Serious Sam The First & Second Encounter PC Game Review

Serious Sam is the first video game (released in two episodes) in the Serious Sam series. It is a first-person shooter (with third-person shooter options) created by the Croatian development house Croteam. Originally released for the PC market only, Serious Sam's rising popularity resulted in the porting of the series to a number of different platforms, including the Xbox, GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox Live Arcade, among others.
The series follows the adventures of protagonist Sam "Serious" Stone and his fight against the forces of the notorious extraterrestrial overlord Mental who seeks to destroy humanity.
The First Encounter was the first game in the series; it had been in the making since 1996 and had a video showing its early game play in 2000. The First Encounter was originally developed by Croteam as a demonstrator for their engine and this is the reason why some countries saw its initial release priced at less than half the value of other games in the genre.
The Second Encounter starts where the previous game left off, with Sam traveling to Sirius on the SSS Centerprice. Unfortunately, the starship is accidentally hit by the "Croteam crate-bus" and plummets down to Earth's surface. As the starship falls, Sam reads the coordinates and frets about crash-landing into Egypt again, but instead he crashes into Central America in the Mayan age, with the starship now heavily damaged upon impact.
However, not all hope is lost, since the Sirians left a "back-up starship" on Earth, which was a fail-safe in case if anything ever happens to the SSS Centerprice. However, since this back-up starship is located in a different time and age than where and when Sam is currently in, he will have to uncover the locations of the Sirian portals that will help him reach his destination. With this new objective, Sam storms through Mesoamerica, then travels to Mesopotamia and finally to Medieval Europe where the back-up starship is located.

[@MurrayLewis]

Anyone who has played Serious Sam for a reasonable length of time soon starts hearing imaginary kamikaze screams...

[@Renegade666]

both ingame and out I can attest :(

[@melvin8d671]

This is actually true. When I first played the first encounter, when I'd quit the game to do something else, I'd hear the screams and I thought "Am I going insane?"

[@MaskedStickman]

Thankfully it only happened to me while playing it, specially in open areas or when fighting many enemies at once

[@robert1188]

lol

[@nuclearwinter8382]

OMG! I was playing the second encounter HD and I kept hearing the kamikaze scream in my head......... I was really paranoid

[@cwgodzilla]

“For instance, they went way, way overboard with the kamikaze enemies...” Incorrect. Way, way overboard was the best way to use them. But seriously, great review and retrospective on a blast of a game.

[@BaraTheVeggie]

greetings from Croatia m8!

[@Gggmanlives]

Croteam!

[@voldy3565]

@ULTRAS FAISALY UF WE, sir, won second place.

[@michaelnewton1754]

My brother is 7 years younger than I am, so we mostly had very different interests... Serious Sam LAN co-op brought us together more than anything else. I'm guessing that with him being 8-10 in the years we played, it was probably a pivotal point in making him the human aim-bot he is now.

[@violenceisbad6705]

Do you plan on reviewing Serious Sam 3?

[@aus741LX]

The First Encounter in HD kept me company while recovering from having my wisdom teeth removed Best $2.50 I've ever spent

[@guzicaguzica]

High difficulty is always a compliment to the game. ALWAYS. For example, in Civ4, Deity difficulty is totally, 500 %, unfair and almost impossible... almost... yet the enjoyment of accomplishment is indescribable. Immortal and Deity difficulties are what keep that game alive. Similair is with a lot of old games. Everything easy isn't an interactive game, but a simulation. Which stimulates body, but not mind. SS surprisingly achieves both. At the first sight peple say SS is a good looking, dumb, mindless game, for easy fun, but SS requires a ton more strategic planing (positioning, focusing and weapon choosing) then most other games which are commonly considered less mindless then SS. On a proper difficulty SS can easily suck all your resources to the last one.

[@lugbzurg8987]

+guzicaguzica For so many of the complaints I kept hearing, I kept saying "Then... git gud."

[@bruhSaintJohn]

There is a difference between a fairly challenging difficulty and "go fuck yourself you're going to die here, kid". In og doom, ultra violence provides the ultimate challenge, while nightmare is like a time trial, constantly laughing at you and counting time until your imminent death.

[@newolku]

Picked both of the HD remakes from the recent steam sale. It is damn fun game even though im not very old

[@hotcoldman777]

One Thing made Serious Sam Epic: *COOP*

[@Zelousmarineinspace]

Well, better late then never: This was a *SERIOUS*ly good review

[@pippo17173]

Serious Sam vs duke nukem death battle! Now that be something to see.

[@bruhSaintJohn]

Duke's a pussy, Sam obliterates HORDES of enemies like it's not a big deal.

[@timelord2222]

Duke might be cool and score chicks, but Sam is SERIOUS.

[@SeriousGamer753]

OMG this is the first proper game i played in my life and i am so proud that this game comes from Croatia since it's the only famous game we have...

[@SeriousGamer753]

***** Well Talos Principle is quite new and not AS famous as SS :)

[@hexadecimal973]

I mean you guys made a good game but hating someoe because of their nationality is honestly fucked up

[@aljosaraketic8258]

Dude,maby its only famous game that Croatia has,but it brought evolution in FPS world and that is a HUGE accomplishment !!! and I love you neighbours for that !!! to be,or not to be,its a serious question !!! WOOOO !!!

[@lordjambrek4868]

@@hexadecimal973 You have to understand this: Croatia is a place where people 'till this day fight about nazis and communists, count blood cells to see who comes from where... It's a underdeveloped conservative country frozen in time from where we observed how the world has great things that will never come to us. It's highly corrupted so any real chance of success depends on how high the political chain you go. When SS came out and you realize it's from this same place it was just simply mind-blowing for the fact that a team from this godforsaken place made such a high profile game and managed to create anything under the circumstances and conditions of the country.

