The original Serious Sam on the Xbox was, as I said in my original review, a sleeper hit. A title that received far too little attention pre-release and due to this failed to truly capitalize on the huge audience it could have had. People play first person shooters for a couple different reasons, but the main reason to pop a shooter in the Xbox is to blow crap up, this is something the developers of Serious Sam realize, and gamers looking to unload some lead will have a good time with the latest Serious Sam video game to hit the Xbox, Serious Sam 2.

We’re already aware that there is something strange about Sam, we haven’t quite nailed it, but we expect its some sort of chemical imbalance, lucky for us, it seems this is what keeps the game so funny, while still delivering the action we are used to from Serious Sam. The game is not without flaws however, there are some hefty imbalance issues with the weapons and some annoyances when it comes to vehicles, but overall Serious Sam 2 delivers what we were expecting. Not looking to shine graphically or be the most technically sound shooter on the console, Serious Sam 2 brings the action front and center to the Xbox once again.

Gameplay

Times have changed and Sam now finds himself summoned by a group of creatures that need his help. One thinks he is a dork while the others think he is the only one that can complete this mission. Sam learns that a medallion was forged by a blind blacksmith and he accidentally created something truly evil, so it was decided that the medallion was to be broken into nine pieces and given to certain leaders throughout this strange world.

Sam tries to act like he understands what is going on and worries more about sounding cool than paying attention which causes him to fail, as usual. This sets up the game as they attempt to keep the humor aspect of the game on par with the original. He sets out to complete the mission and thinks it will be easy. Of course, if they were to ask him what was explained to him, he would not have a clue other than he must kill any creature that gets in his way. The story unfolds in cut-senses that are cartoon like which compliments the humorous tone of the game.

At first it looks like this is going to be another great game with Sam. He has a ton of new weapons and even insanely creative vehicles that he has to use, this time they threw in turret guns for more mayhem. There is a slight problem right away with the weapons though; they look huge and add to the cartoon-like feel, but they don’t feel as big or do the sort of damage fans of the series have grown to love. From rocket launchers to dual mini-auto 9mm guns, the best weapon Sam has is the double barrel shotgun. I had no problems with the fact I could take out an enemy at a great distance easier with a shotgun, but it is not for laughs. It is a flaw in the overall design of the game itself. I am not saying it is still not fun, but you want to see big explosions and guts and gore. There are times when you get this feeling and results but not as much as you did in the first game.

A sequel normally is different to some extent, and you’ll soon discover that the weapons seem unbalanced and a little confusing. It still has some great action; enemies pop up everywhere and the battles are not short, so you will get to shoot the bigger weapons and run through the ammo while destroying enemies, but you will need to get used to relying on the shotgun as the main weapon. The new vehicles and other contraptions that Sam must use are well thought out and fun. They even have a huge ball Sam jumps in and uses to mow down enemies. It helps to keep the flavor of the original alive, but it plays differently and some fans may be turned off by this. The levels are set-up in a way that you will need to guide Sam from point A to point B and in between are a few hidden areas. Here is where they really did leave some of the first games intact.

The jokes and visual humor are funny and stupid, but fit perfectly. Some are out-dated but it was nice to see they left this in and it does make you laugh when you see certain things. Sam still has a wise-crack mentality and usually makes them at the wrong times. What is different is the fact while you will face so many enemies, need to run around and collect ammo and health as well as other useful items, the creatures have to aid you so much that it can seem like you’re just repeating the same thing, just at a different looking place.

A few of the levels are well made and as the story unfolds it will hold your interest. I do miss the huge explosions and even with turrets and helicopters flying by the action seems tame this time around. I was determined not to even think of the first Sam adventure so I could give this a fair chance. It offers an interesting concept and has about 25+ levels, but it does get a bit repetitive. Its more run and gun throughout the entire game, and if that’s what you are looking for then you got it.

They also managed to throw in a few nice touches that make any player want to continue and for that I will give them credit. I just think they may have tried too hard for the right look and the graphics and less on the action and the level design. The little blue creatures are funny and keep part of the originality of the series. You may hear a few things that will have you wondering, did they really just say that?

