It is an admirable question: just what would the future be like if we still believed in gods, demons and myths as we once did? This future - depicted in Too Human - would be a far more dangerous place, inhabited with goblin cyborgs and hulking mechanical monstrosities, if the people at Silicon Knights are to be believed; and with a history including the wonderfully inspired Eternal Darkness on the GameCube, there's not much reason to doubt them. However, the past counts for nothing in today's ever-changing digital age, so will Too Human be as good as those who have been following its endless development hoped? And can it fend off strong opposition from established titles such as Gears of War and Grand Theft Auto? It's too early to say whether Too Human will dominate the console market, but the game is definitely shaping up to be a winner!

Winner or not, Too Human is one of those rare games that actually has an original and intriguing storyline - not the usual alien invaders bent on destruction or the struggle to survive in post-apocalyptic worlds, but a future adaptation of ancient mythology. Twisted visions of age-old legends have featured in many games before, notably RPGs such as Loki and the more action oriented Viking: Battle for Asgard. Too Human takes this fantasy basis and blasts it into space, advancing time by about a thousand years. Some humans have cybernetic implants allowing for devastating spells, demons have mixed themselves with agility-boosting machines, gods and soothsayers now inhabit cyberspace (the invisible world where software exists), angels are transformed into metal-winged life-givers and valiant heroes do battle using technologically enhanced swords. However, other than this excitement for anyone but the most devout classical scholar, not much of the story is given away in this early look; Baldur, the hero whose metallic boots you fill, finds a cybernetic arm of terrifying proportions before the game begins (although it's not shown until later via some wonderful flashback cut scenes) and is perplexed about why a machine would bite people's heads off and drink their blood!

Whatever this machine, it is a firm bet that you will have to slice it up good with a sword. To do this you first need to understand how to play Too Human, which is pretty straightforward at heart - you run at enemies, twirl your sword with the right analogue stick and the enemies die - but it is reassuringly a bit more varied than a tedious bash fest. The basic gameplay is simple but brilliantly executed hack 'n' slash action with guns, swords, axes, hammers and shields, with some nifty RPG elements such as skill trees, and item and bounty falling from slain enemies, a choice of multiple heroes to play as, runes to insert into weapons for extra killing potential, and item crafting. All this RPG gubbins hugely benefits the game and gives it some much-needed depth, but it definitely shouldn't be confused with a fully-fledged RPG, with scrolls, spellbooks and accurately modelled beards - Too Human is an action game first and foremost. An example of the removal of standard RPG complexities comes when you choose your hero; only one is playable in the preview version but there is no long and detailed text for you to read - the hero's stats are summarised into a short, godlike speech, with four simple bars to give an indication of the strengths on offer. After you've selected your hero, a huge emphasis is put on the fast-and-furious action; enemies come at you in droves, despatched with a few strokes of your sword or blasts from your guns - you can even attack in mid-air, hovering as you show off your moves. How cool is that?

When you do swing your weapon, be it a sword or any other sharp stick, the Unreal graphics engine makes it look excellent; a blue swish trail follows your blade as it performs its deadly dance. Equally well presented are the fantastically modelled enemies dancing around your hero, desperate for an opening to plunge their claws through your skin. It's not only moving objects that look great either, as the environments are painstakingly detailed and beautifully created; in terms of eye-candy Too Human is right up there with Unreal Tournament III and Mass Effect. Like both these games, Too Human has its fair share of cut scenes and most of them are a sight to behold; one sees Halo style marines mounting an armoured vehicle, touching down on a snow-covered, windy planet, covering each other as they break into a massive temple structure that's similar to the fantastic Aliens movie. Being so integral to the story, the cut scenes are more numerous and longer than those of many other games; the option to skip them is available, but they're so well made that doing so feels like sacrilege.

Also showing its presence is the superb audio; swords clang as they hit metal armour, your hero's suit audibly boosts the height of his jumps and the friendly marines that accompany you on some missions chat among themselves, barking orders in suitably military fashion. Backing the wonderfully voice-acted marines is some truly awe-inspiring music that's used very well to ratchet up the tension, never getting in the way but rather amplifying the action and making the enemy-flinging combat that much more exciting.

Speaking of enemies - and even friendly marines - the AI used to control them is almost faultless; there are the very rare occasions when marines fire from where they cannot hope to hit anything but some much worse AI is present in similar games. Most enemies will attack anything that moves with equal ferocity, but in Too Human the enemies are almost too clever; they know that you are stronger so they prefer to attack you initially, rather than the weaker marines. As if thoughtful enemies weren't enough, even the camera is clever, changing its position for a more cinematic experience; it can be difficult to see where you are going at times but it's not bad enough to significantly impact the game.

So far Too Human is clearly on its way to 'must buy' status, but there are some potential hurdles at this stage. A not-so-easy to fix problem is that the controls are quite difficult to master; it'll take you a while to get used to them, after which you'll be bashing goblins like there's no tomorrow, and there usually isn't for the creatures you encounter! A second issue is that the inventory and skill system is a bit tricky to use - it will surely it be well documented when the game is released but, for now, the large amount of information available is a bit daunting.

Equally daunting for the developers is that this game is the first of a planned trilogy - high hopes rest on Too Human's success, but this preview version gives every impression that these will be realised. Even if the game isn't the publisher's wet dream of Halo 3 or Grand Theft Auto IV, the top-notch graphics, great sound and remarkably enjoyable gameplay makes Too Human one to look out for in the busy Xbox 360 release schedule. Think Mass Effect on steroids - what more do you really need to know?

Previewed by Tom Clark for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).