Serious Sam: Next Encounter

"Fun and cheap!"

Honestly, who doesn't like blasting away aliens with a huge assortment of weapons? Well if you do, Serious Sam: The Next Encounter is the game for you! Not only is it decently fun, it is pretty cheap.

Graphics: 5
The characters are ugly and the cut scenes are really blurry. The environments are mildly detailed but the other stuff brings the score down a lot. The guns don't look to bad though.

Sound: 7
Though the voice acting is really bad, but the weapons sound the way they should. Other sounds are pretty good but nothing to scream about.

Music: 8
The music is calm and actually pretty peaceful at first. Then when the baddies come in, it switches to rock. It's good music, but it can get on your nerves when you listen to it. But it is still good.

Controls: 10
It plays like any other FPS. So if you have played any shooters, you will get the hang of this game quick.

Game play: 7
This game has one simple rule: blow up any thing in sight. The main objective is to kill aliens while solving simple jumping puzzles. Repetitive but fun. One bad note is that the levels get way too long later on.

There are many weapons to keep everyone satisfied. There are basic pistols and machine guns. There are many other ones as well, including a cannon, lasers, and even a chainsaw! There is even a explosive that will wipe out all of the baddies on the screen.

There is also a super combo mode. It is when you kill 20 aliens in one combo and Sam goes into a super combo killing spree! Your kills are worth more than they are worth and you can get a lot of points if in an area with tons of enemies.

Replay: 6
You can go through the game with many different characters. There is also multiplayer, but that is about it.

Buy or Rent: Buy
It is very cheap ($20) and is a good game that should be in every shooter fan's collection.

Overall Score: 7.1/10 (rounded to 7)

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/08/06