“Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter” is a sharpened-up remake of a game that, in 2001, shied away from the trend toward more realistic shooters to offer an experience more like the first-person shooters of the 1990s, featuring endless waves of dumb monsters and tons of weapons to mow them down with.
The game is violent and bizarre, with hordes of headless enemies, strange monsters and cybernetic beasts. The weapons range from standard fare such as pistols and shotguns on up to rocket launchers, lasers and more.
There’s a four-player cooperative multiplayer mode, and the visual upgrade means the game looks pretty good, but the super-smooth frame rate may leave some players with a bit of eye strain. But the game was dated by design when it first came out, and graphics aside, this version does nothing to change that.
What: “Serious Sam Hd: The First Encounter”
Rating: 2 1/2 stars
For: Xbox 360 (Xbox Live Arcade download)
Cost: $15 (1,200 Microsoft Points)
Age rating: Mature
— By Justin Hoeger, McClatchy Newspapers