So I finished the GameCube version of Serious Sam The Next Encounter. It was developed by another studio and was a console spin-off. It feels like a bridge between Second Encounter and Serious Sam 2 in a way of presentation and stuff. And I love SS2 so I guess I like this too.
It had different environments both in terms of locations (Rome, China, Atlantis, and final Sirius mothership) with different gimmicks and some enemy types unique to zones.
The rampage mechanic was a bit annoying tbh with sound effects and music change if you did 20 kills in a combo. Same as this occasional Humvee transport was sort of undercooked - SS2 did transport much better.
Some places looked low detailed, mostly some arenas and open spaces which is fine I guess for a GC game that also had a PS2 port. But Some interiors and locations in dynamic looked nice actually.
The game was tedious at times like all arena shooters, but in general, I more enjoyed it than not.
Some Enemies+interior+location combinations reminded me about another Serious Sam clone "Will Rock" - but Will Rock was... bleh to say the least.
It had different environments both in terms of locations (Rome, China, Atlantis, and final Sirius mothership) with different gimmicks and some enemy types unique to zones.
The rampage mechanic was a bit annoying tbh with sound effects and music change if you did 20 kills in a combo. Same as this occasional Humvee transport was sort of undercooked - SS2 did transport much better.
Some places looked low detailed, mostly some arenas and open spaces which is fine I guess for a GC game that also had a PS2 port. But Some interiors and locations in dynamic looked nice actually.
The game was tedious at times like all arena shooters, but in general, I more enjoyed it than not.
Some Enemies+interior+location combinations reminded me about another Serious Sam clone "Will Rock" - but Will Rock was... bleh to say the least.
Not as "obscure" as it once was, but for a long time Ive held the opinion that TNE is an unironic hidden gem of the PS2/GC library.
Haters wanna hate, this is the best Serious Sam game. 👌
𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐒𝐚𝐦 𝟐, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐒𝐚𝐦 𝟏 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞,
cutscenes have become humorous, but there are very few of them, the graphics are more cartoony, but not too much,
Only 1 new weapon - laser beam, given at the end,
According to the locations, these are all sorts of mountains and Asian-style temples, at the end - it`s spaceship,
OK, but nothing memorable
The same can be said for the rest of the game.
I did not notice any special specifics for playing on a joystick, except for auto-aim and a slightly larger number of arenas,
Monster designs are bad, unmemorable, there are 2 middle bosses and a very bad final boss, they let you ride the hammer 2 more times,
I, as a fan of the series, completed it, but I do not recommend to others.
/
Ещё не Serious Sam 2, уже не Serious Sam 1,
катсцены стали юморными, но их очень мало, графика более мультяшная, но не слишком,
Только 1 новое оружие - лазерный луч, даётся в конце,
По локациям это всякие горы и храмы азиатского стиля, в конце космический корабль,
Нормально, но ничего запоминающегося,
Тоже самое можно сказать про всю остальную игру,
Никакой особой специфики для игры на джойстике, кроме автоаима и чуть большего количества арен, я не заметил,
Дизайны монстров плохи, незапоминающиеся, есть 2 средних босса и очень плохой финальный босс, 2 раза дают покататься на машинке ещё,
Я, как фанат серии, прошёл, но другим не советую, проходной ширпотреб
cutscenes have become humorous, but there are very few of them, the graphics are more cartoony, but not too much,
Only 1 new weapon - laser beam, given at the end,
According to the locations, these are all sorts of mountains and Asian-style temples, at the end - it`s spaceship,
OK, but nothing memorable
The same can be said for the rest of the game.
I did not notice any special specifics for playing on a joystick, except for auto-aim and a slightly larger number of arenas,
Monster designs are bad, unmemorable, there are 2 middle bosses and a very bad final boss, they let you ride the hammer 2 more times,
I, as a fan of the series, completed it, but I do not recommend to others.
/
Ещё не Serious Sam 2, уже не Serious Sam 1,
катсцены стали юморными, но их очень мало, графика более мультяшная, но не слишком,
Только 1 новое оружие - лазерный луч, даётся в конце,
По локациям это всякие горы и храмы азиатского стиля, в конце космический корабль,
Нормально, но ничего запоминающегося,
Тоже самое можно сказать про всю остальную игру,
Никакой особой специфики для игры на джойстике, кроме автоаима и чуть большего количества арен, я не заметил,
Дизайны монстров плохи, незапоминающиеся, есть 2 средних босса и очень плохой финальный босс, 2 раза дают покататься на машинке ещё,
Я, как фанат серии, прошёл, но другим не советую, проходной ширпотреб
It's Serious Sam except the score matters. There are a couple of nuances that it doesn't take from the originals (such as firing one shot at the beheaded kamikaze doesn't stun it and the Reptiloid has more heath than the Croteam games) but it's pretty much the same game. It is ugly as sin to make it 60fps, which it accomplishes without any hitch.
Sam's one liners are among the best in the series in this game.
Sam's one liners are among the best in the series in this game.
An inferior SS2
Não sei se era problema da minha copia (que by the way era pirata) mas eu nunca consegui zerar esse Game em Coop, por algum motivo se vc jogasse com alguém o Jogo não salvava o progresso, ou seja, a dupla teria que ir até o final numa tacada só, senão teria que começar desde o inicio. Tirando esse problema que eu não sei se é ou não do Game, ele é um Serious Sam batuta.
Game is too ugly for me to continue. Everything looks like clipart and the level design is incredibly bland.
