One of the biggest gambles to kick off E3 this year was Microsoft’s decision to put a playable demo of Too Human up on Live. Were the critics at E307 right? Was the constant stalling of release date and the recent attack dog face on Silicon Knights founder Denis Dyack indicative of a knowingly botched product? Or did Dyack and crew pull it together when it came time to put up or shut up? Hit the jump for impressions from Jim and Kevin:

Jim Squires: Despite all my crowing and bullshit posturing about living down the block from Silicon Knights, I walked into the demo with low expectations. Hometown pride can only get you so far, and the climate surrounding the game lately has been anything but reassuring. For the first few minutes of play I felt as though my worst fears had been confirmed — the camera was bullshit, the combat unfamiliar, and the in-game visuals decidedly last gen. But then I kept playing. Now, an hour later, I’m foaming at the mouth for the full version.

Too Human is a little like taking it in the rear. It breaks from what we’re used to and at first it seems like it’s just a bad idea all around. But once you get into the groove? It’s the greatest thing since… well… taking it in the rear. The combat is elegant in its simplicity. The RPG elements are deep enough to keep you hooked but shallow enough that it doesn’t take you out of the action. It reminds me a lot of World of Warcraft — equipment can be switched on the fly, talent points can be assigned quickly and effectively — but you’re not spending 40 minutes mapping out your gameplan like in Final Fantasy. It also seems to balance story and gameplay perfectly: kick ass few minutes of combat, quick cut scene, kick ass few minutes of combat, quick cut scene, lather, rinse, repeat. Countdown to full release begins now.

Kevin Alexander: If you’ve followed any sort of video game news over the past year or so it’s been near impossible to avoid all the drama surrounding Too Human. From the beef with Epic over Unreal Engine 3 to the most recent public uber persona of Mr. Dyack. We must force ourselves to remember, there’s a game being made here. A game that when all is said and done I was excited to try out based on the word that it’s somewhere in the realm of Diablo or Phantasy Star Online. Yes, Dear Readers, I am a loot whore.

In what little time I had yesterday I played through most of the demo and though my playing situation forced me to skip the cutscenes at the time I was still able to give the actual gameplay a good once over. Above Jim does a good job of decribing what it’s like to play the game. It takes a minute to get comfortable with the idea that though it looks like you should be mashing buttons (the look might remind you of a futuristic God Of War) when all you have to do is hold a stick or button to attack. Like Jim said the camera needs to be adjusted constantly and though it’s a single button press to recenter the camera the way it accomplishes this is very off putting: it snaps to the position behind you instead of swinging back around to where it should be. This creates a cutting effect instead of an unbroken camera move.

Those not partial to the games that Too Human has been compared to need not apply but where this demo succeeds is the feeling you’ll be left with once you’ve completed what they have to offer you. You will definitly know whether or not you’ll be picking this game up. I know where my decision lies, much like Jim, I’m left wanting more.