The first game in the franchise, Serious Sam: First Encounter, has received an HD makeover that makes it look oh so pretty! In this title, gamers fire their guns at the Mental's minions, which is one mean alien trying to wipe out all of humanity. In the game, humans have discovered technology that allows them to explore the entire universe. Other creatures across the universe didn't take kindly to this and decide to wipe out the humans with Mental leading the way. The only person to save all of humanity is Sam and the game continues with nothing but senseless violence and carnage.
Next we have Serious Sam: The Second Encounter which has been overhauled in the graphics department with colorful new visuals and enemies that really pop out at you. However, the gameplay mechanics are just a little outdated, as most of the enemy AI just seem to charge at you with no real purpose. While players may enjoy the endless bloodbath of killing off hordes of enemies nonstop--it soon becomes repetitive and tiresome. The game continues with Mental still wanting you dead and offers up very little to differentiate it from the first game.
The third game in the series, Before First Encounter, is really detailed with better environments and gameplay than the previous two titles. The game is a prequel that was released in 2011 and many aspects of the game have been refined for the compilation. Before First Encounter features smarter AI and the enemy hordes are not as overwhelming as they were in the other two games. However, the game contained a few problems which included its wonky controls and visual glitches.
The last and undoubtedly best game in the collection is Serious Sam Double D XXL. Serious Sam Double D XXL varies from the other games in a lot of ways since it is a 2D side scrolling shooter. The frantic gameplay really seems to work for Serious Sam Double D XXL, and it doesn't become repetitive at any point during the game unlike the other titles. The charming gameplay still has Sam taking on the aliens from previous games but this time the game is less serious. The presentation and visuals have added an entirely new level of depth and entertainment which are only enhanced with the addition of Gunstacker. Players can now stack up to six guns with no limitations and adds a high degree of tactical elements to the gameplay. No matter what problems we had with the other games in the collection, Serious Sam Double D XXL managed to save the day and bring a new light to the compilation. The final title managed to offer up fun gameplay, an entertaining storyline, humorous dialogue, beautiful visuals and immaculate level design.
The Serious Sam Collection offered up the chance to play three classic games with beautifully enhanced graphics and features allowing gamers to experience a little blast from the past. However, these games came with their problems which included repetitiveness, visual glitches and more. In the end, Serious Sam Double D XXL was the game that saved the entire collection with its amazingly fun gameplay. Overall, the Serious Sam Collection is a nice collection of titles, and manages to deliver enough gameplay, fun and laughs to warrant the purchase. The Serious Sam Collection is now available for Xbox 360 and can be purchased for $39.99. The Serious Sam Collection is rated M by the ESRB for Blood and Gore, Strong Language & Violence.
Game Features:
Game Information:
Developer: Croteam
Publisher: Maximum Family Games
Available for Xbox 360 (reviewed)
Release Date: July 18, 2013
