Serious Sam takes a whole new approach to gameplay while staying true to the series. No more cartoonish nonsense, it’s all about realistic now. Throw in some Call of Duty-type graphics, endless amounts of enemies, and a whole new kick ass sense of humor, and wa-la, you have Serious Sam 3.
This is the king of all mindless shooters. There are no puzzles, no strategy, and no thinking necessary. All you need is your weapon, ammo, and you’re good to go. It’s certainly not a kid friendly game, but if you’re looking for an excellent shooter with a pal, this will do the trick. Without a doubt, it’s the most beautiful chaotic mess you’ll ever play.
For those of you new to Serious Sam, allow me to fill you in on the story. Sam has a crazy relative named “Mental” who in the last game, tried to take over the world, but ultimately you destroy his hideout. Even then, he still seemed to escape. Now, years later, humans have discovered the “Time Lock”, an ancient artifact resembling Mental’s hide out. This artifact however remains idle since no one knows how to operate it. Just when earth seems to have become peaceful, thousands of aliens swarm in and consume what’s left of it. It’s up to Sam to send them back.
Gameplay
The best way to put the game into perspective is this: it’s hours of spray-and-pray shooting, with a tad bit of a story attached. Your head will be ready to explode by the end of the night after all the countless mobs you have to kill. The great thing about Sam is that he has a sense of humor that seems to get better and better the more you play, so while you’re blasting away you can enjoy a good laugh.
He’s not afraid of anything, or anyone, and all he wants to do is kill. After having stopped, (or rather, delayed) Mental in the last game, things went quiet for a bit, but of course peace only lasts for so long. He’s back to put the enemies in their place, but this time in style. The monsters are more ferocious, the levels are more outrageous, and the weapons are more bad ass than ever.
What I loved…
It takes off right where the last game ended, and it stays true to the series. It still feels like Serious Sam, but there’s so much more content to the game. You’ll see a few familiar faces, but loads of new ones as well. Even for someone who is new to the series, the intro movie will get them somewhat caught up to speed.
Unlike the prequel, the graphics have taken a huge turn for the better as well. Instead of the cartoonish art style, Sam is now realistic. It really does look similar to Call of Duty, but with a touch more of blood and aliens. This is a big improvement in my opinion. Graphically speaking, the game can now stand up to other shooters like Battlefield and COD.
One of my favorite parts about the Serious Sam games is the humorous dialogue. It certainly leans towards more of an adult humor, but when you’re not busy killing monsters, he’ll keep you entertained. Sam’s personality puts the life into the game. Without his witty and comical chats, I doubt I would have returned to the series.
The co-op is still just as amazing. This game definitely seems to be more focused on cooperative play than singleplayer. It’s a million times more fun with someone else helping you mow down mobs. Initially that’s what got me hooked, and it’s the same feature that’s holding me to it. The one downside would be it’s hard to find a decent random server to play on. You usually have to rely on bringing a friend in.
Last but not least, this game is all aim. There’s no place to hide, and you can’t run. They will come find you and kill you. As soon as you load that game, you’ll be firing from start to finish, and with each level things get crazier and more brutal. You’ll find yourself ripping heads off aliens, blasting away colossus with rockets, and going crazy with dynamite.
Serious Sam is one of the most hardcore games, and that’s why I love it. It cuts all the extra crap out, and gets right down to the point.
What I didn’t love…
As for all the changes, one of them stood out to me. The gameplay seems to be more “dark” than usual. It has more of a creepy feeling to it. For instance, one of the scenes has you crawling through dark sewers all the while you hear aliens cluttering around you. It’s much more of an adrenaline rush, but the creepiness factor just freaks me out sometimes. These “creepy” moments don’t happen all the time, but I certainly noticed it. It isn’t necessarily a negative factor to the game, but for someone cowardly like me it makes me nervous when I play singleplayer now.
Overall
Serious Sam takes a whole new approach to gameplay while staying true to the series. No more cartoonish nonsense, it’s all about realistic now. Throw in some Call of Duty type graphics, endless amounts of enemies, and a whole new kick ass sense of humor, and wa-la, you have Serious Sam 3.
I honestly couldn’t find a major downside to the game aside from the minor details like the lack of online servers. Other than that, for someone who is a true FPS’er this is a must have. I highly recommend picking the game up with a friend though, I promise it will be much more enjoyable. Considering each mission can easily be anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour it’s a convenient way to kill time with friends. Plus, with so many difficulties you’ll always have a challenge.
Serious Sam is available for the PC at the Steam Store. Due to the holidays you can even pick up the game at a discounted price of $29.99 so it saves you 25%! If you haven’t had a chance to play the other Serious Sam games you can even pick up the Deluxe edition for about $38 which includes both Serious Sam classics: First Encounter and Second Encounter along with Serious Sam 3.
