”Different Sam, Same Old Serious”
Serious Sam 2 (SS2) is the most controversial title of Croteam’s games in term of design direction and some console element. I could understand reason why someone dislikes its direction and pretend it never happens. However, it still delivers solid old school FPS and interesting element which I keep revisiting sometimes since the first release in 2005.
I used to play retailed version many times. My latest playthrough was completed on Steam version (Serious difficult).
Ultimate Adventure to Ring Mental’s Doorbell
The story takes place after SS: The Second Encounter. Sam “Serious” Stone is summoned and tasked by Sirian Great Council to search for five pieces of medallion. It is a key to make Mental, Sam’s ultimate nemesis, to be vulnerable. So, Sam can finally finish his mission and save humanity once again.
SS2 visual design and theme is brighter, shiny, and much more colorful compared to the rest of franchise. It also has a lot of notable changes such as weapon design and function, various new enemies that share similar behavior or behave like sub version of certain enemies from The First / Second Encounter. Those changes were made to fit the cartoonish and goofy theme that may not appeal to everyone, especially fans that get used to original tone / design from previous titles.
However, it doesn’t change the fact that SS2 has the most diverse and spectacular environments. Collecting five pieces of medallion is just an excuse to introduce different planets with beautiful landscape and living NPCs (can sometimes do combat assistant and provide support items). From eastern style palace in Chi-Fang planet to fairy tale floating island and medieval castles in Ellenier planet, Sam journey will finally end at Sirius, the place full of futuristic skyscrapers and advanced technologies (which explained why Mental force are powerful).
I personally think the lore and settings in SS2 are much more intriguing and have potential. I also have no problem about cliché' storytelling (go there and collect those things). Unfortunately, it suffers from weak writing by forcing humor and many silly acting to the point that becomes cringe for audience. Writing is never a strong point of this franchise in the first place, but I expect SS2 to have some improvement.
NETRICSA (or Sam’s personal computer) also comes back with better appearance and can chit-chat with Sam. NETRICSA may have interesting character and personality. I found her provide less lore / intel compared to what she had in previous titles (detailed bestiary, weapon info, location). It also cause some enemies look out of place because of lacking explanation to support their existence.
Shoot and Dodge Until It’s Done
Serious Sam is simply about moving and shooting like standard FPS. Each new entry is more of the same. You fight the horde of Mental, bigger horde, and large scale bosses at the end of each main chapter. The key is to utilize your movement, effective weapon, range, environment, and prioritize enemies in order to survive each fight. It becomes more challenged on higher difficulty where most attacks are deadly as the game constantly throws mixed up enemies in your screen. Each main bosses fight relies on its gimmick, but the visual and telegraph are clear enough to guide player
The weapon design has been modernized with some replacement. I adore their silly design and animation of new toys (eight-barreled semi-automatic shotgun, kamikaze parrot, plasma rifle, dual Uzis). Hand grenade is welcome addition and powerful enough to get player out of sticky situation. Despite of some weak sound, they still deliver decent punchy feedback and fun to hold trigger. Not many games allow you to gun down Centaur, American Football, Spider Mech, and Attack Helicopter while listening to awesome soundtrack at the same time. It’s such an enjoyable and unique experience for old school genre.
SS2 also features many turret and vehicle section from Hover Bike to flying sawblade UFO. They feel weighty, but easy to control and help fight against fast enemies (because SS2 has ton of flying enemies). I don’t think vehicle section is bit too long, but I wish for longer playtime of some vehicles (combat dino, rollerball).
SS2 has score system and power pickup pretty much like previous titles, but add score item as reward when player destroy props or discover secrets. For every 10k score, player grants one extra life. Extra life system provides benefit for console version, but it’s pointless for PC that already implements quick-save function. I only found extra life useful to reset when it got messed up right after quick save.
Stumble into Mental’s Trick
As much as I love the variety of SS2, there are some flawed designs that are hard to ignore. Hitscan enemies can be sometimes frustrating to deal when they mix up with melee enemies (ex: Zombie Stockbroker w/ Horde of Kleer), not to mention most smaller scale / tight corridor levels. Physics in Serious Engine 2 that only functions on props and environment (imagine how well if every enemy has ragdoll feedback). The problem is its janky and floaty feeling. It’s noticeable and out of control when you need to access some secret areas or mid-air interaction (I’m looking at you, railing bird ship section). I also dislike red mist of blood splatter in vanilla version.
In addition, SS2 has co-op feature (both online and LAN). Online co-op server supports up to signature 16 players for maximum mayhem. It’s bit buggy, but still functional.
Melody of Mayhem
SS2 is full of unique sound effects to identify individual enemy. Weird animal roar, baby scream, squishy sound, mumble in Japanese language, AHHHHHHHHHH! and more. Each world setting has its own ambient soundtrack that fits mood very well such as tribal theme, traditional song, metal, and beat-up electronics. Some fighting tracks kick in and give a feeling of brave lone hero or some sort of motivation.
Still, Are You Serious?
I think SS2 doesn’t deserve the hate. It has both improved element from previous titles and some bad elements, but the change doesn’t deviate from Serious Sam core gameplay. It’s worth playing just for chaotic fight on screen and I wish to see this level of variety for future Serious Sam and other old school. Lastly, I also recommend playing with “Renovation Mod” that you can find on Steam guide / Moddb (in case you want improved blood effect, redesigned weapon mesh, and some animation change).
It’s time to get serious once more!
Zitat:
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