When you think you are close to done, you are only about halfway there.
Rob Accomando @ Aug 10th 2008 12:38AM
Your point was clear, some people are just daft.
Vcize @ Aug 10th 2008 12:47AM
TP was WAY too long.
Playing the demo of Too Human, 50 hours of it would also be WAY too long.
It's stupid to make games long just for the sake of saying they're long, and most of the time that's how it works out if it's not a traditional RPG.
Jhongerkong @ Aug 10th 2008 12:49AM
Some people like short quick games and some like 60+ hour epics.
Different strokes for different folks.
invaderalex @ Aug 10th 2008 9:34AM
that game took me 71 hours and it was full of win.
But does anyone now if the games saves after you beat because i feel nothing change after i beat it.
atrimus @ Aug 9th 2008 9:22PM
so in other words, right about around the time i MIGHT start to think the controls are OKAY, the game will be over. i think i'll pass. it's bad enough we've had to pay a premium on games this generation, but now each game is getting shorter and shorter. i'll not waste 15 hours just getting accustomed to a game's control style, not with Fable 2 two months away. and what's with all this hate from the development community for lengthy games anyway? it's as if Oblivion has taught no one anything.
MikeO. @ Aug 9th 2008 9:42PM
The thing you have to understand is how similar the concept is like Diablo. While you cannot co-op the campaign in Too Human like you can in that game, a bit part of the game is replaying it with the same character, hitting the max level, finding better and better loot.
Diablo II didn't take but a few hours to beat, but most people went back and beat it on all 3 modes, maxing out their level and tweaking their armor and weapons. It's the same concept here.
And if that isn't your thing, then it isn't your thing, that's okay... but it still makes for great replayability for those of us who love to loot and level... even if it means going through the same areas 2 or 3 times.
Sheppy (of the Fidlious Clan of Wong) @ Aug 10th 2008 12:43PM
"it's as if Oblivion has taught no one anything."
Oblivion was a pointlessly long mess of a narrative who's majority of length came from excessive use of the "quest" menu. There, I said it. In this day and age, with heavy reuse of assets, there was no excuse for the sheer lack of focus and constant revisiting of the same house found in Oblivion...
I said it before, I'll say it again. The excessively long games use repetitive tactics to artificially lengthen their games. The rage many feel against short games stems from them still being in school and having the time to complete a 100 hour RPG in three weeks.
atrimus @ Aug 10th 2008 3:31PM
well, if you're fine spending $60 on a 7 hour game with some online multiplayer tacked on so you can sit and be verbally abused by the same school kids you just derided, then who am i to say anything? i myself like longevity with my games.
as for Oblivion; well, i guess we just played two completely different games. i'd hardly call Oblivion a long narrative, especially since the bulk of its gameplay rest outside the main narrative/story. maybe you're confusing Oblivion with MGS4, which was still an awesome game itself.
xGeneral DEATHx @ Aug 11th 2008 8:38AM
Got to agree with Sheppy here...Oblivion had great concepts and was a ridiculously long game thanks to the Quests menu. I myself am not a quest whore (although I was a loot whore in Diablo II), so Oblivion was not very appealing to me. I loved it when it first began, but after that the game just felt too repetitive and the storyline got lost in the jumble of side-quests and NPCs. I'm not hating on anyone who loved Oblivion here, it just wasn't for everybody. To me, one has to be a die-hard RPG fan to take on Oblivion and the Shivering Isles expansion.
Spallit @ Aug 9th 2008 10:26PM
Thank you for one of the more informative responses of in all the Too Human posts I've browsed, MikeO. I enjoyed Diablo II quite a bit, perhaps I'll check this out as well.
Jacksons @ Aug 9th 2008 10:31PM
That's about as long as a hack and slash will stay fun for me. Which is probably why I liked Fable so much. Maybe I'll give this a try.
carg0 @ Aug 9th 2008 10:39PM
and when scrubbed through the 'bullshit translator' that really means more like 10 hours...
MikeO. @ Aug 9th 2008 11:13PM
hah, happy to help. I've studied everything there is to know about this game. Feel free to ask if you have any questions.
