Serious Sam: Next Encounter

Serious Sam delivers intense FPS action to the PS2 and GC (and no game-name cliches in this blurb, either).

When it appeared on the PC, Serious Sam quickly earned a reputation as ?that game with tons of dudes onscreen,? and that was a pretty accurate assessment. For $20 you could own one of the most frenetic first-person shooters ever created; now that same intensity has almost been duplicated on consoles for the same price.

Ludicrous Sam
In Second Encounter, you play as wisecracking Sam, a one-man army who?s bounced through Ancient Rome, Feudal China, and Legendary Atlantis. The assault never lets up for a minute, and all the levels quickly strike a familiar pattern: you enter a large room, the door is sealed behind you, and monsters attack from every direction. After a certain number of kills, a door opens so you can proceed. Sam?s weapons range from simple twin pistols to a handheld battlefield cannon as he takes on suicide bombers, bomb-spitting elephants, and other monsters bent on Sam?s demise. Among Second?s auxiliary attractions are vehicles, a Super Combo Killing Spree (activated when you kill 20 enemies in rapid succession), and minimal puzzles that mostly require you to take ?item A? and insert it into ?slot A.?

The frame rate holds up nicely with all the onscreen activity, and the slight cartoony look lessens the impact of mowing down dozens of monsters at a time. Although enemies and objects are low-res when viewed up close, you probably won?t have time to notice. Of the two versions, the PS2 has an edge over the GameCube?especially with its online play and sharper visuals.

Bonecracker P-LAH Chainsaw
Serious Sam delivers all the requirements of an exciting FPS, and the 20-buck asking price is a sweet incentive. Second Encounter is a shooter with simple requirements: A minimum of brains and maximum of reflexes. You get what you pay for.

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