Serious Sam: Double D (2011)

Serious Sam Double D (XXL) is a fun little game and parody to give you a break from all the remasters and remakes of the original games. It’s a short side scrolling indie game, taking place after the events of the First Encounter and Second encounter. It is one of the many “bonus games” like Serious Sam: The Random Encounter and Serious Sam Classics: Revolution.

Story wise, the game has not much to offer. It is the same story as the other games, fight the hordes of Mental and save the universe. Classic stuff.

In terms of graphics, the original version did not offer anything special. The XXL version of the game polished the graphics and effects somewhat but for a game this simple, it is not that big of a deal.

The sounds and music are quite nice. They use battle music from the original games, as well as some new tracks. It gives the game its Serious Sam atmosphere.

I like the gun stacking mechanic, it makes the game fun and easier when progressing. The search for all the weapons keeps the game going. The secrets in the game are fun and have that distinct Croteam feeling.

A few things I do not like about Serious Sam Double D (XXL) is the player stat screen. For the unlocking of the golden guns, you need to deal a certain amount of damage with each weapon. To check your progress, you go to the player stats in the menu. But when there, it scrolls every piece of information without you being able to pause it or scroll back.

Also, the menus are a little bit slow and confusing sometimes. Lastly, the textboxes in the beginning of a level are way to slow. You can set the game speed to Sonic the Hedgehog standards, but the textboxes are still slow as a snail.

The Challenges in the game are tough and need a few tries but are fun. The only downside is that the game does not offer anything for completing them, other then an achievement ultimately.

So, in short, fun diversion with plenty of content for what it is. I enjoyed it.