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| Serious Sam: Xbox Review |
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| by Jason "Rodzilla" Rodzik |
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| Posted on November 11, 2002 |
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Sam is a dated game, there's no denying that. The first game came out over a year and a half ago, while the more recent Second Encounter isn't quite as old, it didn't really feature that big of a graphics improvement. Serious Sam: XBox doesn't improve much, if any, on its PC ancestors. However, just because it isn't up to date with the latest build of the Unreal Engine or Doom III doesn't mean it looks bad. In fact, it's the complete opposite. Serious Sam continues to look amazing on the Xbox, as it has on the PC for over two years.
Fire a rocket, it explodes in a gush of sparks. Burn down kleers with your flamethrower and you're treated to the gorgeous flame from your weapon as well as the kleers as they ignite and burn away. Or just forget about killing things for a second and stare at the beautiful levels complete with gorgeous skyboxes and changing climates. For example, in one of the last major battles, you begin fighting off hoardes of enemies in a huge open field while the sky turns dark and lightening bolts as well as meteors are hurled down all around you.
The only problem with the graphics is that they can get somewhat bland, especially in parts of the first and second episodes. Every now and then you may also notice a seam where two textures meet, but you'll easily be distracted as more enemies attack you and you dispose of them.
Croteam brought a brand new HUD to the game for its XBox appearance as well. Although it does take up a good bit of screen real-estate, the HUD isn't noticable when it's not needed, and it's easy as pie to find what you're looking for when you need to. Your health and armor are in the lower left while powerups line up on the mid-left side of the screen, with lives and your score at the top. In addition to the score, you'll also see messages such as multikills appear below your score and hover there for a while, while new pickups are displayed on the bottom. On the top right your weapon list appears in order from top to bottom, showing you exactly what weapons you have and what weapons still have ammo in an easy to find manner. Your ammo count is also easily viewable.
In addition to excellent graphics, Serious Sam: XBox also has amazing sound and music. Damjan Mravunac's work is nothing short of exemplary, engaging you in the best fight music ever to be included in a game. During a heavy firefight the tempo and volume of the music picks up, and while you're running around waiting for the next wave it slows down some into a more moderate, but still awesome, beat. Firing away at tons of enemies while rockets explode all around you, the music thumps, and enemies explode while sitting on your couch with the surround sound turned up has to be experienced to be believed.
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