[@bruvmoementums2026]

@@hexadecimal973 the fuck are you on about

[@Giuseppe86]

This is the sort of game where you learn, without even realizing it, how many hits from each weapon it takes to kill the different enemies, how to prioritize your targets and how to make best use of available ammo. You also learn that sometimes it's best not to be greedy with the health/ammo pick-ups. Do you really want to risk a tiny health boost when you know it might spawn half a dozen enemies and cost you more health than you've gained? :) For a game that on the surface seems to be just about quick reactions, there's a surprising amount of thinking and strategizing involved in playing this game, even though much of it happens subconsciously.

[@dotanuki3371]

yet, these are the 'dumb old shooters', while the handheld corridor mms'es are the 'thinking man's shooters'. figure that one out.

[@BrotherVoidBomber]

Giuseppe That is the best answer I've ever heard of for this game. I'm still playing it today

[@jtenorj]

Maxim Tarasevich or about 5 charged grenades, or one charged cannonball.

[@aljosaraketic8258]

haha,I still remember,somewhere near beguining of the game,when you walk trough a tunnel and take those,health packs I think. Taking them like "oooh! a candy!....oooh! another candy! ....oooh! another one! BOOM MONSTER IN FRONT OF YOU :))))))) such a great game,so much fun !!!

[@unknownguy8687]

Mmm-hmm.

[@amgb8252]

I'm really proud that a game from my country, that has just over 4 million people, is world famous

[@lugbzurg8987]

+AMG&B Certainly did more than a good job! I'd never even HEARD of Zagreb, Croatia before getting into the Serious Sam series, and now it's one of my absolute favorite videogame franchises of all time; neck-and-neck with Metal Gear! I even went ahead and created a character for a comic of mine who's Croatian, due to the serious influence!

[@amgb8252]

+Lugbzurg A comic character? Sweet! What's the name of the comic, can I find it online?

[@lugbzurg8987]

AMG&B Not yet. I've made comics since I was a kid, but DevilBane isn't out yet. I've been planning it since late 2014. I have some other, smaller comics I wanna get out before I make something as ambitious as this one. I hope you'll see Damjan eventually! I did recently get some "early bird fanart" of the comic's Australian character, Remmis, drawn by Lynte's Happy Place on Facebook. scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/13007271_1005340426219246_9217349524492649932_n.png?oh=8fab94c971c9a53f9bacd8f6b80c5fa4&oe=57B8F1DB

[@amgb8252]

Lugbzurg First webcomic that came to my mind when you said there will be characters from different countries was Hetalia: Axis powers. xD I hope Damjan will be some big Serious Sam-like dude :D (with white and red chessboard pattern piece of clothing :P) If you want some advice, for Remmis, try asking the artist to add some Australian traits to her design. She looks like any energetic tomboy loli character for now

[@lugbzurg8987]

AMG&B Well, that's kind of what she is... sort of. There are reasons towards her childish demeanor, but that would get into spoiler territory. As for Damjan... Yeah, Serious Sam certainly influenced my decision. (The fact that he shares a name with Serious Sam's music-composer is certainly no coincidence!) He is a bit of a gun nut. You should be happy to know that I have been trying to avoid one-dimensional/racist stereotypes, as I planned out all the characters BEFORE selecting their ethnicities. There are seven main characters, and once the situation that the plot allowed for began to sink in, I realized I could have each of these characters be from a different continent, and set out to take full advantage of that fact! Actually, Remmis was even going to be British at one point, and Damjan even started out being Japanese, and I called him "Rin", but something about it just didn't click. I briefly considered making him German, but my attention was quickly turned to Croatia, where I was like... "That's perfect!" (Hadn't thought about chessboard clothing, but I did put a red and white bandanna around his neck.) There's even a girl named "Suelem" who was going to be African at first, but I later put her in South America instead (specifically, Brazil) after watching a Brazilian documentary, where I got the name "Suelem" from. I really like the way that name sounds. In fact, when I was drawing her for the first time, I got a lot of pencil lead smudged on the picture, which ended up darkening her face, and I was like "Hey, she actually looks better this way!" I haven't finalized everyone's designs yet, so some cultural alterations may still be added that weren't present in my original sketches, but I think I'm getting there. I'm no expert on geography. Heck, I've barely set foot outside The United States, let alone ever leaving the confines of North America, so I've still got some research to do!

[@JoakimfromAnka]

No mention of the great music? :S

[@bruhSaintJohn]

No love for a sequel, eh? Oh well, it was a great game.

[@austinallcaps]

1. 1st Encounter 2. 2nd Encounter 3. Serious Sam 2 4. Serious Sam 3

[@pasijutaulietuviuesas9174]

Amadeus Eisenberg First Encounter has some of the best music not only from Serious Sam but from entire gaming world.

[@hoovy1163]

He Who Judges Bah I think the second encounter has better music even if at my computer first encounter didn't had or has music

[@psychodrummer1567]

*waaAAAAAAAR!!!*

[@omh20]

Hats off to the people who beat these games on the serious difficulty.

[@applemt0157]

I managed to beat serious without any deaths(tfe)tse isnt that fun for me to rlly sweat on it

[@RGBtheRhinoOverwatcher]

@@applemt0157 The graphics in the original belongs to late Dreamcast or early Xbox game while HD's graphics belongs to late Xbox 360 or late PlayStation 3 game.

[@applemt0157]

@@RGBtheRhinoOverwatcher consoles suck

[@jking4854]

@@RGBtheRhinoOverwatcher Like graphics matter that much

[@comedylyfe2113]

​@@applemt0157jeez, a bit harsh

[@metalbrainmextrememetalent6810]

Serious Sam game is like first person bullet hell. Kinda.

[@lugbzurg8987]

+Deke Kushka I always thought it was the result of what would happen if Doom and Touhou had a baby.

