Serious Sam: The First Encounter
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Serious Sam: The First Encounter is a 2001 first-person shooter game developed by Croteam and published by Gathering of Developers. It is the first in the Serious Sam series. The game follows the soldier Sam "Serious" Stone, who is sent back in time to ancient Egypt in 1378 BCE to uncover information about the technologically advanced civilisation of the Sirians that could help humanity survive the attacks of extraterrestrial forces in the 22nd century. As Sam, the player traverses linear levels, either enclosed or set on open plains, and battles increasingly large waves of enemies with an expanding arsenal. During gameplay, the player can pick up new weapons and replenishment for ammunition and health, as well as review strategic information. In multiplayer, the game has two deathmatch modes and cooperative play for the single-player campaign.
Development began in 1996, after Croteam had moved away from creating games for the since-defunct Amiga family of home computers. Unable to afford a commercial game engine, the studio developed S-Cape3D alongside In the Flesh, a story-driven first-person shooter inspired by Half-Life. This concept was abandoned as Croteam's chief executive officer, Roman Ribarić, considered it not accomplishable due to the team's size. In 1999, he and the programmer Alen Ladavac devised the name "Serious SamTemplate:-" and a new narrative. Having little funding and no success in finding a publisher, Croteam turned to licensing out the engine (since renamed Serious Engine) and released a vertical slice as a demo in May 2000. The latter saw the game attain much popularity, especially after Erik Wolpaw interviewed Ribarić for the website Old Man Murray, and Croteam eventually signed a publishing agreement with On Deck Interactive, the budget-price games division of Gathering of Developers. After the division was shut down, Serious Sam was moved over to Gathering of Developers and released on 21 March 2001.
The game received positive reviews, with critics praising its engine, gameplay, presentation, sound, and humour. Mixed opinions were raised regarding the game's multiplayer modes and repetitiveness, while its puzzle elements were criticised as too trivial. Due to its budget price, several reviewers cited the game's price–performance ratio as particularly positive, leading to scorn when the game was released in the United Kingdom with a price double that in the United States. The game won multiple year-end accolades, including game of the year from GameSpot.
The First Encounter was followed up by Serious Sam: The Second Encounter in February 2002. Both games have been combined into one in several packages, including an Xbox port released by Gotham Games in November 2002. With the publisher Devolver Digital, Croteam developed a remake, Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter, that was first released in November 2009 and later brought to Xbox 360, Stadia, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. A virtual reality version of that remake, Serious Sam VR: The First Encounter, was released in March 2017.
GameplayEdit
Serious Sam: The First Encounter is a first-person shooter with an optional third-person perspective.<ref name="Eurogamer: Review" /><ref name="Games Domain: Review" /> As Sam "Serious" Stone, the player traverses fifteen mostly linear levels.<ref name="Eurogamer: Review" /><ref name="DailyRadar: Review" /> Two of them are hidden levels.<ref name="Kotaku: Deepest Secret" /> Some maps are set on open plains while others are enclosed.<ref name="DailyRadar: Review" /><ref name="News Tribune: Review" /> Several props, including torches that act as light sources, are destructible.<ref name="EP: Preview" /><ref name="EP: Review" /> Large numbers of enemies of varying sizes attack Sam simultaneously with increasing difficulty.<ref name="Eurogamer: Review" /><ref name="News Tribune: Review" /><ref name="PC Zone: Review" /> There are nineteen enemy variants.<ref name="GameZone: Review" /><ref name="PC Gamer: Review" /> Several approach Sam in a straight line and others fire projectiles, incentivising circle strafing.<ref name="DailyRadar: Review" /><ref name="PC Zone: Review" /><ref name="GameSpot: Review" /> The Beheaded Kamikaze approaches Sam quickly and blows himself up once close enough.<ref name="DailyRadar: Review" /> Foes may appear, in waves or individually, as the player passes triggers within each level.<ref name="Eurogamer: Review" /><ref name="PC Zone: Review" /> Others are hidden behind large structures like walls and hills.<ref name="NYT: Review" /> All enemies emit sounds that aid the player determine their type and direction of attack.<ref name="Eurogamer: Review" /><ref name="NYT: Review" /> Some spaces are arenas that need to be cleared of enemies before the player can proceed.<ref name="Eurogamer: Review" /><ref name="PC Zone: Review" /> Certain rooms need to be unlocked by pressing buttons, pulling levers, or collecting and using keys.<ref name="Eurogamer: Review" /><ref name="News Tribune: Review" /> Some levels feature bosses, many have hidden items and areas.<ref name="News Tribune: Review" /><ref name="PC Zone: Review" />
