Serious Sam Double D XXL (Video Game Review)

Serious Sam Double D XXL is the newest release in the highly popular series from publisher Mastertronic. Rather than giving fans another first-person shooter adventure however, Mastertronic brought in developer Mommy's Best Games to make a crazy new title in the form of classic shoot 'em ups. The side-scrolling adventure stars protagonist Sam "Serious" Stone in another quest to save the world, but most don't play the series for its compelling characters or epic narrative. Instead, Serious Sam Double D XXL exposes you to insane shooter gameplay like the industry has never seen, and that is not an understatement. There are plenty of guns, powerups and stackable weapons for Sam and his buddy on the adventure to wield, and exploring the thousands of combinations is only half the fun you'll have with Serious Sam Double D XXL.

Storyline is mostly an afterthought in Serious Sam Double D XXL. Sam is back again to kick more alien butt and save the world, as is always the case in the series. This time around, Sam will have some partners in crime and throughout time. Sam's trusted AI companion will be along for the ride, and the sensual and blue form the AI takes seems to be an obvious reference to Cortana from the Halo video game series. Serious Sam Double D XXL is also has a cooperative multiplayer mode in which the second player will join in the action as the only man on the planet crazy enough to fight off the alien scum, Dan "Huff" Huffington. Sam and Huff will have all sorts of new weapons at their disposal including deployable jump pads and gun stackers, and it will take everything they have to destroy deadly beacons scattered throughout time and take down the alien mastermind known as Mental. There is plenty of humor scattered throughout the game's campaign as Sam interacts with characters and spouts off rude one-liners, and you'll occasionally receive clips of Mental instructing his goons for some added humor.

In Serious Sam Double D XXL you'll do battle with a giant flying gorilla king with saw blades and guns for hands, acid-spitting kittens that can fly across the sky, giant stacks of pancakes with party horns and plenty of other completely over the top ridiculous alien scumbags. Serious Sam Double D XXL is light on seriousness, but it certainly gives it a charm few other games can muster and makes for a completely unique and fun experience. Stage design is just as wacky with one mission having Sam and Huff snowboarding across the pyramids of Egypt with rockets attached to their boards, while another will have you flying Pterodactyls with rocket launchers on their back, and still another will have you riding a gargantuan, golden unicycle throughout the stage. Once you've completed the crazy campaign, you can take your custom loadouts and gun stacks into multiplayer for some arena team deathmatch against your friends. The one real downfall with Serious Sam Double D XXL is the lack of any multiplayer, but you could always act like it's the 90's once again by ordering a pizza and inviting your best bud over for some couch co-op.

The presentation of Serious Sam Double D XXL won't win it any awards. Sloppy animations plague the game and this definitely isn't the best Sam has ever looked to say the least. It's also a bit strange for Sam to jump distances faster than he can run it, although this makes certain abilities such as the Machine Pistol's hover a much more desirable upgrade. Still, the game controls fine for the most part, and sections that require some tight platforming to keep from dying are easily accomplished by skilled gamers. Dying itself isn't a chore in Serious Sam Double D XXL either, since you'll quickly respawn at checkpoints with little lost time. That's not to say the game isn't challenging, and you'll want to stack your guns six firearms high and continue upgrading throughout the game to make progress easier. Not everything in Serious Sam Double D XXL works perfectly, but you'll still want to try out this game if you're a fan of old school shooters, especially if you haven't yet tried out the original PC release Serious Sam Double D. Check out Serious Sam Double D XXL exclusively on Xbox LIVE Arcade today!

Serious Sam Double D XXL is now available exclusively for Xbox LIVE Arcade and can be purchased for 800 Microsoft Points. Serious Sam Double D XXL is rated M by the ESRB for Blood and Gore, Strong Language & Violence. For more information on the game, check out the official Serious Sam Double D XXL website.

Game Features:

Cooperative Play 1-2

Stack Guns 6 Firearms High

Unique Weapon Arsenal

Online Leaderboards

Achievement Support

Game Information:
Developer: Mommy's Best Games
Publisher: Mastertronic
Available exclusively to Xbox LIVE Arcade
Release Date: February 20, 2013

Score: 8.5 out of 10