Serious Sam II

When Croteam blew onto the scene a few years back with the release of the original Serious Sam, PC gamers were treated to a roots approach to the FPS, reminding us of just where it all came from. The gameplay was straightforward shooting with very little in the way of strategy coupled with some truly wacky enemies, making it a unique experience that shooter fans dug. Now, a true sequel (aptly named Serious Sam 2), is hitting the market, offering up the same brand of balls-to-the-wall FPS gameplay and sheer insanity with some added improvements to the formula. Make no mistake; Serious Sam 2 is as old school as they come.

Serious Sam 2 follows the hero as he fights once again to save the universe from the threat of the nefarious Mental, the villain from the first game. The game, like the original, is very low on story elements, but that’s not the point. The point is the combat, in which you fight against hordes upon hordes of ridiculous enemies with even more absurd weapons.

The game has a few familiar staples from the original. The enemies attack you furiously, but follow set patterns of attack (namely, rushing you, screaming and shooting), so don’t go into this game expecting the AI intricacies of Far Cry or Half-Life 2. Once again, this game really isn’t about that. It’s more about the quantity of the enemies taking you on than the quality. Dozens will take you on at once, requiring you to fire off your crazy arsenal to stay alive.

And what a crazy arsenal it is. Among some of the insane weapons that you have are a bomb dropping parrot, dual-wielded Colt .45s, and a ton of various bombs and missiles with angry smiley-faces on them. Luckily, the more conservative weapons, like the chaingun and the double-barreled shotgun, make a return and function well for doing most of the dirty work. Some really cool additions to your arsenal are vehicles and stationary weapons, which allow you to take full advantage of the enormous battlegrounds and increased firepower.

Much like the original game, the game’s plus sides also count a bit towards its shortcomings. The intense and often overwhelming pace of the game can and will lend itself to the repetitive side, making the action a little tiring before too long. This makes the game a bit of a shallow experience that fans of more high-brow, “thinking” fare will not enjoy to its fullest.

Graphically, Serious Sam 2 is a nice step up from the original. It still matches it in terms of style, with bright, colorful environments and wacky, pseudo-cartoony level and character design. However, the textures are very sharp and detailed and much of the game has nice lighting and special effects. While the bump up in quality might not be readily apparent, once the battles heat up and tons of enemies get on the screen, the sheer magnitude of activity is pretty impressive.

The sound department could use some improvement. The voice acting is very cheesy, which could be appropriate for the game’s subject matter, but tends to just be pretty annoying. It’s also unfortunate that even though the weapons are varied and quite interesting, their corresponding sound effects aren’t, instead being little more than the kind of stock weapon sound effects that you’d find in any run-of-the-mill shooter game.

Serious Sam 2 is what you’d hope for if you loved the first game, more all-out action that pulls no punches. However, those looking for the next Half-Life will be quite disappointed by the repetition and goofy subject matter.

Gameplay: 7.9
Serious Sam 2 keeps the tradition of the original games by presenting non-stop action with very little thinking involved. The weapons are often goofy and downright weird, and some of the enemies are a sight to behold. However, the constant barrage of insanity and mindless shooting can grow a little tedious.

Graphics: 8.5
The graphics in Serious Sam 2 are pretty impressive, given that the engine is capable of handling tons of enemies on the screen at once without much in the way of slowdown. The character design is as bizarre as the original game, and the environments are very colorful and varied.

Sound: 6.0
The voice acting is very cheesy, and some of the characters (like those damn blue things with the big heads) are downright annoying. The sound effects are also pretty hollow with the weapon sounds lacking the overall panache of their appearances.

Difficulty:  Medium

Concept: 8.0 
The Serious Sam games have always taken the cake for pure nuttiness, and the second entry carries the torch well.

Multiplayer: 8.0
Serious Sam 2’s multiplayer elements mirror the intensity of the single-player game, complete with the ability to play through the game’s storyline cooperatively.

Overall: 8.0
Serious Sam 2 is the same formula of old-school shootouts and tongue-in-cheek humor as its predecessors, albeit with a few new bells and whistles.