Back in 2001 many developers were cranking our FPS games as fast as they could to meet the demand of an eager gaming public. Games such as DOOM, DOOM 2, Half-Life, and Duke Nukem 3D inspired numerous clones and there had come a point of oversaturation for many gamers due to the poor quality and rushed nature of games being released by many smaller developers.
Gathering of Gamers entered into the fray with Serious Sam; while it did not have all the bells and whistles of a major studio release; it did offer action and plenty of it. The game found a following and subsequent games in the serious followed over the years.
Serious Sam 4 gives fans the chaos they expect from the game with some nice tweaks such as more side missions, vehicles, a wide range of epic weapons, and four player co-op. This also goes along with the unending waves of bad guys who come at you non-stop.
The game also offers a solid storyline which helps make the game more than gunning down waves of generic bad guys. Serious Sam 4 does offer plenty of rank and file aliens but also offers some larger ones for players to contend with. One nice feature is being able to use giant assault Mechs from time to time which helped cut down enemies with some superior firepower.
The game has plenty of humor as well as some great moments such as using a farm Combine to grind up swarms of enemies in the Thresher.
Some may want a bit more polish especially in the graphics and online matchmaking but for what it does; Serious Sam 4 does it well and is a fun mix of modern and nostalgia that should keep fans of the series happy.
3.5 stars out of 5
