Once upon a time, first-person shooters knew nothing of iron sights, realistic reload animations, and enemies smarter than a rabid dachshund. “Taking cover” meant running back around a corner; “DLC” meant “Shareware;” and rockets could be launched in near-endless barrages at a single press of the fire button. It was a simpler, more beautiful time. It was also the early 90s, and thus a very silly time.
Even though most can agree that the FPS genre has improved by leagues in the years since the era of Doom and Rise of the Triad, sometimes one develops the itch to return to those bygone days of running and gunning against hordes of bizarrely designed monsters. Fortunately, developer Croateam has been around since 2001 to provide us all the chaingun-toting, cyclops-exploding fun you can want with the Serious Sam series. It appears that we will get another dose of Croateam’s signature twitch-shooter this summer in Serious Sam 3: BFE.
Despite its tagline (“No Cover. All Man.”), Serious Sam 3’s new E3 teaser trailer reveals some surprising elements in common with modern shooters. Note the use of sighting down the barrel of an assault rifle for better accuracy (up to this point, Serious Sam has been all hip-shooting, all the time). Also, it’s hard not to notice the similarity between the “crumbling cities of 22nd Century Egypt” and environments common to Modern Warfare-style game in the last few years.
But fear not: In an interview with IGN, Croateam designer Roman Ribaric admits that Serious Sam 3 contains plenty of new elements like iron sights, an expanded story, and, “. . . some special moments in which you are not just walking on your own two feet . . .” (thus suggesting an expansion of Serious Sam: The Second Encounter’s raucous vehicle sections). However, Ribaric emphasizes that the series’ focus on manic action, huge arenas, and spawning waves of enemies will definitely be maintained. Croateam has spent a good deal of time shaping Serious Sam 3 (since 2007, in fact), and the developer doesn’t want to alienate its core fans by mucking with the formula too much. Ribaric insists that the new gameplay elements are natural extensions of previous ones featured in the first two games.
All this said, the teaser suggests that most of the classically insane Serious Sam elements are here and in force. Headless suicide bombers sprinting toward you in packs? Check. Titanic monsters suddenly crashing through the nearest building? Check. Near-infinite chaingun bullets pounding near-infinite charging aliens? Check. Tongue-in-cheek approach to plot and character design? Well, it’s a little early to say on that one. However, if Croateam is devoted to sticking to its core values, then that can receive a tentative check as well.
Serious Sam 3: BFE is set to release late this summer on PC. Versions for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 will be available at a later, unspecified date.
Are you stoked for Serious Sam 3: BFE? Nervous about the possible changes Croateam has made to the Serious Sam experience? Tell us all about it in the comments!
Source: IGN
