Serious Sam: The Second Encounter
2002
- shooter
- indie
- action
- science fiction
- comedy
- single player
- multiplayer
- co-operative
- split screen
The story
Serious Sam: The Second Encounter, the highly anticipated arcade action FPS sequel to the Serious Sam: The First Encounter, is a high-adrenaline arcade-action shooter heavily focused on frantic arcade-style single player action. In a world where cyberpunk meets fantasy-fiction and advanced technology is mixed with black magic and psycho-powers, Sam travels through the three beautiful worlds, confronting countless Mental's minions on his way to the Mental's base.
What it’s like
Loud, saturated, and relentlessly open: wide sun-baked arenas of sandstone ruins, jungle temples and frozen wastelands sit under bright, almost cartoonish daylight, with the camera pulled back so hordes of gaping alien and undead enemies can be seen pouring across open ground. The palette runs hot oranges, dusty ochres and icy blues, the sky often hazy with steam or snow, and the sound is a constant clatter of gunfire, grunts, sirens and jaunty, bombastic music that rarely drops out. The mood is brash, rowdy arcade mayhem with a wink: sweaty, unpretentious and dumb in the best way, best suited to a loud weekend afternoon, a burst of after-work stress relief, or a co-op session with friends on a split screen. Pacing is nonstop, with brief breathers for backtracking and hunting secrets, and the emotional register stays flat-out playful. Violence is constant and cartoonishly bloody, with heads exploding in clouds of gore, skeletal and mutant monsters, and big boss encounters; it is plentiful but stylised rather than grim, with no sexual content. For fans of old-school run-and-gun shooters who want chaotic, high-volume fun rather than atmosphere or story.
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