[@lugbzurg8987]

***** That sounds far more like the formula for Painkiller than Serious Sam.

[@lugbzurg8987]

BOOZE & METAL I wish it actually WAS hundreds at the same time. You can only seem to achieve that with mods. In the actual vanilla games, you'd be lucky to see 50 enemies at once in key moments after every several hours of play at a time. The engine can clearly handle it, but the itch is largely left unscratched. At least, this is what it's been like for me playing in isolated single-player campaigns. Engaging in 16-player co-op where the enemy count is multiplied by 16 or so, but I actually prefer my isolated single-player campaigns, so I have to rely on enemy multiplier mods or ridiculous fan-made maps to get the desired effect. Survival modes don't seem to quite cut it either, as there isn't really any breathing room.

[@oscuro8961]

hardware limitations at the time. They still had to keep it running smooth for the hardware at the time. I bet today you could have thousands of enemies at once

[@DeadYorick]

One thing I really liked about Serious Sam compared to other shooters from the same era was how the difficulty options didn't touch the health of the various enemies. Instead it only adjusted the size of the mobs I though this was great since the meta of the game revolved around knowing which weapons were best used on particular enemies and that never changed regardless of what difficulty you were playing.

[@jukaa1012]

They did receive a speed boost and deal more damage tho

[@applemt0157]

@@jukaa1012 yeah but thats in hard and serious. Not normal

[@sergiosrrubio]

The Serious Sam games are the kind of games that reminds you how bad you get used to this new generation of insultingly easy FPS games. One play of the classic encounters, and you realise how pussy you became on the last years...Xd Fantastic review as always.

[@comedylyfe2113]

You don't need to call me a p*ssy

[@tymsrfr1]

Second Encounter, most fun I've had playing a computer game. One level with over 1000 bad guys, time to go bowling. I've been breathless and with high blood pressure after many levels but to say it's overkill? That's what makes a great game, it's not easy to beat, you have to learn how to play it, and great eye candy for the time. Big fun, a timeless A+. And say hi to the pumpkins for me.

[@GameplayandTalk]

Damn, the HD remakes really makes the originals look obsolete. I remember buying them when they came out but was like, "Eh, the upgrades are nice but not THAT much better," but seeing them again in this review makes me see how wrong I was. Time to re-install them and give them another go!

[@GepardenK]

A lot of people had this reaction (me included); that the HD remake didn't look that much better. How insanely wrong that was. The reason why is that the updated art/gfx is so point on that the HD version doesn't *feel* any different. That though, in retrospect, was exactly it's greatest triumph: a graphical remaster that looks much much better, but feels exactly the same. They were aiming to keep the game graphically up to date, rather than wow-ing people with cheap bloom effects or whatever was the trend at the time, and they succeeded like no other.

[@musicfriendly12]

To be honest I don't see it... For me you might as well play the original, they don't look outdated, and it loses a bit of it's retro charm. What matters anyway is the gameplay though, so who cares? lol

[@retr0cat866]

@@rhysoneill7399 they look good for 2001 i guess but they dont hold up

[@zorgapb4691]

@@retr0cat866 Nope, they hold up even today

[@anonymousgaming5212]

@@zorgapb4691 naaaa some textures look dated now...... it still aged pretty well

[@thatsnodildo1974]

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[@aljosaraketic8258]

BOOM !!

[@shreyasiyer2718]

kamikaze

[@GeneralTantzu]

Serious Sam might just be my favorite FPS series, they are so challenging and awesome!

[@element1111]

"archaic" ? You mean a bit too hardcore for the casual Cod lot?

[@bruhSaintJohn]

I think, he meant it did not aged too well.

[@troubledmuffin7502]

+ThePhirenor You're both wrong. He simply meant it will most likely come across as a bit old school or dated compared to the options younger gamers have today.

[@timelord2222]

This! There's no hiding in SSam. Throw yourself in the hordes with your weapons blazin'!

[@salkii62]

@@timelord2222 'you want your health back? Then quit sitting around you son of a bitch. Get out there and get some.'

[@andrewhall7457]

I finally picked up Serious Sam a couple of weeks ago. Crazy? Yes. Overwhelming at times? Yes. Insanely fun and satisfying? HELL YES!

[@aljosaraketic8258]

try co-op mode with friends,youll find incredible amount of fun there,believe me :D

[@lo4427]

I'm sold, I gotta see what I missed

[@LilMissSmartyPants.922]

@@lo4427 wanna play co-op with me, i just got it to

[@lo4427]

@@LilMissSmartyPants.922 hell yeah the footage looks nice,I have it on Nintendo switch

[@LilMissSmartyPants.922]

@@lo4427 😒 i have it for xbox

[@Dreadnoughty]

Serious Sam 3 BFE review?

[@finn4790]

i remember beating this game when i was 5 hahaha that shit was intense

[@GlamStacheessnostalgialounge]

You are either lying or are Asian...

[@finn4790]

or I'm telling the truth

[@GlamStacheessnostalgialounge]

Butthole Surfer Nah,that's impossible.

[@finn4790]

it was on the tourist difficulty and it took me ages

[@GlamStacheessnostalgialounge]

Butthole Surfer Oh why didn't you say that it was the easiest difficulty there is!?

[@jimmyboy131]

I managed to survive both First and Second Encounters with my sanity mostly intact. One of the most memorable gaming moments in my life is when I got cornered on a particular level while being swarmed by those skeleton dogs. The hordes just wouldn't stop coming at me! I had a minigun and managed to find an ammo refill or two. But I just kept the fire button down the entire time and mowed 'em down as fast as I could. Part of the tension was keeping an eye on my rapidly dropping ammo count. Ammo casings are flying everywhere and skeleton parts are flying everywhere. It was like taking a big hedge trimmer and running backwards through a dense hedge, with leaves and branches flying everywhere while swinging the trimmer back and forth. It was kind of hard to see what was going on but I was so zoned in that I was able to focus my fire pretty well. I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it but literally my last bullet dropped the last skeleton dog, and I barely survived. My hand was frozen in a death grip around the mouse and I was sweating. I had to stop and just take a breather and walk around for a bit and massage my mouse hand back to life. But I had a big smile on my face, too.

