VIDEOGAME REVIEW: ‘Serious Sam’ a wild shooter

Monday, Dec. 30, 2002 | 12:35 p.m.

Looking for one of those adventure games that makes you think, solve puzzles and keep your gun holstered except for dire emergencies?

Don't look at "Serious Sam," a wild and woolly shooter that offers armies of uglies requiring an almost constantly twitching trigger finger.

"Serious Sam" was whipped up for the Xbox by Croatia-based Croteam for Gotham Games.

For my money, they did a great job.

"Serious Sam" stars Sam Stone, a muscle-bound hero in a tight white T-shirt, jeans and red sneakers destined to become mankind's savior after fighting off waves of monsters spawned from another dimension.

However, even Sam, the one-man army, can't save mankind alone. So he's sent back in time via the "Time-Lock," an ancient artifact that could let Sam change the past to save our future.

Thinking? Forget it. The most complicated thing you'll have to come up with is the right weapon for the job. You collect an amazing pile of hardware, ranging from a simple knife to the SBC cannon, which fires uranium-filled cannonballs, and the screen-clearing Serious Bomb.

Sam needs every round, every bomb and every ounce of laser energy, because the creatures he faces in this 3D epic are legion.

Keep the oxygen handy, because you'll be breathless after warding off screen-jamming waves of monsters. Virtually every step you take is contested by some nightmarish beast.

The game gives you plenty of help. Auto-targeting is among the fastest and easiest in video game history; get the business end of your weapon pointed in the vicinity of whatever beast is after you, and a few shots will level it. There are plenty of health boosts and ammo lying around.

The best advice in the manual - "Try not to stand still."

But if you do decide to take a breather, you can be sure that within seconds, you'll be in the sights of some of the most horrendous creatures ever seen, including the Fiendian Reptiloid Demon, Cucurbito the Pumpkin, the Beheaded Bomber and the Male and Female Gnaar.

"Serious Sam" is a lot of fun for a single player, but it also offers a multiplayer mode that allows either cooperative play or challenging your friends to a death match.

Control gets an A. It takes only a few minutes to master the controls, and from then on, Sam is an extension of your fingers. The camera work is solid and is almost always just where you need it. There's plenty of blood, although you can change it to green or "hippie," which has these fearsome beasts bleeding flowers.

Graphics get a B. The visuals are colorfully cartoonish, with plenty of detail, good lighting and texture and smooth operation with no glitches. A good-looking game all around.

Sound gets a B. Sam's got some good jokes and weapons effects are just about perfect. Many of your enemies announce themselves by distinctive noises or music as they close on you. When you hear those sounds, get ready. The sound track is the main drawback.

Give "Serious Sam" a B. This is mindless destruction at its best, with you as the hero wiping out slobbering monsters by the gross. You don't need a Mensa-quality brain to play, just a good sense of humor and a quick trigger finger.

"Serious Sam" is rated M, for ages 17 and above.

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On The Net

www.gothamgames.com

www.croteam.com