The game contains ten weapons.<ref name="GameZone: Review" /><ref name="PC Gamer: Review" /> By default, Sam is equipped with a combat knife and a revolver with unlimited ammunition.<ref name="Eurogamer: Review" /><ref name="PCPP: Review" /> A second revolver enables dual wielding, and other weapons include a shotgun with a double-barrelled variant, Thompson submachine gun, minigun, laser gun, rocket launcher, grenade launcher, and handheld cannon.<ref name="Eurogamer: Review" /><ref name="Games Domain: Review" /> Apart from the revolvers and shotguns, none of the weapons need to be reloaded.<ref name="HG101: Retrospective" /> The player may replenish ammunition and health, as well as acquire new weapons, via collectibles, though some act as triggers that spawn enemies.<ref name="DailyRadar: Review" /><ref name="GameSpot: Review" /><ref name="AP: Review" /> Eliminating foes increases the player's score, which is tracked by a scoreboard.<ref name="GameSpot: Review" /><ref name="Voodoo Extreme: Review" /> The game includes quick saves and the ability to record gameplay demos.<ref name="PC Zone: Review" /><ref name="Voodoo Extreme: Review" /> A specialised interface provides information about encountered enemies, weapons, and locations, as well as statistics and strategic clues.<ref name="Voodoo Extreme: Review" /><ref name="IGN: Review" /><ref name="LATimes: Review" /> The player can choose from five difficulty settings, which affect the enemies' damage and count, as well as Sam's movement speed and fire rate.<ref name="EP: Preview" /><ref name="Voodoo Extreme: Interview" />
The First Encounter supports multiplayer via the internet and local area networks, as well as split screen for up to four players.<ref name="GameSpot: Review" /><ref name="Edmonton Journal: Review" /> Deathmatch modes can be played on five dedicated maps, with the "Scorematch" mode valuing player performances by obtained score and the "Fragmatch" mode considering only the number of kills.<ref name="PC Zone: Review" /><ref name="GameSpy: Review p3" /> All single-player levels can be played in a cooperative mode that scales up the number of enemies respective to the number of players.<ref name="PC Zone: Review" /><ref name="GameZone: Review" />
PlotEdit
Serious Sam: The First Encounter begins with recounting how humans in the early 21st century found buried artefacts of the Sirians, an ancient but technologically advanced alien civilisation, which enabled them to explore the universe at large. However, in 2104, they were attacked by alien forces commanded by Mental. Humanity was pushed back from Alpha Centauri to the Solar System and eventually Earth, where it faced its eradication. As their last hope, world leaders agreed to send the undefeated soldier Sam "Serious" Stone (voiced by John Dick) back in time using the Time-Lock, a Sirian device able to transport only one person.
Sam arrives in 1378 BCE, at the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut in Deir el-Bahari. His Neurotronically Implanted Combat Situation Analyzer (NETRICSA) seeks him to uncover knowledge about the life of the Sirians in ancient Egypt in the two centres of power: Memphis and Thebes. However, Thebes has been magically locked down since a riot instigated by Memphis rulers, wherein these rulers had stolen the sign of Amun-Ra, an item of great value but unclear purpose. NETRICSA guides Sam to retrieve four magical elements that would enable his entry into Thebes. He finds the first to have been removed from the temple of Thutmose I and instead obtains it at the entry of the tomb of Ramesses III, as well as the second at its exit. Sam continues through the Valley of the Kings, acquiring the third element in the Chambers of Horus and the fourth in a shrine at a nearby oasis.
Sam heads into Memphis and recovers the sign of Amun-Ra at the Temple of Ptah. In possession of the sign and four elements, he proceeds towards Thebes. The walk takes multiple days and he is forced to abandon most of his ammunition due to its weight. At the Avenue of Sphinxes, Sam enters Thebes through Karnak using the four elements and sets out to determine the purpose of the sign of Amun-Ra. In Luxor, NETRICSA uncovers that the sign had frequently been used in a Theban ritual to invite their deities, which no longer occurred after it had been stolen. NETRICSA leads Sam to the ritual place, where its rising obelisk activates and reveals itself to be a transmitter steering a spaceship to the Great Pyramid. Sam hurries there but is chased by Ugh-Zan III, the last warlock giant. Unable to defeat him, Sam quickly enters the pyramid and uses the sign of Amun-Ra to reach its top. He faces Ugh-Zan III again and kills him by activating the spaceship's tractor beam, which only allows entry to particular species. Finally, Sam boards the spaceship and takes off.