Jake G @ Aug 10th 2008 9:32PM
what is the goblin thing from the dev diary's?
MikeO. @ Aug 10th 2008 11:41PM
Jake G,
If you mean the "Goblin Man" videos, I've heard a lot of odd comments in the documentaries and from Dyack himself that suggests that the videos were filmed exclusively for Too Human as a means of creating hype.
I wouldn't believe any of it that you hear, I think it's just a marketing scheme to add a "realistic" touch to the story of Too Human to make the story seem as if it were real.
halongw77 @ Aug 9th 2008 11:14PM
To be fair, the combat system is actually OK. The problem with it are the stiff awkward animations (everything doesn't feel like it flows. it feels like 3 stiff animations with no transition in between) and because of this it doesn't feel very satisfying. It doesn't feel like your really beating up on your opponents. In God of War it feels like your really beating the crap out of your opponent unlike Too Human. However if you can successfully chain the attacks together it's not so bad. However that's pretty hard to do. I'm overall disappointed but I most likely still rent it and maybe purchase it depending on good the full game is.
Red_Robot @ Aug 9th 2008 11:42PM
I liked the demo enough to try the full game.
But like some others have said, I was disappointed to hear that there was no co-op campaign.
By the time I complete the story, it's possible I will have had my fill of Too Human.
Superstar90 @ Aug 9th 2008 11:42PM
I personally hate when RPG's are as long as regular action games. I want the story to be equal in length to the customization, Too Human has tonnes of items and customization, but who wants to keep upgrading when you beat the final boss 30 hours ago?
Sheppy (of the Fidlious Clan of Wong) @ Aug 10th 2008 12:28AM
You know... Dragon Quest was only about 6-7 hours long. Personally, I think when an RPG breeches the 25 hour mark, it's a shame. Why? Because most of your time in RPGs like that is spent gricing and grinding and grinding and grinding. What I love about RPGs are the stories and ability to sit back and plan combat. What I hate is spending five hours in the SAME fucking field just because Bossy McDressonmales is 12 levels higher and has spells which directly cripple my capacity for violence towards him.
I think you'll find, should you remove all the unnecessary grinding and such from most RPGs, you'll find about a 20-30 hour experience regardless of how far over that 60 hour mark you're so proud of.
Frankly, I think RPGs should start taking lessons from action games. Especially in the pacing.
Ihavepants @ Aug 10th 2008 2:00AM
Never played Baldur's Gate 2?
Superstar90 @ Aug 10th 2008 3:24PM
Well, that's just my opinion, I enjoyed Eternal Sonata, and that game didn't have any level grinding. It took me about 40 hours with the Mysterious Unison dungeon, and only once did I have to level grind (against Pirate Dolce because I had such a weak party).
Level grinding is very tedious when the combat is strictly menu-based, like Pokemon and Dragon Quest, but when combat is fun, I don't mind having to fight many enemies.
Eric @ Aug 10th 2008 3:20AM
Still is amazing to me how polarizing this game is.
Ryan @ Aug 10th 2008 3:58AM
This game doesn't deserve all the flak it's getting, I'll still be purchasing it.
Tyler Jones @ Aug 10th 2008 4:31AM
15 hours long after 4 years of development? Wow...
So just under 1 year for this team to make 4 hours worth of gameplay, lol. Pretty bad...
nutman @ Aug 10th 2008 4:45PM
How long did infinity ward work on Cod4?
Man that game is only 6 hours long, they must suck!!!
BLuezy @ Aug 10th 2008 10:51AM
hm. I don't really understand the point. It's about making 15h of a good game right, not 30 of a less good one. I don't know if it'll be any good (I thought the demo was ok), but just I don't understand the topic...
Quadzilla @ Aug 10th 2008 1:27PM
i really wanted to enjoy this game but the demo atleast just feels cheap to me, the game almost and i say almost feels like a budget game . the animation is probably the biggest issue as its horrid, but im going to remain optimistic and wait for the full version to judge it fully.