More Nordic Diablo? More Resident Evil in space? More movies on games consoles? It could only be Rumor Killers, this week with Jennifer Allen.

Too Human 2 on the way?

Last week Too Human developer Silicon Knights posted up an advert on the Gamasutra jobs board, looking for a game designer who is adept at delivering game elements such as “combat, UI, inventory, progression, levels, NPC actions, play balance and reward schemes”. It also mentioned the need for familiarity with fantasy and science fiction, as well as the role-playing genre. Ring any bells? It sure has for me, as well as for the rest of the Internet rumor mill.

The original Too Human had quite a hard time upon its release; it had been hyped up to ridiculous levels of expectation after being delayed over and over, and the game never really stood a chance. Now, I’m happy to go on record and say that I didn’t think it was too bad. Sure, it had a lot of flaws to it, and was nowhere from being a game of the year, but I think its main crime was simply being overhyped, and just not as good as the hype made it out to be. It’s a problem that’s afflicted many games, and mostly everything from Lionhead instantly to mind. I suspect Denis Dyack, founder and president of Silicon Knights is secretly Peter Molyneux in disguise. They both seem to have very similar ways of hyping up their product to ridiculous levels, both bringing hype to the point where players just can’t help but be disappointed by how the end product turns out, bringing about the inevitable backlash (also, have you seen Dyack and Molyneux in the same room, ever? Didn’t think so – Ed.). Having said all that, all credit to Dyack for fighting the NeoGAF onslaught against Too Human.

Supposedly Too Human achieved a huge number of pre-orders, but ultimately sold quite badly, likely causing the loss of a number of jobs at Silicon Knights not long after its release. So is a sequel to Too Human really possible? Well, a Canadian press release suggests otherwise, claiming the new title from the developer to be Sirens in the Maelstrom. Whether this is a subtitle for Too Human 2, or even accurate, is still in question, but Too Human 2: Sirens in the Maelstrom is certainly one possibility. But would customers want to risk $60 on a sequel to a game that got lambasted from nearly all corners? Also, the first game had huge backing from Microsoft, including huge adverts to putting screenshots on the back of Xbox 360 console boxes, but I cant’ see Microsoft doing that again, given that they would probably rather brush Too Human under the carpet and concentrate on their more popular exclusives and strong RPG line-up.

Despite these concerns, I suspect it would be riskier for Silicon Knights to come up with an entirely new IP and try to sell it than to make a Too Human sequel. It’s a tough one to call, but as to whatever the developer has up its sleeve, it has to be good to make up for the shame of Too Human. Many avid fans would love to see another Eternal Darkness title, the developer’s best game to date, but I can’t see that happening; it’s been too long, and I wouldn’t have thought it would be the financial success Silicon Knights unfortunately needs. If it is Too Human 2, I implore Silicon Knights not to call it that; it sounds just like the sort of name you’d make someone try to say 100 times very quickly. Plus there are just too many mentions of two or too, and that’s just in this sentence alone.

TGR says: Possible... but not probable.