PixlBit

Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter hearkens back to the first person shooters of yesteryear. There's no real attempt at story, objectives aren't included, and players need only focus on killing everything in sight and moving on to the next room to do it again. Of course, the title is a remake of the 2002 game with the same name, this time with upgraded visuals and an additional mode, Co-Op Tournament. While many staples of modern day shooter design aren't present here, that doesn't mean it isn't an enjoyable romp.

It's almost stunning just how barebones Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter is. Upon starting the quest, players are dropped into a field armed with a chainsaw and enemies immediately start rushing toward players to defeat - no big cutscene, no explanation of where they are, not even an explanation for where they have to go. While this may be offputting to some, I found it oddly refreshing. It's not often these days that gamers can jump straight into an experience and just go. Heavy-handed stories are all too common, even in something as simple as a shooter.

This minimalist approach carries through into the gameplay as well. Players shouldn't expect to do much more than grab weapons and eliminate the onslaught of enemies. While the goal is simple, Serious Sam does a great job of varying both the weapons and the enemies, allowing players to modify their approach to every area in order to maximize ammo and health. As such, it's worth noting that certain enemies are best defeated through use of particular weapons, so players must build this into their strategy to eliminate all threats in a given area.

Aside from running and gunning, players will also have some opportunity to explore the expansive worlds they traverse. Similar to id's classic shooters, Doom, Quake, and Wolfenstein, there are a number of hidden areas, which contain health, armor, weapon, and ammo pick-ups. Of course, given its appearance on modern day systems, achievements have been added, giving players more motivation to seek out these areas.

Part of the charm of Serious Sam is not only its old school approach, but also the enemies and the weapons that appear in the game. Not a single monster will look like something players have seen in a game before. For instance, one of the first enemies you encounter is a headless man with bombs for hands that kamikaze-rushes players - oh, and somehow he screams at the top of his lungs, though headless. As players push further into the game, they will encounter many other enemies, all unique, some of which are absolutely enormous. By enormous, I mean several stories high, dwarfing even buildings found in the diverse landscape.

Not only are the enemies entertaining in their design, but the game is also laden with other bits of humor throughout. Most notably, Sam tends to toss out a number of one-liners, similar to Duke Nukem, along with the occasionally fourth wall-breaking joke or situation.

While Serious Sam has a number of admirable qualities, some of its rooting in the past causes undue frustration. For instance, players will commonly battle with enemies that are spawned randomly both directly in front of or behind Sam. With a single life bar and no regenerating health, this can become problematic and annoying as many enemies can inflict quite a bit of damage.

The burden of saving is also placed entirely on players. Players won't be checkpointed after completing a particularly tough area or beating a giant boss, they must remember to click a button in order to save their game. Given the fact that most modern games don't operate this way, players will undoubtedly come across a scenario where they lose enormous amounts of progress due to forgetting to quick save. Even worse, if players get overwhelmed and start randomly pushing buttons, it's possible that they will quick save at an inopportune moment, potentially ruining their quest and forcing a start at the last given chapter in the game.

Finally, with a lack of goals and the constant, unending landscape, things tend to get a bit monotonous. Most will only be able to tolerate the game in small spurts before wanting to take a break and play something new. The game's co-operative mode helps in breaking up some of the monotony, but it's not a total cure.

Multiplayer modes offer some variety with Beast Hunt, Team Deathmatch, and Capture the Flag, but most modern day shooters offer much better multiplayer experiences. This is extrapolated when players realize that so few matches are available given the undoubted small user base of the game.

While Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter is a great visual update of a last generation title, it does little to bring the experience into modern day. The mindless shooting gameplay is refreshing and fun for a while, but before long it does lose its appeal. Those looking to relive the days of their youth should give Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter a shot, but those who cut their teeth on Halo and Call of Duty are better off holding out for the latest in either of those series.