Serious Sam: The Second Encounter (2002)
The second game in the Serious Sam franchise
First released
Feb 4, 2002
Aliases
Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter
Franchises
Serious Sam
Developed by
Croteam Ltd., A Few Screws Loose, LC
Published by
Devolver Digital, Majesco Entertainment, CyberFront Corporation, Gathering of Developers
Platforms
Xbox 360 Games Store, PC
Genres
Action, Shooter
Themes
Sci-Fi, Comedy, Mayan
Rating
ESRB: M, PEGI: 18+
Releases
- PC - Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter United States
- PC - Serious Sam: The Second Encounter United Kingdom
- PC - Serious Sam: The Second Encounter United States
- PC - Serious Sam Gold United States
- XBGS - Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter United States
Community reviews
*Warning: spoilers* Glorious sequel to an already perfect game
Serious Sam: The Second Encounter impressed me even more than the first game.
In the Second encounter, you start in Sierra Chiapas, in ancient Mayan territory. Your ship is wrecked and not usable anymore. Luckily, you learn about a back-up ship, located in another world. You need to hop between two portals to reach this ancient world and fight your way through the Mayan lands and towns, Ancient Persia and eventually, ancient Poland. On your journey you are again hindered by even more hordes of Mentals soldiers and three big fat bosses that guard the portals. In the end, you fight the sorcerer Mordekai, who guards the Holy Grail itself. After you whoop his ass, you sarcastically confess your sins in the Grand Cathedral about what you are going to do to Mental when you find him and then fly away in the back-up ship.
In Serious Sam: The Second Encounter, you got some new weapons, new enemies and unique bosses. You can now snipe enemies with the Raptor rifle, burn Gnaars to a crisp with the flamethrower and slice and dice rocketeers with a freaking chainsaw. The game now features big demon enemies that throw homing fireballs at you, a muscular bear of a man with a pumpkin for a head and skinless alien troopers that shoot pulse lasers at you.
Like the First Encounter, I loved all the entries in Netricsa of new weapons, encountered enemies and locations that you visited. You read how certain enemies came to pass, how they joined Mental and how they are best killed.
The graphics and animations are the same as Serious Sam: The First encounter. In the Second Encounter however, new locations and different landscapes have been implemented like volcanos, snowy mountains and temples with mirror like floors. When I compared this to the endless sand, deserts and sandstone walls from the first game, it really looked better in my opinion.
The music tracks in this game are also really improved in comparison with the first game. Although the First Encounter had some pretty solid tracks, in the Second Encounter, the music blew me away. It rocks and the boss battles where ten times more epic thanks to it.
Speaking off bosses, in the First Encounter, the only “original” boss was Ugh Zan IV. The rest were enlarged versions of existing enemies. In Serious Sam: The Second Encounter, you got three unique bosses, each with completely different move sets and tactics. I especially liked the Exotech Larva.
In Serious Sam: The Second Encounter, you got a lot more puzzles, platforming and traps that ends your existence in a second. Combine this with the endless hordes of enemies that charge toward you, and you got a completely different and challenging experience.
The multiplayer is still as good as the first game and features some new, cool maps.
A (maybe) funny little personal side story is that I seriously thought that the Gold Edition of Serious Sam, that I owned as a small kid, where two identical copies of the First Encounter and that this was the only game. My English was terrible back then so I could not understand the concept of a 2 in 1 gold edition yet. When my First Encounter CD was broken, I popped in the second disk and was greeted with an entirely new game. It is that kind of surprise and mind-blowing joy and happiness that I sometimes miss today as a grown as man.
In conclusion, again, I can only praise this game. It is a piece of perfection and left a lot of good memories that last forever.
Definitely recommend this awesome game.
In the Second encounter, you start in Sierra Chiapas, in ancient Mayan territory. Your ship is wrecked and not usable anymore. Luckily, you learn about a back-up ship, located in another world. You need to hop between two portals to reach this ancient world and fight your way through the Mayan lands and towns, Ancient Persia and eventually, ancient Poland. On your journey you are again hindered by even more hordes of Mentals soldiers and three big fat bosses that guard the portals. In the end, you fight the sorcerer Mordekai, who guards the Holy Grail itself. After you whoop his ass, you sarcastically confess your sins in the Grand Cathedral about what you are going to do to Mental when you find him and then fly away in the back-up ship.