[@Mundm28]

yes second encounter is making you tired :) I and a friend once played the whole campaign without a break and even if those "riddles" if you can call them so are easy, we couldn't think clearly enough anymore and at the end we constantly got lost in the maps :)

[@oscuro8961]

Back then I thought it was pretty amazing the amount of enemies it could have on the screen at once. They must have had some clever rendering techniques. Really advanced for back then

[@gravellergear4703]

Watching in 2020 to validate my view on how damn good this game is.

[@blueshit199]

@Jovica Jevtic not a fan of RTCW, too many hitscanning enemies in that one

[@Groaznic]

Props for throwing in a couple of scenes from the HD remakes. Damn they really look like the best game remakes ever.

[@pfitz9346]

Always found it interesting that serious sam is basically just the new doom about 15 years ahead of time.

[@valentinom.4292]

wtf... No

[@pfitz9346]

@@valentinom.4292 In what way is it not?

[@valentinom.4292]

@@pfitz9346 level design and the mindless spam of enemies

[@donfystikis6790]

it ALWAYS has been WAAAYYY better than Doom

[@danielstaab6455]

This game had such an awesome soundtrack and rich atmosphere. It really did a good job of giving you the sense that you're truly in Egypt or Malaysia. I own the xbox version and am playing it through with a childhood friend again and I just wish the coop mode included the cutscenes, they're so funny!

[@markl5998]

Ya always annoyed me that Co opp didn't have cutscenes the cut scenes are great

[@greatpapercraft2008]

Serious Sam is one of the best shooters I've ever played. It's up there with Halo CE for me.

[@alewis514]

Relentlessly difficult game and also very good looking. When this came out in 2001 i was blown away by graphics fidelity and the richness of the options menu. The options menu in this game is propably the single most complex options menu ever seen in a video game. You can crank the hell out of it and it will look amazing. This really was Crysis of 2001. No game looked better than this one when maxed out.

[@L3MONGamer]

hah, 13 years ago " mom whats the cheat code for weapons" now "FINALY finised the game on mental without cheats" - 63hr marathon- 3 games. shit is getting really serious. still struggling with ugh-zan diff on revolution, that shit is hard.

[@MythicalMonk3y]

Great LAN game. SS2's final mission is amazingly fun with a few buddies.

[@H4mmerfall]

The true power of Serious sam was always the coop mode... max difficulty with 4+ players in LAN = adrenaline to the max

[@aljosaraketic8258]

@@H4mmerfall So true !!! And so much fun,we laughed so much,great memories !!!

[@kristiankoski3908]

I disagree on the "cheap" challenge for spawning enemies on the edge of the map. I think it's brilliant. You have to be aware of the WHOLE map at all times cause enemies can spawn pretty much anywhere.

[@H4mmerfall]

The true magic of Serious Sam lies in the coop mode. The singleplayer campaign on max difficulty with 4+ players in LAN is the maximum fun I've ever had in fps games.

[@aaramroete7030]

don't forget about deathmatch

[@koolman195]

so i got into the series only 2 years ago and i can't stop playing it and it will not stop killing me it's like a berserk mode fps where 5 cans of red bull will only help a little so will there be reviews on Serious Sam 2 and 3 along with double d XXL?

[@Gggmanlives]

Yes to SS2, not sure about SS3 as I'm not the biggest fan.

[@luisabreu1198]

Gggmanlives sorry..

[@anathematoyou]

Gggmanlives any reason for this ? is it because it starts up very slow ?

[@Gggmanlives]

Kirill Makarov Yeah that's one reason and plus I find the level design a lot less enjoyable.

[@bobgutsmasha9898]

Gggmanlives SS3 got a bit more clever, the opening is really a commentary on the current state of fps games. There's all sorts of little prods, like some of the (Persian?) text when translated will say "No cover, all man" or the inclusion of 'aim down sights.' The entire opening of the game is a big stab at Call of Duty and its clones but it was probably at the expense of fun and colourfulness. I love all the secrets though, like right at the start on the roof, when you rip the eye out of that first monster, you can throw the eye way in the distance and a shotgun will bounce back at you :)

[@aljosaraketic8258]

this game brought the evolution into FPS. It was one of the first ones to give you so much space to run and play around. So many enemy that you felt you are alone against the hordes.Also,the co-op mode is great and fun also! Played trough entire game with 3 friends,was a blast !!!!!!!!!!! Im so grateful to those who made this game!bravo people !

[@bostin1472]

am i the only one who hears the kamikaze's "AHHHH" while playing doom eternal

[@WTFisTingispingis]

Because of the subject matter, I have but one thing to add to this comment thread. *clears throat* *deep breath* ...aaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-*kaboom*

[@deadfishy666]

You should review Painkiller.

[@parazitu199110]

Yep the first Painkiller is pure Gold :)

[@deadfishy666]

gogolplex74 Except Battle Out Of Hell. And the new HD remake while good added terrible head bobbing and split the game in millions of DLCs. Reason why I said "Fuck it!" and installed the Black Edition again.

[@TotallyTubularJonathan]

Hey I reviewed all the painkiller expansions you should check it out on my channel

[@TheSeriousPain]

I never got why people hated Overdose so much. Sure it wasn't as good, but it was enjoyable and nowhere near as terrible as what came after. BOoH is the only expansion, the others are sequels made by other devs, Overdose was a mod that turned into a stand alone PK, followed by Dreamkiller by those guys which I also didn't hate as much as others did, but I agree it wasn't really good.