Development and releaseEdit
S-Cape3D and In the FleshEdit
Serious Sam: The First Encounter was developed by Croteam, a Croatian development studio based in the Utrina neighbourhood of Zagreb.<ref name="PC Chip: Zagreb" /> Before its development, Croteam had principally worked on games for the Amiga family of home computers, creating Football Glory (1994), Save the Earth (1995), and 5-A-Side Soccer (1996).<ref name="Escapist: Serious Cro" /> By the release of 5-A-Side Soccer, the Amiga had been discontinued, so Croteam shifted its focus to PC game development in 1995.<ref name="Escapist: Serious Cro" /><ref name="Croteam: 1997 About" /> The development of Serious Sam began in 1996.<ref name="GameSpot: Q&A 1" /> Initially, members of Croteam were still at various universities, studying either computer science, informatics, or economics.<ref name="GameSpy: Interview p1" /> Unable to afford to license a commercial game engine, Croteam created its own using Microsoft Visual C++ and OpenGL, with the programmer Alen Ladavac leading the development.<ref name="PC Chip: Zagreb" /><ref name="YouTube: War Stories" /> They had been working on a clone of the engine for Wolfenstein 3D—which simulates 3D environments with 2D graphics through ray casting—and planned to use it to convert a Croatian role-playing game from the Amiga to PC.<ref name="GameSpy: Interview p1" /><ref name="YouTube: War Stories" /> With the rising popularity of Doom, the team soon chose to pursue a first-person shooter instead.<ref name="PCMag: Global" /><ref name="GameSlice: Croatia p2" />
During the engine's development, they incorporated vertical camera movement akin to Duke Nukem 3D and later fully modelled 3D environments like in Quake. They paired these changes with hardware-based rendering due to the rise of 3D-accelerated graphics processing units (GPUs). The engine was optimised for low-end hardware with a proprietary physics implementation while aiming for large outdoor areas and for many enemies to be visible at a time. They implemented large quantities of projectiles using a "caching ahead system" that would calculate all possible collisions for a moving projectile a few seconds in advance. Collisions were approximated using spheres, which were easier to calculate and allowed for additional gameplay elements like multi-directional gravity.<ref name="YouTube: War Stories" /> Having a proprietary engine allowed Croteam to incorporate unique features, especially large numbers of simultaneously displayed enemies, which Croteam's chief executive officer, Roman Ribarić, said had been missing from other games of the time due to limiting technology, leading to less action-oriented games.<ref name="PCMag: Global" /><ref name="IGN: Interview 1" /> Dean Sekulić worked on the engine's optimisation and GPU compatibility, often being in contact with the technicians at GPU manufacturers like Matrox, Nvidia, and 3dfx to sort out issues.<ref name="PC Chip: Zagreb" />
Croteam announced Flesh, a multiplayer first-person shooter, in September 1996, planning to release it in February 1997.<ref name="Croteam: Flesh" /> The name was later changed to In the Flesh, with the engine called S-Cape3D.<ref name="Croteam: 1997 Development" /> Ribarić and Davor Hunski designed all enemies, with the Beheaded Kamikaze and Sirian Werebull, which remained in the finished game, among the first elements to be created in 1996.<ref name="IGN: Interview 1" /><ref name="OMM: Interview 1 p2" /> Dinko Pavičić joined Croteam during the development and created all characters' textures. Ribarić also worked on the game's sound design, initially having the Beheaded Kamikaze shout "banzai" while approaching the player, though this was later changed to a generic scream in case Croteam would be working with Japanese partners.<ref name="OMM: Interview 1 p2" /> That scream is voiced by Ribarić, who recreated it from a stock sound effect.<ref name="Forkcast: Mravunac" />
Serious Sam rework and demoEdit
For In the Flesh, the team initially devised a dark, story-driven game, later inspired by Half-Life. However, Ribarić believed the team was too small to accomplish such a complicated game and chose to scrap the story.<ref name="YouTube: Curious Path" /><ref name="YouTube: BTS 2017" /> In 1999, he and Ladavac instead came up with the name "Serious SamTemplate:-".<ref name="GameSpy: Interview p2" /><ref name="GameSlice: Croatia p4" /> Ladavac, a fan of science fiction, wrote a new narrative around it, drawing inspiration from writers like Isaac Asimov, Roger Zelazny, J. R. R. Tolkien, Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, and Robert Asprin.<ref name="PC Chip: Zagreb" /><ref name="GameSlice: Croatia p4" /> Despite objections from other team members, including Hunski (who was undergoing his compulsory military service in the Armed Forces of Croatia at the time) and Sekulić, Ribarić held on to the name and it became a better fit as the game progressed away from its former story and into brighter, colourful environments.<ref name="YouTube: Curious Path" /><ref name="YouTube: BTS 2017" /> S-Cape3D was consequently renamed Serious Engine, its level editor became Serious Editor, and the 3D modelling software was named Serious Modeler.