Serious Sam: Next Encounter

"No runnin', no horse-play.... Hmmm, that only leaves killin'"

This game is 20 bucks worth of pure carnage and gun-play. You are "Serious" Sam Stone, a government agent that travels through time to whoop alien / zombie ass, and I love every second of it. With little story or explanation for all of the death, this game (forgive the pun) sticks to it's guns. Let's get started:

Story: No Score
Aliens traveled back in time to ancient Rome to take over the world or some ****, ready to whoop ass?

Controls: 9/10
I hate it when people don't list the controls in the review for a game, so here they are:
R - Fire, L- Jump, A - Action, X/Y - Switch Weapons, B - Secondary Fire, Z - Information. That's bassically it, all of the controls are responsive, and I found them plotted out very well. The only problem I have is that there is almost no rumble at all, I know this sounds dumb but in a game where all you do is kill, I'd like more than just a faint rumble after you jump. That's just me though. I should also mention that this game is duel anolog, meaning you walk and strafe with the control stick, but aim with the C-Stick.

Sound: 8/10
The sound in this game is superb, and you can actually use it to your advantage. For example; when a kamikazi suicide is running at you, you can tell how close he is to you judging by how loud his screams are. This is a very nice touch, and it's very helpful. I have no complaint with the guns, they sound pretty much authentic to me (of course I'd have no idea what I'm talking about considering I've never touched a real gun, nonetheless fired a Minigun) Sam's bad-ass, tough-guy, almost Solid Snake-like voice is done very well. You'll like him if you like Bruce Cambell's character Ash in Evil Dead (which I do). He also spouts out hilarious one-liners from time to time like the one in the title. The one thing I don't like is the stupid little kid sound effect it makes when your in the menu, that just annoys me.

Graphics: 7/10
While you read this review about all of the gun-slinging and killing, you must be thinking that this is a hardcore, gritty shooter. Hell, even when I first heard the name "Serious Sam", I though of Son of Sam for some reason. But this conclusion is wrong, very wrong indeed. This game is bright and colorful, in fact if it wasn't for the extreme amounts of blood and gore (which there is a lot of by the way) you might think this is a kid's game. It is bright out with vivid colors and sunny days and crap like that. The aliens / zombies all look nice and cheesy like they should (the kamikazi is a man with no head, with bombs instead of hands). Your character Sam is the generic tiny waist, huge upper body, chisiled jaw hero . I'm giving this an average 7/10, because there is nothing that really pops out at me.

Gameplay: 9/10
This game gave me exactly what I wanted in terms of gameplay, few puzzles and all killing. This game even mocks other games by Sam saying things like, "Sure beats collecting key cards!" when you blow a wall up get into a building or, "Oh boy, a jumping puzzle! I love jumping puzzles!" when you have to jump over lava. This is one game that really knows itself. The guns were very good, giving you Dessert Eagles, Uzis, Shotguns, Flamethrowers, Miniguns, and even a pirate cannon just to name a few. Alot of the guns also have different ammo types like Ricoche Bullets, which is sweet. Something that I found cool was that every enemy has a kinda weakness to one of your guns, like some will go down in one Shotgun blast or others with a quick pistol blast. This adds up to quick weapon switching, which makes the responsive controls a blessing. You bassically walk through Rome and temple, killing things. But it's tough at points you'll be walking up a hill, then an almost army of zombies will come pouring over the top, causing you to pull out your Minigun and lay down some hell. There also some vehicles, including a Hummer that Sam hooked up with some Roket Launchers to go blastin' through the country with. This game is good at giving you health at the right time, at giving you armor at the right time so you don't die also. They will sometimes do this very cleverly. For instance, sometimes they'll be armor and health sitting out and when you get it, you find out that is was a trap to lure you out and then enimies will start rushing you.

Multiplayer: 9/10
Very nice, letting you do the whole game in co-op, or giving you the classic split-screen battle. The battle arenas are nice, as are the weapon sets and characters. One of my favorite levels is just two empty towers where your character stick to any surface their feet touch, making for some awesome battles. my only complaint is that there are no stages with vehicles.

And so ends my first review, I hang out of the Serious Sam: Next Encounter message board, so I'm open to any suggestions. I say that you go buy this game, having a retail price of only $20 is a good deal for a good game. Peace out!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/30/04