Serious Sam HD - Xbox 360
I’m always a little dubious of HD remakes. It’s a growing trend in the gaming industry that very rarely delivers and most of the time, it just smells of a shameless cash in.
However, with the release of Serious Sam HD on the Xbox 360, I’m pleased to say that the game somewhat bucks the trend. It’s refreshing, funny and looks surprisingly good.
Featuring both the first and second encounters, Serious Sam HD is a first person shooter. The game sees you take control of the title character as he battles his way through endless hordes of grotesque and grissly nasties. The plot is a little thin on the ground, but with a game like this I don’t really think it matters.
Essentially, Earth is under attack by some aliens (known simple as Mental) and Sam “Serious” Stone has been sent back in time in an effort to change the course of history and ultimately, defeat them. Still with me?
Doesn’t matter, because Serious Sam is so insanely crazy, you’ll be too busy having fun with the game to actually worry about saving planet Earth.
For me, what makes the game so fun is the variety if enemies you encounter along the way.
There’s skeleton beasts, scorpion shaped men brandishing tommy guns and my personal favourite, headless screaming men that run towards you with a bomb.
"Arrrrrrrrrghhhhhhh!"
The environments vary from level to level – ranging from claustrophobic tombs to open wides spaces such as a desert canyon and forests, so the game rarely feels repetitive. There are plenty of hidden places to explore with lots of loot to be found.
The game will also play tricks on you by hiding monsters around corners that jump out at you when you least expect it.
As I mentioned earlier, the game has been given a HD makeover and looks pretty good. A few of the enemies may look a little dated, but the levels themselves are rather striking.
More exploding mayhem
Control wise, you can tell the game has been ported across from PC. This is not to say the game handles badly, far from it. But the fact that the game features a quick save button (simple press Y), does show how old it is.
Audibly the game stands up pretty well too. Occasionally the music can get a bit repetitive, however at the same time it does do a terrific job of upping the tension. I can’t think of any other game out there that features screams of pain within it’s soundtrack.
Overall, Serious Sam HD is great fun. Granted, it is silly and parts of it do appear to be dated, but the game is as much fun now as it was in 10 years ago.
Serious Sam HD is out now and priced at £29.99.
Verdict: 8 out of 10
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