<ref name="OMM: Interview 1 p2" /><ref name="PCPP: Xbox" /> Serious Editor was designed as a WYSIWYG tool so the team, mostly comprising programmers, could create levels as efficiently as possible.<ref name="GameSlice: Croatia p3" /> Davor Tomičić designed roughly sixty levels with various environments for experimentation.<ref name="Croteam: 15th anniversary" /> He found that vast, flat planes topped with large structures like pyramids worked well as levels, although they pushed the limits of the engine.<ref name="YouTube: BTS 2020" /> Other themes included the Lava Planet, Water Planet, and Ice Planet.<ref name="OMM: Interview 1 p2" /> In 1999, Damjan Mravunac joined Croteam as a composer before also replacing Ribarić as the sound designer.<ref name="YouTube: BTS 2020" /> He ended up remaking most of Ribarić's sounds.<ref name="Creative: Interview p1" /> His primary influences were Doom and Quake for the sounds, and he took musical inspiration from the games Agony and Lost Patrol, as well as film scores from composers like John Williams, Hans Zimmer, and Ennio Morricone.<ref name="Creative: Interview p2" /> Both were recorded using a Sound Blaster Live! sound card, which Mravunac chose after facing driver issues with other cards.<ref name="Creative: Interview p1" /><ref name="Creative: Interview p2" /> Croteam then designed the Dynamic Music Control System that would change between three versions of a song during gameplay: The "peace" music outside of battles, "combat" upon encountering enemies, and "war" when the player faces many foes.<ref name="Creative: Interview p1" /><ref name="YouTube: Serious Music" />
Because the developers' parents were Croteam's sole source of funding, the team eventually began searching for a publisher.<ref name="YouTube: Against All Odds" /> In 2000, Croteam burned the game with forty unpolished levels onto compact discs and mailed them, alongside a detailed design document, to 20–30 publishers. Only two replied, both declining.<ref name="YouTube: War Stories" /><ref name="Croteam: 15th anniversary" /> The studio thus turned to licensing out its engine and releasing free demos of Serious Sam to garner publicity.<ref name="GameSpot: Q&A 1" /> Serious Engine cost between Template:US$ and Template:US$ to license, significantly cheaper than the Quake III engine available at the time.<ref name="Escapist: Serious Cro" /> Among fourteen licensees were a follow-up to Battlecruiser 3000AD codenamed Project ABC by Derek Smart,<ref name="PC Gamer: Preview" /><ref name="GameSpot: 3000AD" /> Alpha Black Zero: Intrepid Protocol by Khaeon, Nitro Family by Delphieye Entertainment,<ref name="Escapist: Serious Cro" /> and Carnivores: Cityscape by Sunstorm Interactive.<ref name="IGN: Carnivores" /> For the demo, Croteam created a vertical slice: The team took one level, "Karnak", and thoroughly polished it to make it feel complete.<ref name="YouTube: War Stories" /> Entitled "Test 1", the demo was released on 30 May 2000 via Croteam's website and several mirror sites.<ref name="PC Chip: Zagreb" /><ref name="GameSpot: Q&A 2" /> At this time, Croteam comprised nine developers: Six people were working full time and two students worked in their spare time, while one person had been conscripted. Some developers had left the studio before this point as they did not have wages.<ref name="OMM: Interview 1 p2" /> One year of military service was compulsory in Croatia at the time, and all developers were conscripted at some point.<ref name="OMM: Interview 1 p2" /><ref name="YouTube: Against All Odds" /> Some full-time staffers worked on the game seven days per week.<ref name="GameSpot: Q&A 2" /> Lacking spare time, they did not get to work other jobs, go on dates, or play other games.<ref name="PC Chip: Zagreb" /><ref name="Game-Guru: Interview p2" /> At the office, they only played Serious Sam.<ref name="Game-Guru: Interview p1" /> The team ultimately grew to ten people.<ref name="Creative: Interview p1" /><ref name="GameSlice: Croatia p1" />
According to Erik Wolpaw of the website Old Man Murray, the demo's release received no coverage from the video game press, even after he was the first to break the story with a short news piece, which led him to conduct and publish an interview with Ribarić.<ref name="OMM: Interview 1 p1" /> Additionally, the site featured a humorous review model that rated games by the time it takes from starting the game to finding a destructible crate. Unlike most games the site reviewed, the Serious Sam demo features no crates, earning it a rare positive review. According to Hunski, the team had forgotten to include crates and had not left them out deliberately. The coverage from Old Man Murray increased the game's popularity and the demo was downloaded about 1 million times over the summer.<ref name="YouTube: War Stories" /><ref name="Ars Technica: War Stories" /> CNET Gamecenter later named Test 1 the best download of that timespan.<ref name="CNET Gamecenter: Top 10" /> As some players reported that the game was too difficult on its easiest setting, Croteam toned it down and added the even easier "Tourist" mode.<ref name="Voodoo Extreme: Interview" /> The coverage and positive reception to the demo enabled Croteam to resume publishing negotiations.