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After expansion packs and console ports, Serious Sam gets a real sequel. The first game managed to stir people with its frantic gameplay and budget price. The graphics were okay but managed to throw a lot of enemies onscreen at the same time. Serious Sam II greatly improves on the graphics but doesn’t have quite the same charm as the first game in the series.
Serious Sam II includes a totally lighthearted storyline. You’ll play as “Serious” Sam Stone as he attempts to destroy the forces of Mental. You’ll travel to a number of locations looking for medallion pieces that will let you end his evil plot.
The gameplay hasn’t changed much from the previous game. You’ll still run through the levels, killing countless numbers of enemies, while picking up ammo and power-ups in the multitude of available weapons. You’ll notice that while the visual design of the different levels changes, the actual gameplay is nearly identical in each one of them. The weapons include everything from a multipurpose shotgun. Though common knowledge tells you that shotguns are best suited for close range, it’ll be your primary weapon in Serious Sam II, allowing you to kill enemies from the distance and snipe enemies with the same weapon. Aside from simply killing enemies, you’ll encounter some boss fights which are pretty interesting and help break up the monotony of simply killing enemies. The game also includes some vehicles and turret-gun levels to further break up the repetitiveness.
The game includes a cooperative mode for up to sixteen players on the PC. The cooperative mode makes an already frantic game even more frenzied since there will be other people shooting the countless enemies as well. It’s a bit disappointing that the game doesn’t include the typical deathmatch modes through.
Serious Sam II’s visuals are pretty satisfying. The game’s environments are pretty interactive with plenty of things to blow up in each one. They aren’t quite as massive as they were previously but a lot more detailed. However, you’ll notice trees shake pretty wildly with leaves falling thanks to the new physics engine that also applies to the enemies. The explosions are big and pack a big bang which is perfect for a game like this. Serious Sam was notorious for throwing countless enemies onscreen at the same time. Serious Sam II doesn’t include quite as many as the same time, though like the environments they are much more detailed than they were previously.
The game’s audio is good as well. The sound effects are loud and crisp with each gunshot coming through with veracity. The soundtrack is lighthearted and somewhat dynamic, getting more intense when enemies pile up onscreen. The voice acting is decent. Sam’s voice acting is pretty fitting for his character but some of the villagers are too repetitive.
Serious Sam II is a fun little game. Unfortunately, in the time that passed since the original game it has lost some its appeal. Either that or we expect more from a fully priced game. That said, the actual gameplay is pretty solid although not quite as satisfying as it was before. -- Michael Taylor, PGNx Media
---- Oct 28, 2005
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