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Description
When aliens ruled by the evil Mental attack Earth, it is up to Sam "Serious" Stone, one of the toughest guys on Earth, to time-travel back to Ancient Egypt in order to change history by defeating Mental back in the ancient times. The First Encounter tells about the first part of Sam's voyage through Egypt.Serious Sam: The First Encounter is a high-adrenaline first-person shooter heavily focused on frantic arcade-style single player action. The game goes "back to roots" of the first-person shooter genre; it does not feature intricate story, character interaction or the need for careful tactics which were becoming common in the FPS's of its time, instead concentrating on epic battles where the player, armed with powerful weaponry, takes on tens or even hundreds of enemies at once.
Sam travels through deserts, Egyptian temples, palaces and cities, killing countless enemies and occasionally stopping to solve a more or less easy puzzle. There are many weapons to be found; they are all classic FPP armaments - shotguns, chainguns, rocket launchers etc., up to the most powerful weapon: a cannon which shoots devastating cannonballs. There are also many pick-ups, of course, containing ammo, health and armor.
The enemies come in many varieties - headless suicide bombers, giant bio-mechanical creatures that shoot missiles, scorpions with chainguns, bulls that charge at Sam, etc. There are also a couple of powerful bosses.
Sam has a mini-computer which contains basic info about the levels he's travelling through, weapons he collects and enemies he kills.
Screenshots
Promo Images
Trailer
Alternate Titles
- "Крутой Сэм: Первая Кровь" -- Russian spelling
- "Serious Sam: המפגש הראשון" -- Hebrew spelling
- "Serious Sam: Premier contact" -- French title
- "Serious Sam: Pierwsze Starcie" -- Polish title
- "Serious Sam: O Primeiro Confronto" -- Brazilian title
- "Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter" -- Steam title
- "Serious Sam: 1st Encounter" -- Informal title
- "Krutoj Sam: Pervaja Krov'" -- Russian title
- "シリアスサム ファーストエンカウンター" -- Japanese spelling
Part of the Following Groups
- 3D Engine: Serious Engine
- Game feature: In-game screenshot capture
- Gameplay feature: Recordable replays
- Green Pepper releases
- Serious Sam series
- Setting: Egyptian
- Software Pyramide releases
User Reviews
Critic Reviews
E1M1 Magazine | Nov 17, 2020 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
100 |
Gamer's Pulse | Mar 28, 2001 | 97 out of 100 | 97 |
Fragland.net | Sep 18, 2002 | 92 out of 100 | 92 |
Pixel Perfect Gaming | Jan 13, 2010 | 9 out of 10 | 90 |
ActionTrip | Mar 29, 2001 | 89 out of 100 | 89 |
Absolute Games (AG.ru) | Mar 27, 2001 | 85 out of 100 | 85 |
Game Over Online | Mar 31, 2001 | 84 out of 100 | 84 |
GameSpy | Mar 26, 2001 | 84 out of 100 | 84 |
Game Revolution | Jun 01, 2001 | B+ | 83 |
PC Games (Germany) | Apr 06, 2001 | 70 out of 100 | 70 |
Forums
Topic | # Posts | Last Post |
---|---|---|
Croteam | 2 | Flapco (45716) Oct 29, 2018 |
Trivia
1001 Video Games
Serious Sam appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.Demo
Some of the most famous Serious Sam players (who even appear in the game's credits) got the complete game only several months after its release, and constantly played the same demo level while others had the full version.Development
The first Serious Sam demo was a technology demo for the Serious Engine by Croteam, not a demo for a game in particular. The folks at the Old Man Murray website praised the game so much that eventually the guys at the Gathering of Developers got wind of it and sponsored a complete, full game based around the demo.Music
The final level music (before the boss) is a strange heavy metal remix of the famous Phantom of the Opera opening theme.References
Sam's red sneakers may be a reference to Sonic the Hedgehog - the speed power-up that pictures them with wings all but cinches it.Technology
Serious Sam was the first game to implement ATI's TrueForm graphics technology.Awards
- Computer Gaming World
- April 2002 (Issue #213) – Best Enemies of the Year (for the headless soldiers)
- GameSpy
- 2001 – Best Value Priced Game of the Year
- 2001 – Best End Boss of the Year
Related Web Sites
- Serious Sam: The First Encounter (official website)
- Seriously! (A well-populated forum and excellent tutorials regarding writing maps, mods and scripts to Serious Sam.)
- Seriously Warped! (Home of the highly acclaimed Warped Deathmatch MOD for Serious Sam. The team is also creating the multiplayer modes for Serious Sam: The Second Encounter.)
Cromaa (550) added Serious Sam: The First Encounter (Windows) on Mar 28, 2001
Credits (195 people)
76 developers, 119 thanks
Programming:
2D Art:
3D Art:
Game Design:
Level Design:
Music:
Sound:
CEO:
Serious Sam Voice by:
Additional Programming:
Additional Moral Boost:
2D Art:
3D Art:
Game Design:
Level Design:
Music:
Sound:
CEO:
Serious Sam Voice by:
John J. Dick ("Booger")
Moral Boost by:Richard Gray, Old Man Murray
amp11lib library by:Additional Programming:
Additional Moral Boost: