Serious Sam: Next Encounter

Written by Ryan Smotherman  on March 24, 2004

Final Glimpse: Sam finally blasts his way onto the PS2, and his first target was the game's price tag.

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You ever play one of those games that when you cut it off after hours of play and go to sleep that you're awakened in the night about dreams of the game? I know I have, and a good deal of you probably have too. Well, the Serious Sam series definitely falls into this category. Basically, it's a first-person shooter how it would be if it were in the arcades. It's simple gameplay, and highly addictive nature, made it a top seller when it was released on the PC and Xbox, and now that it's coming over to the GameCube in the form of the console specific Next Encounter, fans of "serious" action intense gameplay should lock and load for it's springtime release.

In getting back into the arcade reference, Serious Sam isn't real in depth when it comes to the story Ц the villain, Mentai, is once again wreaking havoc in different time periods, forcing you to go back and put a stop to it. In essence, it's really just an excuse for you to get to murder tons and tons of twisted enemies. Fans of the series who aren't yet burned out on the games will find pretty much the same old here. Next Encounter will feature the same FPS gameplay with super heavy emphasis on killing wave after wave after wave of creatures with his different array of firearms. These range from the standard pistols, machine guns, and things that go BOOM! Some of the old weapons will feature a new twist and a few new ones have been added to give long time fans a reason to check out Sam's latest venture. I mean, come on, you can now put laughing gas in your flamethrower. How can you not want to play this game.

The title's single player campaign will feature 32 levels that take place across three different time periods Ц ancient Rome, feudal China, and mysterious lost city of Atlantis. Of course, these levels will not only contain their own unique look and feel, but also their brand of monster with which they'll contain. Newly added in taking down these vermin is a super combo rampage ability that is activated when you kill a given amount of enemies in a given amount of time, and now (thank Halo) new vehicles you'll get to roll around in. These include a jeep and submarine.

Of course, multiplayer support is there and accounted for. Though there is no infamous online support to speak of, the game will include a four-player split screen mode, which will bo doubt prolong the title's replayability.