One of my favourite comedies of all time is the long running series ‘Allo ‘Allo. This farcical britcom, which ran for many years, follows the crazy tangled-web of intrigue in the town of Nouvion, woven by the interplay of the French Resistance, the incompetent, corrupt but likable German commandant, the equally corrupt and incompetent Gestapo, and Renee Artois, the hapless café owner caught up in the middle of all of this (oh, who, by season two gets ‘shot’ by the commandant and has to spend the remainder of the 9 series masquerading as his own twin brother, and trying to deal with the fact that his wife is now the legal owner of the café). I also have to say that one of my favourite sci-fi series of books is the John Carter of Mars books by Edgar Rice-Burroughs (he of Tarzan fame). So why on earth should any of these find their way into a computer game review? Simply put, any game that includes tongue-in-cheek references to some of my favourite comedies and books has an automatic bonus point. (I’m sure there’s more references I’ve missed, but I did manage to pick up the reference to the 1942 war song – and later title to a Tim Curry comedy – ‘Praise the Lord, and Pass the Ammunition’.)
Serious Sam 4 marks the return, after a 9 year break, to the beloved Serious Sam series. A deliberately B-grade affair (much in the way that Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks is a AAA B-grade sci-fi movie), there is something decidedly old-school about Croteam’s latest offering. And that’s a really, really good thing. In the days of immaculately crafted set-pieces, and lovingly designed missions which, in order to ensure you experience the game the way the developers intended, make it impossible or even punish one for wandering off the beaten track, Serious Sam 4 actively embraces such behaviour. Do you want to follow the objective? Fine. Wander off to the other side of a humongous map just to see what’s there? Equally good. Will I get rewarded for going ‘yes, I know the convey’s under attack, but I really just want to head the opposite direction’? Not often, but most of the time. And, unlike most games, the rewards are often a new, powerful toy to play with.
However, I’ve managed to get quite ahead of myself. For the uninitiated, Serious Sam 4 is a horde-based-occasionally-bullet-hell style first person shooter. The story is tongue-in-cheek, paper thin, and totally bonkers, but works because, at heart, it’s simply a pretext to chuck a bunch of insane and enjoyable weapons in your direction, followed by literally hundreds of enemies (much like the story of the original DOOM games). Foes come at you thick and fast, forcing players to duck, weave and, of course, run backwards (actually, if you haven’t played the Serious Sam inspired game I Hate Running Backward, you probably really should), all whilst dishing out as much damage as possible. And the choices you have to make are considerable. Standard fare, such as pistol (really not recommended except in the beginning), shotgun, machine-gun, rocket-launcher, and minigun all make an expected appearance. These are joined by the more outlandish offerings including laser-gun, portable cannon (firing an enormous cannonball which will happily squish anything in its path) and, my personal favourite, the self-guided-rocket-propelled chainsaw (a highly amusing terror which will tip around the battlefield, darting from enemy to enemy until it explodes).
And you’ll need all these weapons to simply get through the game. While other Serious Sam games start at a fairly sedate pace, and build to climatic showdowns, Serious Sam 4 starts where most Serious Sam games finish. In fact, I think the least number of foes I encountered and dispatched within one level was in the high 300s (and this on normal difficulty). These always include a challenging mix of melee and ranged, including giant green four-armed lizard men who shoot homing green fireballs at you, which can only be avoided by repeated dodging, or shooting it out of the air (not too bad by themselves, but, throw in several fast melee opponents, a few ranged one, and a heavy hitter at the same time, and it can be game over faster than you’d like). Old favourites are joined by new, well thought-out enemies of both ground and air (no, I’m not going to spoil them). And, of course, one of the most iconic foes returns: the Kamikaze Bomber. This headless terror has a top speed slightly higher than yours, turns up in mobs of dozens if not hundreds, and, despite the lack of head and vocal cords, emits a continuous ‘AAAAAAAAA’ as it runs towards you. (That sound is both your fist warning that they are coming, and also lets you know which direction and how close they are. You’ll often find yourself keeping an ear out – in fact, here’s an out of game challenge: if you can finish a session and not have the Kamikaze’s scream ringing in your ears, I’ll be impressed.)
In fact, it’s not uncommon for the foe count of a single level to be well over the 1,000 mark. Actually, Croteam are quite proud of their new engine, which allows them to throw tens-of-thousands of enemies on the screen at once (and yes, they do use that ability). Oh, and there’s the obligatory 20 storey-high bosses. Of course, if this is all too much, there’s also a new skill system (which, amongst other things, includes references to Die Hard and lets you dual wield your weapons – including two miniguns), and a selection of insane gadgets. These range from an insulting holo-projector (annoys your foes into attacking it instead of you), to a miniature nuke and, my favourite, a portable black hole which sucks up all foes in the vicinity. These devices can pretty much clear an entire screen of foes and, while they feel a bit like ‘legal’ cheats, they’re still jolly good fun. Oh, vehicles – ranging from motorcycles to tractors to combine-harvesters and, my favourite, stompy battle-mechs – also make a welcome return.
Level wise, the maps are large, open, and very easy to navigate, making a pleasing difference from the often cramped and confusing levels of Serious Sam 3. Graphically, Croteam has definitely raised the bar on their previous offerings, mixing in some fantastic looking environments and special effects (the tracer from the minigun adds to the on-screen chaos in a very pleasing way), with some decidedly out-dated animation, particularly noticeable in the cutscenes. However, in the heat of battle this really doesn’t matter and, when in full flight, the onscreen chaos is a delight to behold.
No discussion of Serious Sam 4 would be complete without a nod to the music. Unlike most games, where a ‘peaceful’ soundtrack is swapped out for a ‘combat’ track whenever an enemy appears, Serious Sam 4 goes several steps further. The combat music actually consists of multiple layers, starting off sedate, and adding in more and more frantic layers, melodic lines, and richer textural harmonies as the action on screen becomes more intense, and winding back as the action diminishes. In practice, this works extremely well, with the music actually managing to merge seamlessly into the gameplay rather, as is often the case, simply feeling like a disjointed intrusion into the gameworld and acting as an ‘oh there’s an enemy nearby’ cue. Whenever I’ve come across computer-generated music at conferences, I have to confess I’ve often seen it as an interesting, if rather pointless exercise. However, the direction that Croteam have taken both works brilliantly, and in context is actually pleasing. (As the saying goes, there are two ways to dislike something. The first is to dislike it. The second is to like it for intellectual reasons.)
In summary, Serious Sam 4 manages to blend new with old, whilst managing to retain the ‘old-school’ feel that many older gamers know and love. While it definitely will (and has, looking at some of the reviews) polarize people, if you like other Serious Sam games, if you’re fine with tongue-in-cheek humour, a deliberately B-Grade story, fun-but-nonsensical breakdowns in logic (why don’t you also get sucked up by the black hole?) and action, action, action, there’s a lot to like here. Fast, furious, insane, personally I found it a breath of fresh air and highly, highly enjoyable. ■