“Iteration Over Innovation”
At this point in the “Serious Sam” series, it becomes clear that the developers value replicating the same formula over and over again rather than trying to take the series in a new direction. The mob-shooting action remains, and a score system is introduced, but the same flow and lack of story lead to this entry just feeling “alright” compared to earlier games. The quirky presentation is still here, but there is an obvious lack of soul on display…
The story is again just like any other in the series - bland and lacking in detail. There are no real characters besides Sam, and the world is just a setting for the shooting loop to commence in. Dialogue is once again just an amalgamation of humor (50/50 in its writing quality) and exposition. It’s no surprise that this game contains a weak story, but it's still disappointing to see at this point in the series. However, it's the lack of advancement with the gameplay that really makes this title into more of an average experience.
The gameplay is also pretty much identical in structure to the other games except there is a score system involved. This score system is really only used for unlocking “lost levels” which again are structured similarly to the normal ones, but serve as bonuses. It’s not really that deep of a system, but at least it was an addition rather than keeping the exact same gameplay loop (which, outside of the score system, this game remains the same as the previous ones). The arsenal is pretty much the exact same as previous games except there is a flamethrower weapon, so the game really loses its chance to feel original without changes in level structure, gameplay mechanics, or new weapons.
The presentation seems to have moved towards something more cartoonish in style akin to where “Serious Sam 2” ended up, though it's (literally) rough around the edges. Antialiasing is poor and many textures are clearly not very detailed, and the UI continues to evolve to look more cluttered as the series progresses. Music is similar to previous games with a mix of rock and polka (weird combo, but kind of fits?), but the sound design is just okay. You’ll mostly hear gunfire and enemy screams while gunning them down, so it doesn’t make for a very immersive experience (though it is still chaotic when it decides to be).
However, what really killed this game was its lack of creativity and soul. It really just felt like a slightly altered “Serious Sam” experience, and there weren't a whole lot of fun levels to play through. The weapons were pretty much identical to previous games, so this felt like a subpar expansion rather than a whole new game. I got a bit bored after beating the first huge arena boss, and I haven’t looked back since it never felt like a particularly memorable experience.
I just found this to be a redundant entry in the series. No real changes were made to the formula, the tweaks were almost unidentifiable, and the campaign lacked any unique aspects. The same issues in prior games existed here, but were highlighted more with default gamepad controls. It’s not a great looking or performing game, and is just a passable shooter for most of the ride. However, “passable” doesn’t mean I would tell someone to play it, so I would Not Recommend this title. The problems with Croteam's design philosophies for the franchise has started to pop up here in some troubling ways despite another company handling development, and it has led to some mediocre entries to this series as a result…
Final Verdict: 5/10 (Average)
Edit: Thanks to "grihajedy" for pointing out that Croteam actually did not make this title. I guess I just assumed so since this developer did a good job utilizing their design for the series, though I still think that it's led to some stagnation.
At this point in the “Serious Sam” series, it becomes clear that the developers value replicating the same formula over and over again rather than trying to take the series in a new direction. The mob-shooting action remains, and a score system is introduced, but the same flow and lack of story lead to this entry just feeling “alright” compared to earlier games. The quirky presentation is still here, but there is an obvious lack of soul on display…
The story is again just like any other in the series - bland and lacking in detail. There are no real characters besides Sam, and the world is just a setting for the shooting loop to commence in. Dialogue is once again just an amalgamation of humor (50/50 in its writing quality) and exposition. It’s no surprise that this game contains a weak story, but it's still disappointing to see at this point in the series. However, it's the lack of advancement with the gameplay that really makes this title into more of an average experience.
The gameplay is also pretty much identical in structure to the other games except there is a score system involved. This score system is really only used for unlocking “lost levels” which again are structured similarly to the normal ones, but serve as bonuses. It’s not really that deep of a system, but at least it was an addition rather than keeping the exact same gameplay loop (which, outside of the score system, this game remains the same as the previous ones). The arsenal is pretty much the exact same as previous games except there is a flamethrower weapon, so the game really loses its chance to feel original without changes in level structure, gameplay mechanics, or new weapons.
The presentation seems to have moved towards something more cartoonish in style akin to where “Serious Sam 2” ended up, though it's (literally) rough around the edges. Antialiasing is poor and many textures are clearly not very detailed, and the UI continues to evolve to look more cluttered as the series progresses. Music is similar to previous games with a mix of rock and polka (weird combo, but kind of fits?), but the sound design is just okay. You’ll mostly hear gunfire and enemy screams while gunning them down, so it doesn’t make for a very immersive experience (though it is still chaotic when it decides to be).
However, what really killed this game was its lack of creativity and soul. It really just felt like a slightly altered “Serious Sam” experience, and there weren't a whole lot of fun levels to play through. The weapons were pretty much identical to previous games, so this felt like a subpar expansion rather than a whole new game. I got a bit bored after beating the first huge arena boss, and I haven’t looked back since it never felt like a particularly memorable experience.
I just found this to be a redundant entry in the series. No real changes were made to the formula, the tweaks were almost unidentifiable, and the campaign lacked any unique aspects. The same issues in prior games existed here, but were highlighted more with default gamepad controls. It’s not a great looking or performing game, and is just a passable shooter for most of the ride. However, “passable” doesn’t mean I would tell someone to play it, so I would Not Recommend this title. The problems with Croteam's design philosophies for the franchise has started to pop up here in some troubling ways despite another company handling development, and it has led to some mediocre entries to this series as a result…
Final Verdict: 5/10 (Average)
Edit: Thanks to "grihajedy" for pointing out that Croteam actually did not make this title. I guess I just assumed so since this developer did a good job utilizing their design for the series, though I still think that it's led to some stagnation.