<ref name="Escapist: Serious Cro" /><ref name="GameSpot: Q&A 1" /> The studio was approached by some major publishers, including Gathering of Developers (a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive), which had taken note of the demo.<ref name="GameSpy: Interview p1" /><ref name="YouTube: Against All Odds" /> In July 2000, Croteam agreed to a publishing deal with On Deck Interactive, a division of Gathering of Developers run by Robert Westmoreland that released budget-priced games.<ref name="GameSpot: GOD" /> The publisher initially expected the game to be released in February 2001.<ref name="GameSpot: Q&A 2" /> The success also led Croteam to lay aside all plans of handling Serious Sam solely as a marketing demonstration for Serious Engine.<ref name="Wireplay: Interview" /> In retrospect, Ribarić said that, without the interview that led to the publishing deal, Croteam would not have survived.<ref name="RPS: OMM" />
Late development and releaseEdit
In June 2000, Croteam opened a competition for fans to submit and vote on possible catchphrases for Sam, with the top ten to be included in the game.<ref name="GameSpot: Quotes" /> Several thousand submissions were made by July, and some people sent in recordings of their lines.<ref name="GameSpot: Q&A 1" /><ref name="YouTube: BTS 2020" /> Among the latter was John Dick, who at the time was doing voice work and performing as a disc jockey for a radio station in South Texas. Inspired by Jon St. John's work as Duke Nukem on Duke Nukem 3D, Dick wanted to get into voice acting, and he had learned of Serious Sam just after Wolpaw's interview.<ref name="IGN: Interview 2" /> He sent Croteam a fan letter, expressing his interest to voice the game's lead character, and later handed in a voice sample. His performance stood out to Croteam, and Mravunac said he experienced goose bumps. They signed Dick onto the project, making up most of his voice lines as the development progressed, and Mravunac pitch-shifted his voice down slightly to better suit the character.<ref name="YouTube: BTS 2020" /><ref name="YouTube: John Dick" /> Dick eventually had the Serious Sam bomb logo tattooed on his shoulder. He said that "I'm a part of Sam so I decided to make Sam a part of me." Since he used tattoos to signify periods of change in his life, Serious Sam represented the beginning of his career in video games.<ref name="IGN: Interview 2" />
In later stages of development, Croteam reduced the number of levels from forty to fifteen.<ref name="OMM: Interview 2" /> One sewer level was added, counter to Croteam's original intentions, to appease George Broussard, who had criticised the game for its lack of "dark, closed, impossible-to-see-anything, sewerish levels".<ref name="OMM: Interview 2" /> They included Wolpaw as an Easter egg in the level "Hatshepsut", and Ribarić designed the secret level "Sacred Yards" to feature crates in reference to Old Man MurrayTemplate:'s scoring system.<ref name="Escapist: Serious Cro" /><ref name="OMM: Interview 2" /> The latter level also contains further secrets, including one that allows the player to pass the level without facing any enemies. This secret was not fully uncovered until 2015, when the player SolaisYosei was hired by Croteam and discussed the level with Ribarić.<ref name="Kotaku: Deepest Secret" /> When a reworked, "better-looking" model for Sam replaced a placeholder quickly created by Tomislav Pongrac, the community reacted negatively to the new design. In response, the team reverted to the prototype and improved its geometry instead.<ref name="YouTube: Curious Path" /> The final boss, Ugh-Zan III, was modelled by lead artist Admir Elezović within three days to replace one he said was "designed totally wrong".<ref name="Game Developer: Future" /> In addition to Serious Modeler, the artists used Photoshop, Terragen, and LightWave 3D.<ref name="NewTek: Interview" />
Croteam released a second demo, "Test 2", on 15 December 2000 to trial the new multiplayer component.<ref name="IGN: Interview 1" /><ref name="Shacknews: Test 2" /> The game was reported to be 80% complete in January 2001.<ref name="PC Gamer: Preview" /> On 5 March 2001, On Deck Interactive was shut down as Westmoreland had left the company to pursue other interests. All games that were to be released under that label, including Serious Sam, were moved over to Gathering of Developers.<ref name="GameSpot: ODI folds" /> On the following day, Gathering of Developers announced that the game had gone gold.<ref name="GameSpot: Gold" /> It was released on 21 March 2001 and distributed in the United States by the Take-Two subsidiary Jack of All Games.<ref name="GOD: Shipped" /><ref name="GameSpot: Shipped" /> By this time, Serious Sam had obtained the subtitle "The First EncounterTemplate:-".<ref name="News Tribune: Review" /><ref name="GameSpy: Review p3" /> To aid modding efforts, it includes Serious Editor and Serious Modeler, and Croteam released a software development kit shortly after the release.<ref name="GameSpot: Review" /><ref name="PCPP: SDK" />
ReceptionEdit