In Serious Sam: The Second Encounter, you got some new weapons, new enemies and unique bosses. You can now snipe enemies with the Raptor rifle, burn Gnaars to a crisp with the flamethrower and slice and dice rocketeers with a freaking chainsaw. The game now features big demon enemies that throw homing fireballs at you, a muscular bear of a man with a pumpkin for a head and skinless alien troopers that shoot pulse lasers at you.
Like the First Encounter, I loved all the entries in Netricsa of new weapons, encountered enemies and locations that you visited. You read how certain enemies came to pass, how they joined Mental and how they are best killed.
The graphics and animations are the same as Serious Sam: The First encounter. In the Second Encounter however, new locations and different landscapes have been implemented like volcanos, snowy mountains and temples with mirror like floors. When I compared this to the endless sand, deserts and sandstone walls from the first game, it really looked better in my opinion.
The music tracks in this game are also really improved in comparison with the first game. Although the First Encounter had some pretty solid tracks, in the Second Encounter, the music blew me away. It rocks and the boss battles where ten times more epic thanks to it.
Speaking off bosses, in the First Encounter, the only “original” boss was Ugh Zan IV. The rest were enlarged versions of existing enemies. In Serious Sam: The Second Encounter, you got three unique bosses, each with completely different move sets and tactics. I especially liked the Exotech Larva.
In Serious Sam: The Second Encounter, you got a lot more puzzles, platforming and traps that ends your existence in a second. Combine this with the endless hordes of enemies that charge toward you, and you got a completely different and challenging experience.
The multiplayer is still as good as the first game and features some new, cool maps.
A (maybe) funny little personal side story is that I seriously thought that the Gold Edition of Serious Sam, that I owned as a small kid, where two identical copies of the First Encounter and that this was the only game. My English was terrible back then so I could not understand the concept of a 2 in 1 gold edition yet. When my First Encounter CD was broken, I popped in the second disk and was greeted with an entirely new game. It is that kind of surprise and mind-blowing joy and happiness that I sometimes miss today as a grown as man.
In conclusion, again, I can only praise this game. It is a piece of perfection and left a lot of good memories that last forever.
Definitely recommend this awesome game.
Serious Sam returns in the Second Encounter in a bigger and better adventure
Game: Serious Sam Classic: The Second Encounter
Genre: Shooter (First Person and Third Person)
Developer: Croteam
Publisher: Devolver Digital
System: Steam (PC)
Year of Release: 2002
Length of Playthrough: 6 Hours
Total Score: 81/100
Value Score: 8.1/10
• Story: 6/10
• Characters: 8/10
• GamePlay: 9/10
• Graphics: 8/10
• Sound: 8/10
• Music: 7/10
• Length: 8/10
• Replay Value: 8/10
• Player Value: 9/10
Pros
+Can switch between first person and third person view
+Four player split screen MP is supported on one PC
+Online Co-Op supports up to 16 players via Campaign that can have modifications of health spawns, enemy spawns and item spawns
+Death match and Score match are two competitive modes for online MP
+New weapons and new locations
+New player models for MP
+More emphasis in platforming, traps and gimmick level designs
Cons
-Single player content is bare minimum in the form of a single player campaign
-Game takes place in one setting but was intended to be more settings, but was cut short due to development. You will need to play the "Second Encounter" to enjoy the rest of the "Serious Sam 1" story.
-New Game in MP requires modding
Genre: Shooter (First Person and Third Person)
Developer: Croteam
Publisher: Devolver Digital
System: Steam (PC)
Year of Release: 2002
Length of Playthrough: 6 Hours
Total Score: 81/100
Value Score: 8.1/10
• Story: 6/10
• Characters: 8/10
• GamePlay: 9/10
• Graphics: 8/10
• Sound: 8/10
• Music: 7/10
• Length: 8/10
• Replay Value: 8/10
• Player Value: 9/10
Pros
+Can switch between first person and third person view
+Four player split screen MP is supported on one PC
+Online Co-Op supports up to 16 players via Campaign that can have modifications of health spawns, enemy spawns and item spawns
+Death match and Score match are two competitive modes for online MP
+New weapons and new locations
+New player models for MP
+More emphasis in platforming, traps and gimmick level designs
Cons
-Single player content is bare minimum in the form of a single player campaign
-Game takes place in one setting but was intended to be more settings, but was cut short due to development. You will need to play the "Second Encounter" to enjoy the rest of the "Serious Sam 1" story.
-New Game in MP requires modding