Serious Sam: The Second Encounter
Ferrago review more larger-than-life action from Croteam...
Serious ‘Sam’ Stone has always been something of a black sheep in the first-person shooter family; his decidedly ‘old school’ approach to fun, his Duke Nukem-esque comedic ironies, and his addictive, and diverse approach to design (coupled with a total disinterest in the values of realism and immersive plot), have left Sam somewhat alone in a genre full of titles claiming to be ‘the next step’, and advocating the constant progression of in-game stories. What’s more, he’s cheap too.
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So once again, Mr Stone returns to grace our monitors, and you’ll be less than surprised to hear that his ethics haven’t changed one iota; still the story mocks it’s competitors with it’s outlandish B-movie influences, still the design places the in-your-face, and the bizarre, ahead of anything tangible and in-keeping with a meaningful plot, and still a whole-host of over-the-top and imaginative bad-guys are a hell bent on stopping Sam in his fight for galactic justice. Or whatever it was.
It’s a breath of fresh air, to say the least. Whilst tense, realistic and heavily-plotted games like id’s excellent Return to Castle Wolfenstein will always have their place, a game like this is very refreshing once in a while; purely for it’s original blend of intense arcade gameplay, and diverse scenery / foes. On the whole then, as you may have already guessed, it’s business as usual in The Second Encounter. With only a few minor tweaks and improvements here and there, not to mention some diversifications, the game continues very much in the outlandish vein stipulated so loudly in the original, and believe me it’s no worse for it.
The plot, such as it is, continues from where the previous instalment concluded, though Lord of the Rings this is not, and developers Croteam appear to have put a concerted effort into ensuring the plot is stupid, and ‘out there’. The usual hokum of ‘time-locks’, the evil ‘Mental’ and something to do with taking over the universe providing Sam with more than sufficient excuse to ‘go kick some alien booty’, if you’ll pardon my expression. It’s with this light-hearted approach that the game begins too; with Sam falling from a crashed spacecraft into a picturesque lake (complete with it’s own misty waterfall). From here on the pace is as frenetic as it ever was, perhaps even more so, as you collect the chainsaw (one of the new weapons) and fast-paced battling begins as herds of lunging ghoulish aliens, and headless beasties come at you in startling fashion. You will then proceed down a nicely detailed valley to an Incan/Aztec-styled temple where your Sniper rifle (yet another new one!) will come in handy for something nasty waiting for you on the roof, and you’ll also have to make use of the chainsaw to deal with a ‘Bird’ problem. It’s all very very fast, and very very fun, the action of the game progressing far too quickly to become repetitive.
Comments
As you say, I find this game very refreshing. Stunning and beautiful graphics.
Gameplay is fast, furious and just "pure fun"!
A "must have" for FPS fans.
This game is better graphically than the first. I just wish they would implement a "stealth" aspect into the game as well as "triggers" that bring out the monsters. I never feel like you can sneek around and get the enemy that way. Rather, you pass a certain point and monsters come at you and at you and at you. Now, Soldier of Fortune (SOF) had triggers and it was fun. But you may have notice that in SOF, the enemy may have stratigically placed themselves for their best angle. There was always an element of "their you are" with peculiar thoughts in you head figuring out of how to execute them. In Serious Sam: The Second Encouter, the enemy just comes at you with no thought on your part except to simple keep shooting while running. It gets old fast - like after one level - especially if you play the original game. Just my two cents worth.
X-racer
T'is fun
Erm...
Tired from a hard day at work or school?Nothing like a wave of guts to calm you down! This is the game for u! Take the cannon and try imagining your boss/teacher!
Serious Sam came out last year and what a great way to kick off 2002, with a sequel to it!
This time round there are sniper rifles,chainsaws
and flamethrowers.this is better than the original
but there is'nt much difference at all. Apart from being samey this game is GREAT and a worthy addition to any collection at only 20 quid.
On the second encounter,he never fought with Mental.All he did was defeat Madakia,The Summoner and aqquired the Holy Grail,but what happened to Mental?Will there be a third encounter?
Man It's a awsome game I can't stop playing it.
Why the game 'Serios Sam' is very dificult to install
can I play
its very easy for me .....i love this game
Everytime I Try To Install Serious Sam The Second Encounter it gets to 60% finished then a box pops up and says....
Component transfer error
Component: Serious Tools
File Group: Tools
File: D:InstallSE1_00_ExtraTools.gro
Error: Incorrect function
If anybody has any help/info/tips plz respond ASAP I wanna play so badly
This game is soo much fun! I can't stop playing it. I have Serious Sam for every game system its on. The only flaw it has is the fact that it goes for the Doom action. Other than that, this game is perfect. I highly recomend this one.
This game Cannons! WHOEEEEEEAHAAA
I installed the game and from the moment i killed that cruddy alien, i just had to kill more, and more, and so on.If you are a person who just think about destruction and killing the you must play Serious Sam
I installed the game and from the moment i killed that cruddy alien, i just had to kill more, and more, and so on.If you are a person who just think about destruction and killing the you must play Serious Sam
It didn't go over my expectations
nalla game anutto allarum kalikkanam
i want to download serious sam the secondencounter please please
one of my favorite games, i personally think it is better than Halo in many ways (and i am a halo fan!)
i never get tired of playing this game and i would highly recommend it