[@TheSeriousPain]

deadfishy666 The remake was kinda pointless too, the new graphics aren't that good, the blood looks especially bad making the gore worse then the original.

[@SpeedySPCFan]

Finished TSE a week ago, was wondering when you'd reviewed it.

[@terminator572]

i swear he said "Protein" when saying who developed the game.

[@BenDover-jy1wy]

Im 15 and this is my favorite FPS series of all time, so i gotta disagree about the part of younger gamers not liking it.

[@greatpapercraft2008]

Denim Ticken Exactly. I started playing Serious Sam when I was 6 years old, and I still replay it to this day. :)

[@cupriferouscatalyst3708]

Just started playing these games a few weeks ago and the tone really caught me more off guard than anything else (of course, I knew the gist of the formula already from friends telling me about the series). The beautiful landscapes and very fitting, thematic music clashes immensely with the ludicrous enemy designs, Sam's personality and all the crazy secrets like the sunglasses-wearing kamikaze props, bobblehead chipmunk-voiced developer cameos, phone booths, microscopic joke enemies and God knows what else, but it pulls it all off really well. I've played a good amount of the classics from this era, but I had absolutely no idea what to expect at any given time in this game. The combat also really reminds you of how the first FPS games were really just top-down shooters from a new perspective. It's got that dodge-dancing pace where you're weaving between projectiles and lining up your shots to pick off the most threatening targets as efficiently as possible; it all feels very elegant in a way. I'm most of the way through The Second Encounter now and it still holds up. The new weapons are all incredibly useful without feeling unbalanced, and the levels themselves are just stunning. That said, I definitely understand having to take a break between each level. I generally play these types of games pretty cautiously (I love them, but I'm no expert), and some of these levels took me almost an hour and a half each! Right now, I'm completely stuck at that part near the end where you're in a narrow corridor with double layers of bounce pads catapulting you back and forth across the room. I'm sure I'll get through it eventually, but I really don't see any strategy that could make this any less chaotic: if I stay on one side I get mobbed in seconds, and if I bounce back and forth I eventually end up flying right into a missile. Trying to jump between the bounce pads seems possible, but way too difficult for me when there are enemies around. I know this video is from 2014, but if anyone has some advice, it would be greatly appreciated! Edit: No worries, I took a break and beat it no problem.

[@bhoylhogro5093]

I hate the spinning barrel room in Second Encounter where it dropped in those tiny jumpy creatures. Couldn't ever beat it.

[@utubrGaming]

why the HELL does he only have 6k subs?

[@stonerwizz4933]

Because we live in a world where ppl like PewDiePie have 25mil subs. Welcome to sad reality buddy!

[@Gggmanlives]

I'd rather have 6k subscribers who have good taste in gaming, than 25 million morons who think a screaming man-child counts as entertainment.

[@MarkaNgamer]

Gggmanlives Respect!

[@Zelousmarineinspace]

*+Gggmanlives* HONOUR.

[@H4mmerfall]

I've only yesterday discovered this channel and I think I've watched at least a dozen reviews in a row. Its a bit of a nostalgia trip on hand, but the reviews are actually surprisingly well written and accurate. The channel definitely deserves a whole lot more attention.

[@samuraistalin]

You're supposed to shoot the reptiloid's projectiles out of the sky...

[@Jarekthegamingdragon]

The difficulty complaints aren't a valid point since the game was made for coop and infinite lives.

[@Gggmanlives]

Yeah, okay then.

[@quasarulas3968]

good for a little burst of fun maybe but there's not much joy in playing when there's literally no consequence for death

[@kulsevdasi]

With all the ridiculous mods around for Doom and Half life etc, its shocking someone still didnt make a mod that makes headless kamikazes scream Allahu akbar and look like ISIS guys.

[@augustwest5356]

I've always wanted to play these games. for years when I heard people mention Serious Sam I mistakenly thought that was the name of the Sam and Max games and always brushed it off. if some one asked if I'd played serious Sam, I always said yes until a friend asked If i wanted to play multiplayer. that confused me and when I saw the ACTUAL serious sam, I was intrigued to say the least. it looks awesome! Old school FPS with newish graphics with over the top everything? sign me up!!! since none of the games have come to consoles I never played any of them. When I get a new PC Serious Sam will be the FIRST thing I do after plugging it in.

[@SturgusLipmonger]

August West They have come to consoles just to let you know :)

[@fabionaldi2226]

Nobody: *Zeb89 has joined the game* Everybody: *Chuncles i'm in danger*

[@Chloroxite]

Im 16, I play all kinds of older shooters. I played Quake, Serious Sam, Half life 1 and 2, Doom 1 and 2 (and lots of mods for it), etc. If you made me choose between CoD or Quake 3 for multiplayer, I would choose Quake 3. Every. Single. Time. What can I say, nothing is more fun than flying around the arena at light speed with nothing but your hops and a rocket launcher to propell you while gunning down your oppenents.

[@marcussmithwick6326]

omg im the same (except 14)

[@robo8699]

You had a really good teacher

[@robo8699]

BOOZE & METAL cool

[@theshadowknows6969]

I like the second encounter way better than the first. I would play for hours on end on the second one. But could only play for an hour or so on the first.

[@Waffletigercat]

I really enjoy First and Second Encounter, but I also totally agree that the levels are overwhelming and I can't play more than one in a sitting. It just feels very exhausting and demanding.

[@DammitSpah]

I personally think TFE is harder than the second encounter, because the sniper rifle, chainsaw and flamethrower in TSE can be downright overpowered at times. For example the chainsaw/flamethrower makes fights against those frog swarms a breeze and the sniper rifle's high ammo limit makes it extremely reliable in most situations.

[@maazkhan7222]

I hate those frog enemies,they fucking suck ,but i love this game .

[@ShuffleShot93]

Painkiller vs Serious Sam. Who's the hardest one?