Serious Sam: The First Encounter received "generally favorable reviews", according to the review aggregator website Metacritic, which calculated a weighted average rating of 87/100 based on thirty-one critic reviews.<ref name="Metacritic" /> Several critics described the game as a return to older first-person shooters like Doom and Duke Nukem 3D as the genre had since matured to be more story-focused, as it is in Half-Life.<ref name="GameSpot: Review" /><ref name="Gannett: Review" /> John Bye (Eurogamer), Dave Woods (PC Zone), and Chris Kramer (Daily Radar) likened the game's intensity to that of Doom and opined it excelled that of Kiss: Psycho Circus: The Nightmare Child, which had been released in the year prior with a similar approach to enemy wave design.<ref name="Eurogamer: Review" /><ref name="DailyRadar: Review" /><ref name="PC Zone: Review" /> GameSpyTemplate:'s Allen Eccles believed the game to have more enemies than any other game and lauded the skill it required to defeat them.<ref name="GameSpy: Review p1" /> Chris Gardiner, writing for Games Domain, similarly highlighted the challenge the game posed.<ref name="Games Domain: Review" /> Kevin Giacobbi of GameZone said the difficulty options were well-balanced for various player skill levels.<ref name="GameZone: Review" /> In contrast, Woods felt harder modes were too difficult while the easier modes were not challenging enough.<ref name="PC Zone: Review" />
James Cottee (PC PowerPlay) said the game became tiresome after several hours of play, while Shawn Sparks (GameRevolution) considered it repetitive after an adrenaline rush.<ref name="PCPP: Review" /><ref name="GameRevolution: Review" /> Charles Herold similarly noted in The New York Times that, due to its simple gameplay, the game merely made battles more difficult, not more interesting.<ref name="NYT: Review" /> According to Brett Todd of Computer Games Magazine, making battles increasingly comprise more enemies only highlighted a repetitive formula.<ref name="CGM: Review p2" /> Contrarily, Robert Howarth of Voodoo Extreme believed the game was challenging and enjoyable despite its repetitions, while Bye, Greg Kasavin (GameSpot), and Tal Blevins (IGN) stated any repetitiveness was compensated for by the large arsenal and variety in encounters.<ref name="GameSpot: Review" /><ref name="Voodoo Extreme: Review" /><ref name="IGN: Review" /> Woods and Cottee bemoaned the game was too short.<ref name="PC Zone: Review" /><ref name="PCPP: Review" /> Gardiner criticised the puzzle sequences as too trivial.<ref name="Games Domain: Review" /> Serious Engine was commended for its ability to render large outdoor scenes,<ref name="PC Zone: Review" /><ref name="PCPP: Review" /> which Kasavin and Blevins felt suited the action-oriented gameplay well.<ref name="GameSpot: Review" /><ref name="IGN: Review" /> Cottee and Blevins particularly commended the engine for displaying many enemies without noticeable performance issues.<ref name="PCPP: Review" /><ref name="IGN: Review" /> Still, Gardiner deplored that several features of the engine had been scarcely used in the game.<ref name="Games Domain: Review" />
Bye lauded the game's graphics, describing the environments as "more relaxing but equally impressive" when compared to the gameplay and a "perfect showcase" for the "incredibly detailed" textures. He said the bright colour scheme was a welcome change from the "traditional miserable looking gothic castles and rusty futuristic military bases" found in other first-person shooters of the time. He further highlighted the game's particle effects.<ref name="Eurogamer: Review" /> In a similar fashion, Howarth called the visuals "simply spectacular", and Eccles lauded the graphics for helping immerse the player in the setting.<ref name="Voodoo Extreme: Review" /><ref name="GameSpy: Review p3" /> According to him, "ancient Egypt never looked better".<ref name="GameSpy: Review p4" /> Kevin Rice from Next Generation labelled the graphics "pure eye candy" but lamented the lack of environment variety, as all levels are set in Egypt.<ref name="NGen: Review" /> However, Christopher Allen of AllGame, while admiring the visual effects observed a stark contrast in quality between the scenery and enemies.<ref name="AllGame: Review" /> Bye noted that the amount of detail on these models was surprising given the large number of enemies visible at a time.<ref name="Eurogamer: Review" /> Blevins also faulted the quality of the models but believed they were aptly designed.<ref name="IGN: Review" /> Kramer praised the Beheaded Kamikaze as "perhaps one of the funniest, scariest enemies we've seen in recent memory".<ref name="DailyRadar: Review" />
Jeremy Williams of PC Gamer welcomed the inclusion of a cooperative mode, which he said had been lacking in previous games.<ref name="PC Gamer: Review" /> Kasavin felt the multiplayer modes rivalled that of the most popular contemporary shooters.<ref name="GameSpot: Review" /> Leandro Asnaghi-Nicastro of The Electric Playground commended it for its speed and reliability, even on a slow internet connection.<ref name="EP: Review" /> Woods faulted the multiplayer for having too few deathmatch levels as well as unbalanced weapon strengths, citing the Thompson submachine gun as "way too powerful". He concluded that the multiplayer was "a bonus and a harmless diversion, nothing more".<ref name="PC Zone: Review" /> Conversely, Eccles opined the multiplayer modes sharply increased the game's enjoyability.<ref name="GameSpy: Review p2" /> He further applauded the game's humour, as did Woods, and Bye said it was well-timed and apt for the game, safe for some puns.<ref name="Eurogamer: Review" /><ref name="PC Zone: Review" /><ref name="GameSpy: Review p2" /> Allen, on the other hand, felt none of the one-liners was as clever as those in Duke Nukem 3D.<ref name="AllGame: Review" /> Kasavin and Bye lauded the sound effects, and Kasavin described the controls as responsive.<ref name="Eurogamer: Review" /><ref name="GameSpot: Review" />
