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Best Graphic Engine!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: April 05, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Serious Sam: The Second Encounter is made by Croteam and powered by the Serious Engine.
The game itself is not exactly a brainbuster, but yet very fun. You just run around and kill anything that moves - not much thinking. It is really a spoof of first person shooters.
What attracts me to this game is the powerful graphics engine.
The graphics are gorgeous and is best damn graphics engine out there. Unfortunatley, it has not got all the media attention it deserves yet. But with some great looking mods out soon, the world will see what a real graphic engine is about.
If you are a graphics enthusiast, then I urge you to check out the demo or some screenshots; you will be amazed.
Though the game is fun, the real emphasis is to promote their graphics engine.

I am running:
AMD Duron 750
256MB RAM
GeForce 2 400MMX

Here is my summary of the game:
Graphics: 10+
Animation: 8.5 (The models skate and that is a real turn off; however, some details are pleasant, like the moving muscles of the werebull)
Sound: 6 (If the sound was 3D, I would have given it at least 8)
Controls: 8 (Still, I can feel a little slipperiness, but at least I kind bind the keys all I want - that in any game, is much appreciated)
Gameplay: 7 (Kill monsters all day and the game is quite long. Again, the slipperiness of the action is a little annoying. The AI cheats by seeing you through walls. They are not very smart by the way.)
Power Management: 8 (Hard to tell, I get lag when I am online in Co-op, but only the more powerful computers don't lag; however, the deathmatch, which has no monsters and oonly humans runs fine)
I probably forgot more things to criticize on, but I can't think of anything more right now. Just try the game out for yourself.

Soin my unprofessional score for the game (not the engine): 47.5/60*100 = 79.1%. But there is my Graphic engine bonus, So let it slide to %80.

I bought this game at a local [store] for only [money] Canadian!
It is about [money] American.

Once again, the graphic engine will blow you away. I promise you, there is no better engine out there right now. I can't wait to see the mods that come out of this engine, or even better, a major company licencing this engine and making a blow away game.

Great work Croteam; your hard work, care of your product, and inconceivable low price makes me want to never sail my pirate ship again.

An Excellent Value Shooter

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: December 15, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Serious Sam: The Second Encounter is a fabulous first person shooter made by no other than Take-Two, and I've never given any of Take-Two's products anything less than a 4/5 stars. In fact, the majority of them deserve 5/5 stars. On to the game, for ..., this game is a steal and could be priced for ...and still sell well. Sam's voice is the funniest thing I've ever heard in a video game. When you get to the level where it says "Double your gun, double your fun," you'll know what I mean. Great graphics, great levels and concepts. While it doesn't compete with the Medal of Honor series (they are actually 2 different games, yet they are nonetheless both of the FPS genre), this game is definitely worth purchasing. The online play is great and the monster detail is incredible. Highly recommended for monster killing fun.

A Top Gun!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: January 03, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I've played alot of video games but I can say straight off that this has been one of the best I have ever played.
Why do I say that?
Well the great graphics,sound,gameplay,intense immersion and challenge aside,this is one of the few games I own that I keep coming back to play again....and AGAIN!
Both of the incarnations of Serious Sam(1 & 2)are on the same high quality scale of the first person shooter genre and rate very high marks indeed.
Croteam the creators of the Serious Sam phenom were to release a third and final game to end the series but to date this unfortunately has not come to pass.
But I'll continue to keep my fingers crossed and on the trigger ready and waiting for that day when Mental and his minions challenge us once again to a battle to the death.
A game no true gamer should be without in his collection.

A great sequel to a great title

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: September 09, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Serious Sam 2 picks up where Serious Sam left off. The game essentially has the same engine with some improvements. It also contains new weapons, enemies and of course brand new levels. Serious Sam 2 is even more fun than the original and multiplayer cooperative matches are simply a blast!

Great Environments - Good Gameplay

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: December 17, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I've played a lot of first person shooters, and quite a few platform games (like tomb raider), and I find that this game takes great qualities from them both.

For FPS fans, the gameplay is fierce. Tons of weapons, lots of ammo, and billions of enemies streaming at you from all sides. However, a bit of stealth and your sniper rifle will improve your chances of surviving a walk into the open.

The environments are huge, with great detail. No, not up to the 2004 releases like Doom3 or HalfLife2, but the textures are very detailed. While the textures are a bit repetitive, this allows for very fast gameplay. Your computer won't have any trouble drawing a vast valley with four massive pyramids and with dozens of enemies (some three times your size). The view distance is amazing, with only the detailed grass having an obvious draw distance (a very nice touch that allows you to feel completely surrounded by grass without having to draw all those polygons throughout the map).