[@Gophilio4567]

Obviously Serious Sam :)

[@Gophilio4567]

V Vendetta Even on hardest difficulty, Painkiller is FAR from being as hard as Serious Sam (well, it depends on which difficulty you're playing in SS. If you're playing on Tourist, then sure, Painkiller is going to be harder :P )

[@Gophilio4567]

V Vendetta Will you play the original Serious Sam or the HD version?

[@kemixxx7]

Gaming by Andrii Painkiller is way more fun in my opinion.

[@Gophilio4567]

V Vendetta What do you mean by "more variety"? Are you talking about the enemies? If that's the case, well... there is no much variation when you think about it. Sure, the enemies look different in each level and the idea is good (knights in a castle, monks in a Church, ninja on a Snowy bridge, military in a military base, etc.) and at first, I thought there was variation too. But actually, I would say only the skins have variation. The enemies themselves pretty much do the same thing. Most enemies will run at you and will try to hit you with their staff, sword, fists, whatever. Sometimes, some of them have variation, like the churiken throwing ninja, but still, most of them is about running at you and hitting you (MOST of them. Not all). Serious Sam, on the other hand, has enemies that do different kind of stuff. Now, if you were talking about variation in the environment, that's something else.

[@TheGumdropButton]

I didn't start playing Serious Sam until many years after release but I absolutely love it. My first introduction to the series was Serious Sam 3 in 2012 which I though was fine, but around 2016 or so I picked up the first and second encounters and played through them relentlessly. So good.

[@BucklingSwashes]

I still love these first two games. They just flow really well and are a still fun to see in action.

[@johnlewisbrooks]

This game looks absolutely STUNNING nearly 20 years later!

[@dystopia9662]

Question should I get Quake or Serious Sam?

[@Gggmanlives]

+Dystopia You should get both.

[@Alaska1925]

Awesome answer haha. Well, it really depends on what you are looking for in your fps. Quake has a darker atmosphere, looks a bit worse (well, there are mods and texture packs for that) and is more maze-like in nature, like Doom or the 3D Realms games from the 90's. Serious Sam has practically linear levels, however they're comprised of *large* arena areas where, as said in the video, you'll have to fight dozens upon dozens of monsters. Yeah, I'd say get them both sooner or later, but if you can only afford one right now then choose between "gritty maze-like" or "over-the-top arena shooter". Hope this helps.

[@clashmanthethird]

You can probably find the MS DOS version of Quake really easily and run it on a source port.

[@hipsterimagestudios6349]

+Dystopia well I can say that at least the first quake is a bitch to get running while SS is optimized for modern pc's with the hd releases.

[@raycocker639]

+Dystopia Get every game in each franchise.

[@knox140]

Great review, as usual. Are you planning on doing Serious Sam BFE?

[@Gggmanlives]

Yeah I will.

[@gilgamesh310]

I think these games are immensely entertaining and hold up very well. Most modern FPSs could learn a thing or two from them. I agree that they can cause you to get burnt out from excessive play though. I normally play through several levels in most games without needing to take a break but in these games I could barely make it through a single level without needing a rest. It's great to come back to later though.

[@dwrussell96]

what's the first game in your intro that shows the chick with the hot booty lol

[@ghostpinguin]

+John Marston Elexis Sinclare from SiN Episodes

[@GuyOnAChair]

+John Marston Terrible game though.

[@0bzen22]

+John Marston Hook, line and sinker.

[@pasijutaulietuviuesas9174]

I don't agree with people saying that putting Arachnoids far away is a bad thing. It just gives more diversity to the threats you get. As soon as you hear their screech or their weapon, you run to take cover and find an opportunity to eliminate this threat. If you're under attack, you have a new dimension of evasive maneuver. You begin to use your spatial navigation to know where it's safe to maneuver, where it isn't. I sincerely hope Croteam will never listen to people who complain about it and just keep this element.

[@timelord2222]

They made wonders will all their Sam games, except the Sam 2. I feel it was WAY out of place, looked too much childish in my opinion. Sam 3 was better, but it felt like modern CoD-ish military games. I'm currently playing HD remakes of the first game.

[@pasijutaulietuviuesas9174]

edmdeposit Don't worry, Croteam hates SS2 too. So much that they stopped support of it and consider it non-canon. I personally enjoyed the game, but not as a Serious Sam game, when I played through it, I simply imagined it's not Serious Sam. And it's okay to do so, because SS2 is completely detached from the franchise and is basically like a spin-off at this point. Not only that, Croteam wants to make a reboot of the SS2 game, to make it a proper sequel to The Second Encounter and make it like the first two games. As for SS3, I felt like it was only like COD in the first levels with the kind of weapons and environment it had. And it makes sense, considering that it's before time travel and Sam was in modern times. Especially so after all the back story given in TFE.

[@VdWck]

I played Serious Sam (SE) for the first time this week, at the age of 30. Although I like the graphics and the concept, I must admit I got bored. It's so loong et répétitive, unfortunately =/ Got far more pleasure from RTCW, MOHAA and NOLF 2

[@slaymyface1357]

game designer: "hey uuuuh we have all these enemies how many should we put in every level" Supervisor:" YOURE FIRED Game designer 2: "uh sir i put 197263 enemies in this one hallway" Supervisor:"good job 6ou get a raise"

[@milesipka]

An awesome FPS that I played the shit out of when I got it in the late 2000s. Still have the original CD of TFE after all these years. A little tip for those who wish to play this without getting constantly killed: Open the command and type in "please god" (or "pleasegod") for God Mode. You'll thank me for this cheat.

[@eurosonly]

Absolutely love this series. I remember playing it so much back in the day that I failed my drivers license theory test.

[@TotallyTubularJonathan]

Awesome review dude these games rule!