Costing Template:US$ in the United States, many outlets recommended The First Encounter for its price–performance ratio.<ref name="PC Zone: Price increase" /> According to Kramer, "Serious Sam is not the best computer game we've ever played, but it is the best Template:US$ computer game we've ever played."<ref name="DailyRadar: Review" /> Rice exclaimed the game was "the best Template:US$ you can spend".<ref name="NGen: Review" /> However, shortly after the game had received positive reviews, its list price in the United Kingdom was increased from Template:GBP to Template:GBP, more than double the American price, which converted to approximately Template:GBP at the time. PC ZoneTemplate:'s deputy editor, Richie Shoemaker, believed this to be a dangerous precedent of price increases for games based on positive reception.<ref name="PC Zone: Price increase" /> Bye considered it extortion.<ref name="Eurogamer: Sequel" /> In the United States, the game attained a "Mature 17+" rating by the Entertainment Software Rating Board, which Steve Alexander of the Star Tribune found questionable when comparing it to other contemporary media like horror films or games such as Conker's Bad Fur Day.<ref name="Star Tribune: Rating" /> The First Encounter sold 83,000 copies in the country by October 2001, according to NPD Intelect.<ref name="CGW: Sales" />
AccoladesEdit
GameSpot named The First Encounter the game of the year for PCs.<ref name="GameSpot: GOTY" /> Additionally, the site nominated it for "Best Graphics, Technical", "Best Single-Player Action Game", and "Best Multiplayer Action Game".<ref name="GameSpot: GOTY Graphics" /><ref name="GameSpot: GOTY Single-Player" /><ref name="GameSpot: GOTY Multiplayer" /> The Electric Playground awarded it the title "Best Independent PC Game", alongside nominations for "Best Graphics in a PC Game", "Best Action Game for PC", and "Best Shooter for PC", at its Blister Awards 2001.<ref name="EP: Blister Awards p2" /><ref name="EP: Blister Awards p3" /> IGNTemplate:'s 2001 Action Vault Awards recognised the game in the "Outstanding Achievement in Technology" and "Surprise of the Year" categories.<ref name="IGN: Action Vault Awards" /> For GameSpy, it was the "Best Value Priced Game" and had the "Best End Boss".<ref name="GameSpy: Best Value Priced Game" /><ref name="GameSpy: Best End Boss" /> At EurogamerTemplate:'s 2002 Gaming Globe Awards, the game was nominated in the "Art Direction" and "Sound" categories.<ref name="Eurogamer: Gaming Globes" /> The First Encounter was used for benchmarks of graphics cards,<ref name="PCPP: GPU benchmark" /><ref name="News-Press: GPU benchmark" /> audio systems,<ref name="PCPP: Sound benchmark" /> and computer mice.<ref name="LATimes: Mouse benchmark" />
LegacyEdit
Ports and sequelsEdit
InterActive Vision's Poland-based Mind Beacon studio, under the direction of Piotr Kulik, developed a version of Serious Sam: The First Encounter for Palm OS devices.<ref name="HG101: Retrospective" /><ref name="InterActive Vision: Palm OS" /> The development was finished by November 2001 and the Take-Two subsidiary Global Star Software released the game in early December.<ref name="GameSpot: Palm OS" /><ref name="PalmInfocenter: Palm OS" /><ref name="Newsday: Palm OS" /> Two demos, one in colour and one in black and white, were released in January 2002.<ref name="InterActive Vision: Palm OS" /> The game is compatible with Palm OS version 3.5 and higher.<ref name="PalmInfocenter: Palm OS Review" />
Immediately following The First EncounterTemplate:'s completion, Croteam began work on a sequel based on an updated version of Serious Engine.<ref name="GameSpot: Sequel" /> The game moved away from the Egyptian theme and was announced as Serious Sam: The Second Encounter in September 2001.<ref name="IGN: Sequel" /><ref name="IGN: Twitch Shooting" /> Initially slated for December 2001, it was released in February 2002.<ref name="GameSpot: Holiday season" /><ref name="GameSpot: Sequel ships" /> An Xbox compilation that bundles The First Encounter and The Second Encounter was in development by January 2002, with Serious Engine already adapted for the platform. At the time, Croteam was negotiating with Take-Two to have the compilation released by the end of the year.<ref name="GameSpot: Xbox" /> In July 2002, Take-Two established the label Gotham Games, with Serious Sam for the Xbox to be among its first products.<ref name="IGN: Xbox" /><ref name="Game Developer: Xbox" /> The compilation features thirty-five levels and improved graphical elements like reworked weapon models.<ref name="GameSpot: Xbox update" /><ref name="GameSpot: Xbox hands-on" /> Additionally, it amends the points system to have the player earn lives as well as higher scores through combos.<ref name="HG101: Retrospective" /> It was released on 12 November 2002.<ref name="GameSpot: Xbox release" /> On Windows, the compilation was released as Serious Sam: Gold Edition in 2003 with an additional episode made by the modder Trisk.<ref name="HG101: Retrospective" /><ref name="Gry-Online: Gold Edition" />
