Platform | Release Date
PC | November 22, 2011

Developed by Croteam
Published by Devolver Digital

The Pitch:

Serious Sam 3: BFE is a glorious throwback to the golden age of first-person shooters where men were men, cover was for amateurs and pulling the trigger made things go boom. Serving as a prequel to the original indie sensation, Serious Sam: The First Encounter, Serious Sam 3 takes place during the Earth’s final struggle against Mental’s invading legions of beasts and mercenaries. Set against the collapsing temples of an ancient civilization and the crumbling cities of 22nd century Egypt, Serious Sam 3 is an exhilarating fusion of classic twitch shooters and modern gameplay features.

NO COVER. ALL MAN.

Holy crap. Serious Sam is back to barrage you with a myriad of familiar foes in the prequel to 2001’s smash hit Serious Sam: The First Encounter. The series is best known for being short on story and overloaded with teeth grinding intensity. SS3 has all of that and even has a semblance of an interesting overarching story this time around.

You can bet your ass you will be circle strafing for your life in an effort to stave off the unrelenting waves of foes. Most of these opponents will be familiar to veterans of the series– the shrieking space monkeys were always particularly memorable. Quite a few Serious Sam related games have been released this year by indie developers in collaboration with Croteam. Because of this influx the over-used Egyptian setting and enemies you face, that appear in all of these games, may have everything seeming a bit stale at times.

You won’t be troubled with managing an inventory of equipment in SS3, just the plethora of increasingly powerful and varied weaponry at your disposal. My personal favorite being a ridiculous black cannon, complete with enormous cannon balls that roll over even the largest opponent. You are also not bound by just the weapons in your hands. Ripping eyes out, snapping the necks or stomping enemies into the ground are all apart of Sam’s repertoire with achievements to reward such hands-on brutality. There are a few item acquisition tasks you need to fulfill prior to moving forward but doesn’t happen enough to warrant any frustration the primary focus is on fast paced action after all.

The level design in SS3 isn’t anything spectacular. In fact, it borderlines on being mediocre and excels only in providing you with enough means to circle strafe to your heart’s content, which is fitting for the series and not a downside to the game. Croteam has done great job with destructive structures however. Stone pillars riddle the Egyptian temple grounds and tunnels beneath, all if not most are completely destructible and do not hinder your movement when the rubble is scattered about. Try and side step behind a wall with a few rockets coming your way? Guess what, that wall is coming down too, and stray too far outside the temple complex and you will soon be consumed by an enormous sand worm resembling an inhabitant of the planet Arrakis.

Numerous multi-player modes are at your beck and call in SS3. Cooperative multi-player is included allowing you and a buddy to rain down the pain together. Many other play modes are included with variations on staples of games past including DM, CTF and even split-screen local play amongst others. The multi-player is intense, I cannot stress that enough. Running around with fifteen others is a sight to behold. It is utter chaos and also fantastically enjoyable.

SS3 will not be winning any graphics related awards this year but it does trump genre competitor Hard Reset’s overall looks. Gamepad support is included, but with the game being a reflex based experience, you won’t have much success the higher the difficulty ramps up. In the end, Croteam has surprised me a great deal. I didn’t expect Serious Sam 3: BFE to be so ridiculously enjoyable and visually appealing with a solid metal-inspired soundtrack to go with it. The intensity is there throughout and, with the exception of some brutal scenarios to overcome, it positions itself yet again as the top twitch shooter on the market.

Like I said. Holy crap.

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