[@MrGreen061]

If there's anyone who still hasn't played it, and is wandering should he, it's not hard as most youtube videos cry it is, you just have to test every weapon against every enemy. Serious sam is one of rare skills that are easy to master, as they are to pick up. Don't be discouraged and i advise going tourist/easy for first playthrough, even if you are exceptionally good at clicking things and shooters. Mental difficulty playthroughs are overpracticed fundementals and memorized patterns, that's all. Get out there and show Mental how serious you can get.

[@silver_noob7047]

Croatian version of Duke Nukem

[@barbariangamer6209]

this one is much better

[@Randoman590]

Holy shit this game is hard, I can't remember the last time I completed a section without dying at least once. But it's so much fun and a great warmup for your reflexes if you're going into a competitive multiplayer game later in the day.

[@unkellgrga9223]

I bought Serious sam revolution last summer where the first and second encounter was included and I just wanna say that this is fps at its core , pure adrenaline kicking action fun

[@maxwell9561]

I wonder what difficulty gman played it on. Every other review seems to never mention difficulty or strategy whatsoever and some even describe it as a "mindless shooter", which makes me think gmanlives played it on one of the higher difficulty levels

[@THEpaulyBOY44]

i brought it today i got the SS HD - first and second encounter fusion .... its bloody brilliant what a great game !!!! i brought it because of this video

[@calliope_x3]

i deeply enjoy that croteam went from this absurd hardcore shooter to the philosophical puzzle game Talos Principle

[@lolrus5555]

Y'know, when GGmanlives puts it like this, the Serious Sam games have a surprising amount of strategy to them.

[@andrehernandez9857]

I really love this game! Also nice Southpark reference at 3:51.

[@KillThad]

I'm not seeing the reference.

[@pistool1]

Serious Sam was a nice, rather dispensable, in my opinion, experience for FPS fans! Although the last levels and some of the mentioned annoying enemies in every single level were a real pain in the ass :D The gameplay was hard as a rock, there were no major flaws as a whole in the game.

[@parallax8207]

I miss those smaller but on point reviews. The ones you make today you try to explain every single aspect of the game it goes way to long

[@Suomiland]

Bless my father, that he made me play this game when I was little. Now I just can't live a year without installing it once again to walk through a part of a game

[@retrobit5973]

Wait, your father forced you to play a game? That too, a hell like FPS? Your dad is a legend....

[@Suomiland]

@@retrobit5973 he saw me playing some economy game about trains (sadly, can't remember what it was) told me to "fuck off with this nerd shit" and booted up Sam. That was the day my ass was kicked to oblivion by the game, but I actually liked this challenge. Back then it seemed so new to me.

[@adamwest3946]

@@Suomiland He told me to "fuck off with this nerd shit". God I love your dad.

[@Suomiland]

@@adamwest3946 Yeah, the man had balls. Shame he doesn't have as much time for games as he had while raising me.

[@legionofyuri]

Played coop with my friends back in the day. It was exhausting. We would literally be begging for the game to kill us all off after an hour of playing. But we kept going back.

[@wrangler2ful]

Serious Sam Revolution is a pretty cool lite remake, combining the 2 games into one. Also the multiplayer is more populated than the originals.

[@retardedfishfrogs1]

it's also dirt cheap I got it for less than a dollar on sale

[@MrHiszpan999]

Does multiplayer still work ? I hear that they kind of disabled it just like in 2nd encounter (gamespy)

[@MrHiszpan999]

But i assume that not much players play mutli , its probably empty servers all th time

[@MrHiszpan999]

is it possible to play without steam ?

[@lucemus1]

1st & 2nd encounter are my childhood. I remember playing this with my friends, it was so damn fun, we spend time finding all secret areas and once we managed to beat 1st & second encounter on Mental difficulty, and now when they have been remade i can go back and kick some serious alien ass!

[@smackerlacker8708]

The problem with Serious Sam is the wide-open level design. It doesn't matter how unique or interesting the enemies are, because the only strategy is to circle strafe around them while firing. Games like Doom and Duke Nukem mixed things up by putting you in smaller, more interesting areas. I mean, c'mon, Duke's pipebomb was the shit, precisely because you could toss it into that tiny room with five enemies, then run, hide and blast them all to hell. You couldn't do that in a Serious Sam game. And there's nothing scary about a lunging melee enemy unless you're trapped in a tight, hazardous maze and surrounded. That's why the Pinkies in Doom were fun to shoot.

[@kkarx]

This. I was impressed when I read about the game in a gaming mag but then I played demo version and it was incredibly boring. It might look good on a paper but it is not really fun to shoot hundreds of attacking enemies all over again.

[@aljosaraketic8258]

You are wrong. That is the uniqueness about it.All the space you have to run,the range of fights,range that you never seen before in any game,all the stuff comming at you from distance... raises adrenaline.,they gave you a chance to feel you can control your space and use it as advantage. It has small room fights also,who told you that SS missed it ? Doom is a horor game,thats why its allways dark and tight there,otherwise it wouldnt be horor and it would suck. SS is unique game that was played like even 10 years after it was released,but Doom died after a year. SS is a masterpiece that brought evolution into FPS.

[@kkarx]

@@aljosaraketic8258 I gave it another try and it has numerous problems which makes it boring af. First of all it feels like you can only walk and not run. It is so fucking slow that it takes eternity just to collect some ammo that is not really that far. It is extremely annoying especially if you get killed and the game lacks dynamics because of this. Then enemies just spawn out of nowhere and they spawn in all directions and often backstab you. The only way to play it is constantly withdraw back. You get stuck in one place. Another problem is in weapons that are simply shit. You have to fire like 30 bullets just to destroy the basic type of enemy. Rockets do damage just with direct hit so even the stupid skeleton takes like 3 rockets if you shoot under its legs. You end up switching between machine gun and laser gun since enemies might spawn just next to you. Grenade luncher is incredibly stupid. Slowly reloading, does only damage when you directly and you have to hold the button to shoot further but it fires automatically when it reaches max so it is completely useless. Only laser gun is worth anything but there is not enough ammo for that. Oh switching weapons is another thing they decided to make painfully slow. Level design is all the same. It is just a huge map with some platforms where enemies spawn. Actually it looks very similar to Daikatana in design. There are numerous secrets but I just could not force myself to explore these huge maps with such a slow movement. Another flaws - the green balls that follow you everywhere, suicide bombers that yell and if they spawn behind you and you have no surround system you are fucked. Sometimes they get stucked in walls and yell and yell and yell.