Serious Sam 2, described as a "true sequel" to The First Encounter and The Second Encounter, was announced in September 2002 and released in October 2005.<ref name="Escapist: Serious Cro" /><ref name="IGN: Serious Sequel" /> The vertical slice model Croteam had used for The First EncounterTemplate:'s first demo shaped how it approached early consumer testing for its later games, including Serious Sam 3: BFE and The Talos Principle.<ref name="YouTube: War Stories" />
RemakeEdit
In June 2009, the publisher Majesco Entertainment announced a high-definition remake, Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter, for Windows and the Xbox 360. For this remake, Croteam worked with nascent publisher Devolver Digital, founded by Gathering of Developers co-founders Mike Wilson and Harry Miller. As Devolver Digital had not been licensed as a publisher for the Xbox 360 yet, it published the Windows version and worked with Majesco on the Xbox 360 release.<ref name="Big Download: Devolver" /><ref name="Shacknews: HD" /> Croteam considered creating a PlayStation 3 version due to high demand.<ref name="Eurogamer: HD PS3" /> Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter was released for Windows on 24 November 2009, while the Xbox 360 version was scheduled for December.<ref name="Shacknews: HD release" /> Shortly thereafter, Devolver Digital announced a remake of The Second Encounter.<ref name="VG247: HD sequel release" /> The Xbox 360 port was released on 13 January 2010 via Xbox Live Arcade and became the service's most-played game that month with 35,211 players.<ref name="GameSpot: HD Xbox release" /><ref name="VG247: HD Xbox charts" />
The First Encounter, The Second Encounter, and their remakes were bundled on Steam as Serious Sam HD: Gold Edition from September 2010.<ref name="Engadget: HD Gold Edition" /> They were distributed physically for the Xbox 360 with The Serious Sam Collection, released by Mastertronic Group in July 2013.<ref name="Polygon: The Serious Sam Collection" /> Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter, Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter, and Serious Sam 3: BFE became part of Serious Sam Collection, which was released for the Stadia streaming service on 3 March 2020.<ref name="VG247: Stadia" /><ref name="Eurogamer: Stadia" /> Serious Sam Collection was brought to the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on 17 November 2020.<ref name="Gematsu: Consoles" />
Around 2016, a small team within Croteam began developing a virtual reality version of the remake based on its prior work on Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope.<ref name="Croteam: Wednesday update" /> Called Serious Sam VR: The First Encounter, it incorporates locomotion and teleportation movement, as well as dual wielding for all weapons. It was made available as an early access title for Windows in December 2016, with a Linux version added in February 2017.<ref name="Croteam: VR early access" /><ref name="Croteam: VR update" /> The finished game was released on 30 March 2017.<ref name="Croteam: VR release" /><ref name="Digital Trends: VR release" /> Both versions of the remake are part of the Serious Sam Fusion 2017 game hub.<ref name="HG101: Retrospective" />
Fan projectsEdit
Croteam sanctioned the development of Serious Sam Origins, a mod developed by users of the Russian fansite SeriousSite.ru that completes the levels cut from The First Encounter. Croteam provided the development team with a build of the game from 2000, which they intended to extend into a campaign that culminates in Sam defeating Mental. The project was announced in October 2013.<ref name="Facebook: Origins" /> The fan collective Alligator Pit developed Serious Sam Classics: Revolution, an updated compilation of The First Encounter and The Second Encounter with additional content, under the oversight of Croteam.<ref name="Eurogamer: Revolution EA" /> Both projects were expected to be released between the PlayStation 3 version of Serious Sam 3: BFE in 2014 and Serious Sam 4.<ref name="Gematsu: Serious Sam 3" /> Devolver Digital released Serious Sam Classics: Revolution into Steam Early Access in April 2014 but its development halted after late 2016 when the members of Alligator Pit became preoccupied with other matters.<ref name="Eurogamer: Revolution EA" /><ref name="PC Gamer: Revolution release" /> Croteam eventually took over the development and released the game in August 2019, giving it for free to existing owners of the original games on Steam.<ref name="PC Gamer: Revolution release" />
During The First EncounterTemplate:'s fifteenth anniversary in March 2016, Croteam released the source code of Serious Engine version 1.10 as open-source software.<ref name="Croteam: Engine" /><ref name="Eurogamer: Engine" /> Ryan C. Gordon ported it to Linux and macOS in April 2016.<ref name="Croteam: Engine Linux Mac" /> Based on the open-source engine, Sultim Tsyrendashiev developed a version of The First Encounter with real-time path tracing and a renderer for the Vulkan graphics API.<ref name="Eurogamer: Engine RT" />