Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter

It has aged a bit too much for my taste, but it remains the most consistent [i]Serious Sam[/i]—and technically the only game in the franchise that actually met the quality standards of its time (which isn't saying much). The core gameplay is still solid, but certain elements—like the excessive traps and "gotcha" moments the developers crammed in—make the experience far more annoying than surprising. The level design also leaves a lot to be desired; it’s full of purposeless, empty spaces dotted with scarce resources that you quickly realize are a bad idea to pick up. Ironically, the game loves trapping you in tight areas with no room to maneuver against enemies that leap huge distances or explode, essentially making avoiding damage far more inconsistent than it should be. There are waaaay too many encounters where getting hit is simply unavoidable unless you already know about them beforehand. The game practically begs you to save-scum. The presentation isn't anything special, either. I think the only impressive thing about the whole package is the sheer number of enemies they managed to render on screen at once. That’s the defining feature of [i]Serious Sam[/i], and in hindsight, perhaps the only truly interesting thing about it. You know what? The game is actually pretty trash, but it's worth a first playthrough—if only to satisfy your curiosity. I recommend not exploring at all. Just follow the natural flow and avoid any detours. If you see isolated resources—especially useless ones, like a single armor or health pickup in the middle of a room—don't even go near them. Sam’s one-liners have aged exactly as well as you’d expect, so I also recommend muting him in the menu. And it might be a good idea to play your own soundtrack in the background, seeing as the game's dynamic music system is pretty outdated. Anyway, there’s not much to lose by dipping your toes in. The game is cheap, runs well on modern systems, and is a solid experience. Were you expecting anything else? I don't think so. [b]AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA[/b]