[@kkarx]

@@aljosaraketic8258 Oh and Doom 2 did exactly what you appreciate on SS. Huge areas with plenty of enemies all around. I don't like D2 for that reason and for those stupid mazes where everything looks almost the same. At least in D2 enemies did not spawn. BTW Doom is still played up today and there are hundreds of mods.

[@AzureSymbiote]

I've had the HD Collection for a while now. I should play it soon.

[@DaveTheSodaGuy0]

is it me or does this game have strong similarities with earth defense force? I mean, the fact that you're always swarmed with enemies all the time?

[@MarkaNgamer]

Well Serious Sam was out before EDF was even in works so...

[@irllcd13]

The HD version isn't perfect. The new engine isn't as versital and there are some things it can't do, like the special rooms where you can run on the walls.

[@Gophilio4567]

+irllcd13 I still prefer Classic Serious Sam. I don't know, there is something... weird about HD. Don't get me wrong, HD is still good. It's just that, for some reasons, Classic engine looks more... "smooth"... I really don't know how to explain it.

[@Icecoffee4ever]

+Gordonkris the HD looks a bit visually inconsistent, since it keeps the original geometry with new textures, so the crisp texture doesn't fit the primitive geometry of the levels

[@Gophilio4567]

kurac Yeah, and there's also some laziness involved. Look at the ugly statues, the ugly fire, the ugly Demon reptiloid from the Second Encounter...

[@murderousmayhem6362]

Think I'll get this. Good review man.

[@samoldfield9997]

am i the only one who think the original games were better then the hd versions

[@karenoreilly7951]

Who here walked into the desert on the first level and found the secret

[@ootdoo3234]

Playing these games hearing AAAAAAA after playing it hearing AAAAAAAA

[@Player-10]

Oh 2014 Gmanlives... You have yet to know Doom Eternal. I certainly hope Serious Sam 4 surprises us all, including you, although unless they include changes to compete with Doom, I don't know if they'll manage to reclaim what mojo ID has successfully redesigned and claimed for themselves.

[@saisameer8771]

Eh, despite being arena fps serious sam and nudoom are very different from each other. SS is more about fighting huge hordes of enemies all at once, a crowd control simulator. Nudoom is way more painkiller than ss. I'd rather have ss be itself than be a doom clone.

[@Player-10]

@@saisameer8771 yeah, but Doom Eternal was hectic in the way that SS is hectic. Sure, in different styles, but the hectic gameplay of DE was interesting and involved strategy, something they purposely developed to be different than the gameplay of what they considered to be boring and basic for Doom 2016. I'm saying if SS is crazy hectic, but it's just "shoot at it until it dies", like all shooters have been for years, then DE was a true evolution of the genre and took hectic to a whole new level... while Sam's been doing the same thing for years, as with the rest of the genre more or less

[@saisameer8771]

@@Player-10 serious sam has a ton of strategy, especially on the harder difficulties. Not only are the enemies faster, more aggressive and do more damage, their combinations are also different. You have to constantly pay attention to your surroundings and keep swapping weapons on the fly and think on your feet. It's so relentless and brutal that you actually feel exhausted by the end of a mission. There's really nothing like serious sam out there. With that said, it is definitely not for everyone. Some people try to play it like any randon old school fps, basically spamming the shotgun constantly, get their ass es kicked and complain that the game is too hard or repetitive.

[@Player-10]

@@saisameer8771 this is true. I've heard mixed things (putting it lightly) about Sam 4. 😬 if only they could evolve Sam in new and interesting ways, the right way (whatever that may be) to improve him rather than raise eyebrows. Sam is totally exhausting yet fun, and it's also super tongue-in-cheek. My Dad and I like to say it's like the opposite of your typical FPS, open arenas and neverending floods at times, compared to something like the Wolfenstein franchise being relegated to narrow hallways and bottlenecking enemies. I think they really should've amped up the gameplay some, made the fighting even more entertaining and visceral (if that's possible), and kept the humor. Throw out the serious narrative, and write something ridiculous and sci-fi, even spoofy. Accept Sam's strengths! Spice it up and try not to just repeat Sam's typical pattern. As well as move the original story along! Forget prequels, they probably don't want to show Mental or go further than where the First and Second Encounters left off, which is really disappointing. It could get so much more interesting from there, but they're too afraid to go further with Sam's quest. Civvie is right, Sam is devolve or die, based on Gman's Sam 4 review

[@saisameer8771]

@@Player-10 Tse had the winning formula. It was tfe but more challenging in mostly the right way, powerups, fun and creative level designs and enemy encounters and some of the goofiest and funniest secrets in any fps game. The devs clearly had a ton of fun making it. I don't know what happened to croteam now. The talos principle was the only great game they made after tse. It seems like some of the gameplay designers left the company and they now have no idea what made Sam great in the first place. It was very obvious with the way they designed the enemy encounters in bfe that they only have a surface level understanding of what makes serious sam such a fun series. What were they even trying to do with ss4 anyway? They were apparently trying to make it a semi open world game which doesn't really work with Sam's formula. If you wanna make an open world game just create an original game.

[@Eludium_SNKN]

Great review, I truly appreciate the fact that others can agree this is how a remaster is done.