Serious Sam: The Second Encounter

The Good
Serious Sam Second Encounter is just what Doom 2 was to the original, not so for being a true sequel in the strictest sense, but rather more a retread of the same formula, with some new content.

So moreover, this won’t deter fans, which this is squarely aimed at, and I for one am glad Croteam didn’t mess with the fundamentals, which made the first outing such a refreshingly unpretentious shooter, that was simply FUN to play. And this is where I feel the beauty lies here, those humble three letters that are so important, but are so often lost in an abyss of pseudo story telling, meaningless interaction, or the hammering of whatever gimmicks are hot to trot in each passing month.

Alas, the current state of the market leaves me very jaded, and cynical about the future of the industry. Just call me a dinosaur, but games like Resistance: Fall of Man, Halo 2, or the latest installment of Half-Life 2, make me want to throw up with their systematic pedalling of what is said to be gripping narration or seemingly innovative game-play, but peel away the layers of superficial bells and whistles attached, and you are left with the basest of Doom clones.

Serious Sam SE doesn’t try to hide its identity in a myriad of superfluous plots or throw a plethora of shallow characters you’re supposed to care about. Instead, this game simply embraces its roots, is self-conscious, and even has a friendly self-mocking sense of humour about it to boot.

One of the changes you immediately notice in this entry is the somewhat enhanced game engine. The first game was admittedly really a technical achievement, pushing the boundaries of what could be accomplished with the Open GL. graphics rendering system. Croteam has pushed it further here with higher poly counts, longer drawing distances, greater detailed landscapes, and generally pushing the limits of onscreen mayhem. I only got around to checking this game out in the last month, and needless to say, the visuals left me suitably impressed.

The game begins in the Mayan jungle, and this perfectly showcases the advances of the engines’ abilities. With lush amounts of detail in the trees and foliage, over hanging vines, glimmering lakes strewn with Lili pods and there is even somewhat realistic looking grass. Having done many a tour of duty sneaking around dark corridors, this game can prove to be a virtual breath of fresh air.

Concerning your newly added implements of destruction, the first to take prominency is the beloved Chainsaw, which is almost as satisfying as the one in that little chestnut I mentioned earlier.

So, um, you can joyfully carve up the weapon-impaired nasties if you like, or even lop down the trees if you ever fancied yourself a lumberjack. On a rather frivolous note, much unlike Turok: Evolution, there is no purpose for doing this here, where as in the aforementioned game you could cut down a palm tree to get to seemingly inaccessible areas, and so on. Wasn’t that an interesting tidbit? , . . . no. All right then, moving right along.

Probably the chief new component here is the inclusion of a sniper rifle. You might think such a weapon seems a bit strange for a purebred shooter such as this one, but it hasn’t just been added as a token gesture.

To expand on this, - enemies which sport somewhat long range attacks are strategically placed in various devious spots in the vast play fields, which you then have to keep in mind, whilst also dealing with all the immediate threats. The game presents plenty of opportunity to exploit this neat facet and does bring an extra dimension to the overall feel of the proceedings.

Finally, a flamethrower has been thrown into the mix, and offers a hot and crispy way of dealing with the hordes. Um, er . . . I don’t know what else to add about this one.

In terms of level design, there are some genuinely outlandish spots here that definitely leave a good impression.

An example of truly innovative design that left me well impressed was a bit that took place in a confined tunnel-like contraption, which would fully rotate in an unsettling manner when you move left and right, and concurrently you are tackling clusters of nasties from all directions, which sees you fighting sideways or even upside down. Moreover, this game long proceeds Human-Heads’ much acclaimed ‘Prey’, of which was much touted by the press for its “originality”.

I enjoyed this game lighthearted sense of humour, which mainly comes in the form of Sam’s quips during the game - for example, when you first encounter the new pumpkin-head chainsaw wielding guy, defeat him, move a short way, and he subsequently reappears to repeat the process, and Sam says “didn’t I kick your but a few rooms back”, obviously making light of how repetitious enemies are in all FPS games. Also, your guide, Netrisca, points out “It’s nice we are fighting mutants from outer space, and not human soldiers, isn’t it?”, a definite poke at half-life and countless others.

The Bad
Perhaps a bit much of the original textures and environments, e.g. a few may temples and courtyards, is recycled too frequently, and things can get a little dull in this respect in the early stages of the game. Considering the relatively short time in development, this isn’t too much of a surprise in truth.

The Bottom Line
Serious Sam SE is just a good-natured FPS, which doesn’t try to be anything it’s not. The action is fast and frantic, moves along well, and is in essence run and gun reflex twitching action in its purist form.

I thought the length of the single player campaign was quite reasonable, with around twelve levels to explore, and there are of course the usual assortments of secret places to discover, so this side of things is bound to keep you ticking over for a while at least.

This really doesn’t break too much new ground, and ultimately just feels like a stand-alone expansion-pack with an obligatory lick of paint. Admittedly, there are a few genuinely memorable moments, and the sniper rifle is certainly a worthy addition, and adds some extra depth to the otherwise orthodox tried and tested formula. No great shakes really, but I still feel there is much here to recommend.

The Good
I vividly remember my time with Doom (and Doom II). The game was nearly plotless - you were pitted against adversaries from Hell, and then left on your own. No cinemas, no talking heads - just A LOT of fragging.
Serious Sam is the first FPS I've played in years that completely captures that feeling of senseless, breathless slaughter. Not once are you bogged down in bullshit (and lets face it, even the better plotted FPSs these days seem like they were written by some pimply-faced dork in Mrs. James' sophomore English class). You just have to kill what seems like millions of bad guys through the game's three worlds and 11 stages. I like the weapon selection - you get your standards, plus interesting weapons like the cannon and the flamethrower (now rapidly becoming an FPS mainstay). The enemy AI is so simple it's laughable - bad guys either run straight at you as fast as they can (the Kleer skeletons), or run toward you slowly while firing as fast as they can. But you don't play Serious Sam for the AI - you play it for the non-stop, glorious carnage. Plus, Croteam (the designers) have a whacked-out sense of humor that pervades every aspect of the game. From the strange one-liners that Sam spits out once and a while to the odd text messages left for you by your computer-based ally, there's a lot of strange, vaguely European-translated into English-jokes to make you laugh (or at least, wonder what they were thinking when they programmed that).

The Bad
I already noted the lack of sophisticated AI. Apart from that, there's nothing really all that bad about Sam, besides the occasionally too tough encounter (some of the situations you'll find yourself in are so damn hard you'll want to resort to cheats - real men don't, however). Furthermore, it can all get a bit tedious - I found myself unable to take any more than an hour of Sam before it all got to be too much.

The Bottom Line
A Doom-style FPS that completely flies in the mold of every other FPS out there today. Don't miss it if you're tired of all the stupid dialog, pointless puzzles and endless key hunting that bog normal FPSs down.

The Good
First, read the review for the part one.

Now, after reading... This is the sequel. It has the same advantages as the original; it does not cost very much and there is still no plot, but there are MORE monsters, MORE gore and MORE action. Additionally, the Second Encounter solves one of the biggest flaws of the original game- the constant Egyptian environment. You'll face many new scenarios, from lush jungles to fearsome medieval castles.

The Bad
The game has many battle scenes; while each one is original, some of them are very annoying, especially those that involve monsters zooming chaotically around the screen. Luckily, there are only two such short scenes in the entire game.

The Bottom Line
Still no plot and still no thinking required; just tap the mouse button as fast as possible, frag as many meanies as you can, and play till your head falls off.