Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter Review: Heeeee’s Baaaaack

Releasing a remake of a game is always a tricky situation for a developer. What may seem like a simple concept of offering an updated versions of someone’s favorite game really boils down to how can you sell virtually the same product to someone twice. Such is the case for Majesco Game’s latest XBLA release, “Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter.” Based on the 2001 release “Serious Sam: The First Encounter,” this new release updates a handful of features, as well as adds a shiny new coat of paint to the original. But is that enough to get you to pick up this “classic”?

The basic gist of the game is that the titular character, Sam, goes back in time to try to save humanity’s future, which is put in jeopardy in ancient Egypt. It’s a pretty basic plot, but it sets up the game to be chock full of crazy monsters. That’s right, “Serious Sam” harkens back to the days where you didn’t have to shoot people, but giant blue steers were fair game. It’s your basic FPS fragfest where your best chance for survival is running through all your ammo. It’s not as tactical, as many of the FPS games on the market now, instead it’s more of a run-n-gun experience.

The updated graphics that Croteam has worked in are a pleasant addition to the game, even though they really make no impact on the gameplay, whatsoever. It’s proof that even a new coat of paint can breathe new life into a title that’s nine-years-old. The only downside of the visual improvements is that all the hard work that went into the enemies is difficult to appreciate as you’re running away from them.

The game’s co-op and multiplayer modes are new, and really spice up something that could have come out pretty bland, making it a great experience for you and your friends. The game itself is a little on the mindless side, but there’s nothing wrong with that, just don’t expect much more than a shoot-anything-that-moves atmosphere. However, when you mix in the playful competition of co-op it adds another layer to the game that the original release didn’t offer. Get the highest score and walk away with some Serious pride.

Possibly the best thing that “Serious Sam HD” introduced, at least in terms of console gaming, is the one button, save-on-the-fly feature. At any point during the game, you can simply hit the Y button and instantly save your progress. While this kind of save has been a standard for PC gamers, it’s one of the features that’s never really made it over to console games. It’s great for those times when you just don’t want to have to do something over and over again.

“Serious Sam” finds itself somewhere between “Doom” and “Call of Duty” in the FPS spectrum. It’s a game that obviously shows that games have grown since the early 1990s, but when you put it side-by-side with today’s heavy hitters, it’s going to come up a little short. You have to wonder, how many “Serious Sam” fans are there really out there. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad game by any means, in fact, it’s one of the best arcade-style FPS games ever released, but are there really fans out there? I suppose that there have to be for it to warrant a re-release. On the plus side, adding in the new co-op mode makes it one of the best XBLA options for wasting an afternoon with some of your friends whether you’re fans of the original or not. Also, if you happened to miss the game the first time around, it’s worth a spin if you’re down for a little first person running and gunning. Longtime “Serious Sam” fans should be happy with the updates, but newcomers might have some understandable concerns about investing in a nine-year-old FPS, which can hopefully be overcome with the game’s additional offerings.

Rating:

“Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter” was developed by Croteam, and published by Majesco Games on January 13, 2010. This review is based on the Xbox Live Arcade version of the game.

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