Seriously serious FPS mayhem!
Graphics: 9
Sounds: 8
Value: 10
Tilt: 9
Actual Score: 9.1
One of my biggest grips about any video games is the concept of innovation. There are way too many games that have been released using the same ole ‘successful’ formula hence aiming to get a quick buck or two. Then turn up a game that somehow eats my words and practically everything else hence makes me look like a complete charlatan. Serious Sam, the First Encounter did exactly that. It uses old school ‘shoot everything that moves’ concept, reloading is a waste of time and secrets abound will make you think ‘This reminds me of Doom’. It may very well seem so though however in some way Croteam has done the impossible and made old school romping so much fun again…almost reinventing the wheel again and made it totally hip!
So here comes the protagonist named Sam ‘Serious’ Stone, also to be your alter ego. He’s a fellow that fears nothing, gets belted, dishes out punishment and ‘kicking names and taking a$$es’ (yes I’m serious) during the 22nd Century…ok, in the year 2113AD. Also remarkably looking like The Dukeman he’s the natural selection to go back in time to K.O. The Mentals as presently The Mentals are very close to eradicate the entire human race. Armed with his beloved Smith & Wesson colt which has unlimited ammo (thanks to one of the captured Mental’s minions) you’ll start in Ancient Egypt, the period where our ancient ‘friends’ the Sirians are about to get their butts whipped by the Mentals (I’ll bet you didn’t see that coming…).
With the title called ‘Serious Sam’, expect nothing less than total Kaos (with a capital ‘K’). Even though Serious Sam is certainly a FPS it should be tagged as SFPS (i.e. Seriously First Person Shooter). This game is not for the faint hearted, wimps, cheaters or campers. You have no sniper rifle, no miraculous self-healing systems, no ‘press-one-button-that-does-everything’ and the only thing that stands between you and your enemies is the amount of ammo left in your weapon. Your foes won’t take cover, always rush towards you and never, ever flee in terror. Sounds easy you say? Adding on, your weapons have ammo count of 500 for the minigun, 50 for the rocket launcher, 30 for the cannon (yes a cannon) and god-knows-what for your other weapons it’s going to be a walk in the park right?
Did I forget to add you’re going to be outnumbered…say twenty to one?
Per wave?
Yes, Serious Sam has wave after wave of enemies that believe in the rule of ‘strength-in-numbers’ and not afraid to utilise that concept either. There will be rest stops in-between waves (when fighting a boss) however this game will teach you some golden rules about FPS:
1) Don’t stand still;
2) Circle strafe and shooting (at the same time);
3) Rocket jumping;
4) Die in the most spectacular way.
What sets this game apart from many FPS is the ability to go anywhere, anytime if you know how. The maps are vast in size hence if know how, you can ‘cheat’ your way to avoid the minions spawning however for the vast majority of time, you need to collect an item to move on to the next level so you are going to back-track. Yet by being a little creative you can certainly knock out a large chunk of foes without suffering too much damage to yourself. Also the critters don’t mind if they trample over each other as their priority is to see how fast you can rage quit the game. In addition, there are secrets a bound and if you managed to locate them, you’ll be treated with a decent reward that will save you an extra forty seconds of game play time before hitting the reload button.
Among the many deaths that you’ll experience, the game is beautiful to behold. Gorgeous landscapes, brilliant reflections (including solar flares from the imposing sun), magnificent yet detailed buildings dotted with hieroglyphics and pyramids abound makes the player totally immersed with the once almighty Egyptian empire. Accompanied all this is one hell of a soundtrack that every musical scores suits well for any given situation, especially when fighting a boss and hearing the words ‘warrrrr’ fills you with guarana infused adrenaline rush.
Considering there are five difficulty levels, there’s plenty of room for any FPS player to test their mettle. Being a seasoned FPS player, I played this game on ‘hard’ mode and yes the game is quite hard but not unforgiving. And if you managed to finish the game unlocks the ‘Mental’ difficulty. This means that all the enemies fade in and out of view making it virtually impossible to complete in single player. If anyone tells you they have finished the game in Mental difficulty, they are blatantly lying. What this is reserved for is the impressive multiplayer option.
Multiplayer arrives in many flavours that will suit for all walks of life. The simplistic form is the split screen where two or more players can play together however you need a decent size monitor to appreciate this. Online you can play death match, frag points or co-op mode. Co-op is definitely the most famous as you can play the entire campaign up to sixteen players! In addition you can specify the amount of respawn and choose one of the many wacky characters (I prefer the boxer). If that’s not enough value, the game supports mods for extra mayhem or game play options.
Not for a long time since I have played a ‘traditional’ FPS where a worn out ideology is used yet still maintained unique and fresh than Serious Sam. Looking in hindsight, Serious Sam certainly doesn’t reinvent the wheel however making the wheel trendier than ever by precisely making this game challenging enough without overstepping its usefulness. Everything about Serious Sam is a direct copy of other FPS whether be Doom, Duke Nukem or any other old school video game however making it extraordinary enough with its vibrant graphics, unusual critters, large maps that encourages trial and error tactics sprinkling with humour, one cannot help but burns great memories each and every moment when playing this game; online or offline.