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Serious Sam 2 Review: Is It Worth Buying?

Serious Sam Cover Art

Serious Sam 2 Review: Is It Worth Buying?

Take your thinking cap off and throw it out the window. This is first-person shooting at its mindless best. And while 2K Games and Croteam’s 2005 title Serious Sam 2 may not exercise your brain cells in the same way as Half-Life. The frenetic action and colorful, varied graphics should be enough to keep the player stimulated throughout. This game was created for Microsoft Windows and Xbox let’s look into whether or not this game is worth buying.

Near-Constant Action in Serious Sam 2

serious sam
Serious Sams impeccable aim on enemy.

You might be confused about the title, Serious Sam 2, since the last game in the series was entitled Serious Sam’s Second Encounter. Obviously, the developers agree that that wasn’t a true sequel. A lot of games have come and gone since then and Sam’s back, bigger, better, and badder than ever. It looks great and is loaded with lots of unusual characters and situations. The gameplay may be unsophisticated, but there’s plenty of imagination at work to keep the player from thinking about your real-world stressors for a few hours.

Besides keeping the main character alive, the gamer will be on the lookout for pieces of an enchanted medallion. There isn’t a lot of exploring since the game is fairly linear, eventually the player will walk right into them. However, the gamer will get a chance to fight the bosses to collect them. To break the gameplay up you will encounter some light platforming and puzzles, but they are the exception and not the rule.

An Enjoyable Story

Serious Sam Screenshot
Take monsters down with fun weaponry.

Sam is still fighting his nemesis, Mental, while trying to save the universe. Mental has managed to put forth countless hordes to stall or cease Sam’s progress. There are tons of enemies around every corner. They run the gamut from mechanical spiders to the walking dead. They are all bright, colorful, and well-rendered. Each has its own attacks, and while the AI isn’t all that intelligent, they have sheer numbers on their side. Your button-mashing fingers are going to get a workout.

The action in Serious Sam 2 is relentless. The gamer will be giving those monsters an old-school fight with weapons such as the double-barrel shotgun, chain gun, rocket gun, and dual pistolas. There is ammo all over the place, but there is the risk of running out before the next supply.

Serious Sam 2 Entertaining Online Co-op

Up to four players can take part in Serious Sam 2‘s online co-op mode that is nothing short of great. A few more modes such as a head-to-head and Team Deathmatch would have really rounded out the features, but it’s hard to complain about the co-op features that are included here. The action does get a little too intense at times with so many enemies on screen at once. It’s hard to see teammates between the enemy hordes and their constant gunfire.

Final Notes

Environments are imaginative and well-rendered with plenty of detail, color, and spatial depth. The sound effects are beefy, with dripping lows and greasy mids. The Xbox has no trouble keeping up with the pace, so your fantasy action will not be disturbed by lag, slowdown, clipping, or freezing.
Serious Sam II is a handful. It may be more action than you bargained for. If players are not interested in the online mode, then rent it first, but there is definitely more fun to be had here than you’ll be able to see in a single weekend. This is the game to put your money on if you’re looking for tons of shooting fun.

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