When you get Sam to find a piece of the medallion or trigger, the next part of the story is interesting and they also allow you to watch any movie from a level you have completed. There are times when you wish the auto save would kick in, it can be frustrating to replay certain levels over again but then almost any game like this has that issue. The cartoon look may fool some into thinking this is family friendly game, but such is not the case by any means. There are sexual innuendos and colorful language as well as plenty of blood, but they don’t go over board with it. Most FPS players will beat the single player game fairly quickly.

Control / Playability

Controls in the game are well laid out and basic for first person shooter games. The left analog stick moves Sam and the right analog stick controls the view. The right trigger shoots and the left trigger throws grenades. The B button changes weapons and the A button is used to talk or to jump. The hardest button to remember to use is the black one to get into turrets, vehicles and to pick items up. On the screen it will prompt you so learning the controls is not hard and the learning curve is about ten minutes. Learning a few of the weapons later in the game and how to adjust views or zoom in or out takes a little longer. Overall the controls handle and respond well.

Xbox Live

They even made the interface for the online mode look like the cartoon-look of the game. You will see the basic choices of making a match, searching for a game or locating an optimatch session. Not a bad lobby and easy to use once in a game. You will find allot of younger players that probably never touched the single player mode. I would recommend finding friends that have the game or just prepare to look for rooms until you find one that has players who know what to do. The game on-line plays out like a co-op style shooter. You can adjust the difficulty level and set friendly fire on or off. The one thing you need to know is that when creating a game, you can only a pick chapter or level that you have unlocked in the single-player mode.

Adding three other players is fun but there are a few things that will annoy you. First, if you earn another life, the sound byte will play for everyone. In fact everything that is triggered or done by another player you will hear and this can get confusing, and annoying. The other thing is it would have been great to see a small map added for the online mode, so you could know where the other players are to help out or find them easier. It is a lot of back tracking on-line, definitely more than in the single player mode.

They might have added a few more modes for the on-line play, this was one of the parts of the game I was really looking forward to playing. A death match or even a shoot out or survival mode would have fit the style of Sam perfectly and made the on-line mode complete. For me this wasn’t really a huge problem as cooperative play games are my favorite type, but for others it will certainly be an issue.

Graphics / Presentation

The game has a 3D style and the cartoon-look I mentioned and it works well, but at times weapons will look a bit awkward. The creatures you ride besides the vehicles are well drawn and animated very well. Each creature looks good and you really begin to get drawn in by the graphics. While Sam looks good, the cartoon 3D makes him look a little strange in certain areas. I like what they were trying to do, I just think they may have gone overboard a bit. The cartoon-look adds to the feel of the series, they just added too much and it looks sugary, then mix in the theme and it seems unbalanced at certain parts of the game. The turrets and flying enemies look amazing and shows that the whole game could have had this same look overall.

Audio

The voice-over artists do a great job and the person who plays Sam tries the best to make him funny. They did rely on a few of the old one-liners a bit too much, but it’s still funny, just not as funny as the original since most of the shock value is gone. The rest of the voices fit perfectly and really make gamers feel for the situation they are in and make them want to save them from danger. The weapons all sound good and the explosions are realistic sounding, a decent job with the audio overall.

Replay Value

Fans of the first game will get the most replay value playing Serious Sam II. They added enough hidden areas to find and difficulty levels and the on-line mode is fun. I think overall more added gameplay modes and things to unlock would have made the replay value a bit higher, but as is there is still allot of fun to be had. It does still maintain the quality of being able to simply pick it up and have a few blasts, literally.

Overall Score

Overall Score: 7.2/10 [not an average]

Additional Comments

Serious Sam II is certainly enjoyable but a bit unbalanced, even flawed in certain areas. It brought back memories and tried hard to recapture the magic of the first while trying to be different. If they would have gone one way or the other, it would have made for a better game. This one is fun and a blast to get out your frustrations, but the fun seems to stop sooner than I would have liked. The online mode is good but you are locked into the same gameplay as found offline. Die hard fans will want this one just to hear the one-liners and play with the weapons; first timers to the series may find the game a bit lacking. I suggest grabbing a copy of the original to compliment the sequel, which made a good effort but hasn’t fully captured the feel of the first.

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