Later levels slowly begin to play into those strengths, but it comes too late and too slowly to prevent the game from getting tedious beforehand. The strengths of this game lie in large, open areas crawling with hundreds of enemies that force the player into an action-packed dance to avoid screaming kamikaze bombers, charging skeletal beasts, and huge laser-hurling monsters. Each level is scattered with hidden items to pick up, but most secret passageways lead to nothing, and one promising hidden area just led directly out of the map's bounds. The visuals look about a decade old and the initial levels feel uninspired, with a lack of polish that borders on unfinished. It appears that making an engine that can handle so many enemies at once meant that graphics and animation had to be tuned down, but that really shows in the slower-paced, close-quarters areas that make up a large portion of the game. After those stunning first minutes, the next several hours of the game bring the player into relatively small levels with just a smattering of enemies that bring all of the game's faults to the forefront. The shock and awe of the opening sequence's incredible scale lead only to disappointment. Then, the player's minigun joyride is cut short by the big bad, and Serious Sam's story begins a few days prior to the events of the opening sequence. Serious Sam always had huge numbers of enemies, but the opening sequence suggests that this game will expand on that feature to epic proportions. The first fight players face is a massive battle with literally thousands of enemies. Serious Sam 4 is extremely impressive for the first few minutes. RELATED: Doom Eternal Coming to Game Pass Very Soon The game is still decently fun and has a few saving graces, but it may have missed the mark too wide to warrant a $40 price tag. Serious Sam 4 seems like it tried to stay true to those roots, but in the process failed to do anything that wasn't done better in previous games. It parodied tough-guy main characters like Duke Nukem with deadpan comedy, but it also had its own identity, with players facing off against massive, sky-blotting foes and teeming swarms of enemies that are still impressive today. Serious Sam: The First Encounter came out in 2001 and was an instant hit. Serious Sam 4 comes from a respectable pedigree, even if Serious Sam 3 had a lukewarm reception, but unfortunately the newest entry from developer Croteam falls disappointingly short of its potential. With the likes of DOOM once more acting as a benchmark for shooter excellence, there was understandable hype in a small but still-loyal community when Serious Sam 4 was announced in May of 2020. Shop Amazon: As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.In recent years, classic '90s shooters like DOOM and Wolfenstein have been resurrected to critical and popular acclaim. Related: SERIOUS SAM 4 Unleashed on PlayStation 5 & Xbox Series X|S Serious Sam 4, you still have some bullets rattling around in my heart – here’s your 6.5/10.įor more information, visit: It’s like sitting down in front of your PS5 and eating an entire carton of Ben and Jerry’s and I loving it. This is not a great game but a fantastic guilty pleasure. A sound of panic and joy that rang from my childhood to my adult good once again. The sounds that let you know what’s coming before it gets to you. This is one of those game series you had to be around for the original to truly get the value and, if you are, it’s going to bring back sounds that still ring in your head of headless bomb guys running at you and screaming the whole time. That’s exactly what they are selling and they know it. So what’s the verdict on this prequel for classic series this reviewer remembers fondly? It’s exactly the same as its predecessors – if you are someone that played this marvel of a game series when it first came out, this is going to be exactly the nostalgic roller coaster ride you remember.
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