Serious Sam: The First Encounter

Basically, you just forget about the story and kill everything in front of you. You collect weapons and ammo in Ancient Egypt and kill whatever creatures you come across. That's pretty much the whole game. There’s no complicated story or mind-bending puzzles. The thing that makes the game fun is that you’re constantly in combat. At a time when FPS games were moving toward being more focused on story and atmosphere after Half-Life, Serious Sam does the exact opposite. It has a special place for people who like the old-school arcade FPS style of games like DOOM and Quake. I also find Serious Sam somewhat similar to Duke Nukem. Sam's personality, jokes, and general attitude constantly reminded me of Duke Nukem. As you progress through the levels, the number of enemies increases a lot. Especially after the Dunes level, the game really starts to speed up and the fights become much more chaotic. In open areas, you suddenly find yourself dealing with dozens, sometimes even hundreds of enemies. The enemy AI isn't as advanced as in modern games, but that's not really the point of the game. Each enemy has its own type of attack. Kleer Skeletons throw chainballs at you from a distance and jump at you when they get close, while Sirian Werebulls simply charge straight at you and try to ram you. One of the most annoying enemies is the Kamikaze; it runs toward you while constantly screaming and blows itself up when it gets close enough. Having different enemies attacking at the same time makes the fights even more chaotic and forces you to keep moving. Co-op is also well designed for playing these huge battles with friends, but the online side is completely dead. I checked at different times and didn't see a single active player. The weapon variety is also pretty good. You start with the Schofield .45 and gradually move on to more powerful weapons. The Double Barrel Coach Gun is very effective at close range, while the XPML21 Rocket Launcher is great against large groups of enemies. Since you also need to manage your ammo, choosing the right weapon becomes important. Despite being released in 2001, the graphics still look pretty good. The large maps and open areas were quite impressive for their time. The fact that a huge boss like Ugh-Zan III is shown on such a massive scale during the finale is especially impressive and shows how technically successful the game was. Croteam managed to achieve this with its own Serious Engine despite having a limited budget. I had a lot of fun with the large battles and the way the game constantly keeps you moving. If you’re not looking for a complicated story or complex mechanics, Serious Sam’s pure arcade FPS experience is still very good even today. I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys this type of game.

I originally played this on my late Grandfathers Xbox Original console. i must have been no older than 5. Amazing stuff.

Amazing game. Love playing it for old times sake. Loved playing this as a kid.