Serious Sam is the Austin Powers of first-person shooter games: a glammed-up, extroverted misfit, focused on a mission to be funny and unique. Yeah, baby! The game attempts to take the mickey out of über-serious PC shooters with its defiantly over-the-top, colourful visuals, theatrical monsters, and outrageous splatter-fest battles. The problem is, though, that beneath this brash, gaudy exterior lies a straightforward, no-brainer PC blaster. Nothing new here. Sorry, baby! Still, with heaps of super-fast arcade action, masses of giant environments to explore, and enormous battle scenarios to tear though, Serious Sam on Xbox is a manic, though mindless, romp.
SON OF A GUN A lovechild of the first two Serious Sam games on PC, this 36-level adventure features all the stages from its estranged PC parents. However, it doesn't boast the same gameplay structure as mummy and daddy. Shifting its allegiance whole-heartedly to the arcade massif, this Xbox exclusive focuses your efforts on racking up massive multi-kills and bagging mega-points in order to earn extra lives. Every time you blat a clump of enemies with a single shot you're rewarded with a fat score. In addition, removing the naff quick-save feature of old - you now have to reach save points - makes the game much more rewarding, as it forces you to fight your way skilfully from area to area.
A STORY AMID THE GORE-Y Unlike its PC predecessors, this latest member of the Serious Sam family is slightly more polished in its presentation, as all the action is tied together with cool cutscenes. Admittedly this is a small addition, but the inclusion of a funny, fleshed-out story helps to keep you entertained between the game's bloody battles, while giving your massacring antics some sort of relevance. Okay, so we'll admit Serious Sam is a shallow, tacky, 'in your face' experience. But as a break from the intense heavyweight gunners on Xbox, such as Halo and Turok Evolution, it provides a refreshing and enjoyable lightweight alternative.
Michael Cooper
// Overview
Verdict
It's not a big-league blaster. However, Serious Sam is frantic, amusing and huge enough to appeal to most gun-loving action fans.
Things are going to get real messy when you're armed with a huge rocket launcher and forced to fight off hundreds of plump, gloop-filled monsters. In fact, you'll find yourself constantly showered in large doses of blood and guts, regardless of the weapon you're packing. It's not gross, though: the carcass-popping, bloody chaos is so fantastically ridiculous and funny that playing Serious Sam is like watching a comedy horror B-movie.
Land a multi-kill to trigger a mist of monster guts
You’d be amazed how much gunk the big fellas give out
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