The first world you navigate through is "Mayan". I actually work in Mexico and can tell you that the textures used for those maps are amazingly authentic. Some are actual photographs of famous Maya murals that make wonderful wall textures, making you feel like you're in a Maya palace.

Finally, the little puzzles and secrets that are found throughout the game give it a kind of "platform adventure" feel to it. This may be annoying to FPS fanatics who only want to walk down corridors and shoot whatever pops up. Serious Sam Second Encounter gives you all the action, with the added desire to explore every nook and cranny of the huge maps. The puzzles are not tricky, generally fun and sometimes skill-building.

I highly recommend this for some FPS fun on the lighter side of Doom3.

Fun and difficult, but repetitive

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: May 20, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I've been playing "Serious Sam: The Second Encounter" for about a week and a half now; one of my sister's friends thought it would be fun and so loaned it to me to give it a shot--no pun intended.

I have mixed feelings about this game, which I will do my best to convey via a list of pros and cons. Here you go:

PROS:
1. Excellent graphics--muscles actually move in the werebull, for example.
2. A variety of interesting weapons. You get everything from the (useless) revolver to a portable cannon, and ammunition can sometimes be sparse; this forces you to be adaptable. You can even knock down trees or set things on fire.
3. There is a sentient computer that you carry around with you. Every time you kill something you haven't killed before, every time you get a weapon you haven't had before, and every time you come across something important in the gam,e this computer analyzes it for you to an exhaustive extent. It gives you hints into how to use your new weapons and how to kill new enemies. That's just really cool.

CONS:
1. The style of the gameplay gets really repetitive. You see, the reason this game is as difficult as it is is because the game has a habit of putting every single enemy against you, in large numbers, all at once. You don't just fight a few kleer skeletons; you fight about fifty kleer skeletons, two lava golems, about ten harpies, four major bio-mechanoids, ten minor bio-mechanoids, three juvenile arachnoids, two adult arachnoids, twenty beheaded kamikazes, ten beheaded bombers, and five werebulls.

All of that all at once. Every time you go around a corner, you don't fight one or two enemies, you fight about ten of everything the game's put against you so far. This is what makes the game a challenge, and it has helped me in those areas of other games where you fight a whole bunch of monsters, but it gets OLD. Seriously. It gets REALLY old, and it kind of bothers me that the game has to rely on that to make it difficult. Compare this to the comparatively difficult "Half-Life" by Sierra, which is far superior, with superior graphics, and it manages to be equally hard while still providing a variety in its gameplay and a mix of puzzles.

2. Come on. "Serious Sam"? How can you possibly take that seriously as the A-game that it is instead of some lame B-game spinoff of "Quake" or whatever? They could have done a much better job naming this thing.
3. Multiplayer is difficult to set up and it simply does not lend itself well to anything but deathmatch, even though it is possible to play the whole game multiplayer as in Blizzard's "Diablo II".

So. Three stars. Excellent graphics with beautiful scenery and a variety of weapons and enemies, but repetitive gameplay and sloppy multiplayer.

What's with all the bad reviews?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: April 13, 2002
Author: Amazon User

What does the game have to do with some people's inability to configure or troubleshhot their PC?

This game deserves 5 stars, ESPECIALLY because of the price. Everyone already said everything about the graphics, so no need to repeat it.

I stopped playing shooters because I like single player mode (can't stand playing on the web, where half the people cheat). This game brought it back for me.

If you are a person, who spends 18 hrs a day playing FPS's, you will probably find many things wrong with this game (just like you do with all the others). If you're just looking for Serious fun - it'll be the best 19.99 you ever spent on the game.

serious review

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: August 23, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I love the game the backround and the effects are beautiful and the water effects are cool I like the locations and the easter eggs the game has.

fun, fun, fun...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 5
Date: January 03, 2002
Author: Amazon User

graphics galore!, shoot a tree with the rocket launcher and watch, much, much fun, a must have...

The Best Sequel.........

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: February 09, 2002
Author: Amazon User

After playing the demo of this game, I knew I wanted to buy it as soon as it came out.

When you first start the game, it starts basically like the demo until you get inside of the temple. After you get inside............well I don't want to give anything away, so you'll have to buy it.

Not only does this game have awesome graphics, but the variety of monsters is outstanding. When you look at the box, you might think that it gives away the monsters you have to battle. This is not true. Throughout the game, you encounter many demons and strange looking creatures that you never thought possible.

Another great thing about this game is variety. As you travel through the various levels you will be amazed as the rooms bounce you back and forth, spiked walls, and demons lurking in the dark.

Another hint about the system you need to have. I run a P4 1.7GHZ with 128 RAM and a 32 RAM video card. This is THE minimum that you can have to play this game, dispite what the package says. To get the full effect, you can never run on minimum requirements.

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