Played on:
Windows
Serious Sam is one of those games that requires you to have a bit of an open mind to really get. It doesn't follow in the same progression that first person shooter games have gone through over the years. What we've seen so far is an increase in realism, in online teamplay, and in interactive environments. Croteam, the developers of the Serious Sam games, has thrown most of that out and focused much more on their own ideas of how a FPS is supposed to be. And in a word, what they want is chaos.
With Serious Sam 2, Croteam's taken what worked in their first game and have blown these things even further out of proportion. That means dozens of enemies flying at you all at once, huge environments, whole arsenals full of ammo to pick up in almost every room, and bosses whose sizes are more easily measured in miles than in feet. At the same time, we still get the one thing that most FPS developers don't even attempt to touch at all nowadays - a full cooperative multiplayer mode that allows players to go through the whole game, unabridged, all the way to the end.
Could Croteam have gotten away with more of the exact same thing we saw in the first Serious Sam? I think it's possible, but they seem to have decided early on that a brand new engine, more voice acting, and a larger range of enemies and environments were important for success. They've delivered on all counts, as we now have more involved (and yet still just as silly as ever) cutscenes, many variations on both old and new enemies, and several distinct world themes to blast through.
Even though Serious Sam 2 can throw scores of enemies at you, its graphical prowess is way up there. Most of the game has a large, open feel with plenty of room to move (which you'll need to really take advantage of if you want to survive), and there are a ton of little details out there to soak up. And if the frame rate's not good enough, SS2 has possibly the most meticulously detailed video options screen I've seen.
There are several worlds you'll visit, each with its own unique theme that looks pretty much entirely different from the last. The first world, which has a setting that's reminiscent of Mayan ruins in the jungle, pours on the vegetation to almost the level of Far Cry. While it's not particularly original, the later levels are far more imaginative, including one where you and your enemies are very tiny and blades of grass tower above you.
One thing I want to mention is that Serious Sam 2 stays bright and colorful throughout pretty much the whole game, and it's a real contrast to so many other shooters that have come out recently. Even though at a glance it looks almost like a kid's game, don't let it fool you, because this game is just as gory as any out there. Enemies spray blood as they die, and they even explode into accurately modelled pieces (that's right: the body parts are uniquely crafted for each enemy, and don't consist of the exact same "gibs") when you give them a good wallop.
Some of the weapons you had in the first game are back, along with several new additions - but in most cases they've been reworked for this title. While the starting weapons are pitifully underpowered, even the first shotgun you get is very useful near the end of the game, and it's because you'll need to conserve ammo and kill the little guys with those lesser weapons if you want to have enough left over for the big guys. But the addition of vehicles also helps the variety, and there are some additions here that are really original and unique even compared across all FPS titles. The vehicles really pace the game nicely and keep you switching around just how you'll kill enemies.
The only multiplayer mode available in Serious Sam 2 is the cooperative trip through the campaign, and I doubt anyone will complain too much about that once they try it because it's an absolute blast. Playable with up to 16 players over a LAN or on the internet, co-op is hugely entertaining and it just makes the massive firefights even more chaotic. And taking on the larger-than-life bosses is just that much more fun with others.
If I had to complain about anything specific in SS2, it's that the wacky environments and silly voice acting add up to a game that's memorable only for its action and little else. Last year's Painkiller came very close to delivering what I'm trying to get at here, but even its levels and enemies had something odd about them that didn't make for a believable world or game. Still, Sam nails exactly what it's aiming to do, which is to throw scores of enemies at you in some of the most frantic firefights you'll ever experience. It's tough not to recommend it to FPS fans, but if you're insistent on realism or a convincing story, then maybe this game's not for you. Otherwise, you can't go wrong with Serious Sam 2.
