Serious Sam 2 Demo Impressions

[SALvation]

Introduction

Serious Sam fans have waited a long time from the release of Sam SE for the Sam 2 demo, 1,324 days to be exact. The originals brought intense, fun, co-op action to the FPS genre at a time when the sector was moving towards more realistic FPS games. It spawned a large cult following and many online communities formed around it, including this one. We've seen videos, interviewed the developers, held Sam-related contests, and finally, now was the time we would all get our hands on what most of us have been waiting years for.

Boy did we get a rude wake up call.

The Sam 2 demo features part of one of the game's later levels, all of the weapons, a couple of secrets, and multiplayer co-op (well...kind of). From the moment you enter the setup menu, to the time you finish the demo, you come to a slow but painful realization that this is not the Sam you knew from years past. It feels like its missing its heart, and at times you'll look down at your keyboard to make sure you aren't holding an XBox controller, because it seems that's what the game thinks you have.

Graphics

First, the good. The graphics have received a major overhaul with the brand new Serious Engine 2. This engine, which was developed by Croteam themselves, features all of today's latest and greatest graphics features, including HDR lighting. The levels are bright and the game runs along at a good clip. Just like the first 2 PC games, there are tons of advanced graphics options which should make this another great game to benchmark with. When running on a top-end machine, the graphics are fantastic and are the leap we expected from last generations games to this one.

But after this high point, it starts to fall apart...

Starting Out

The setup menus for the Sam 2 demo are among the worst interfaces I have ever seen in PC gaming. That's really saying something. The way it works in the demo leaves many people wondering if there is any PC-specific game code or if this is just a direct XBox port. Mouse clicks are hit or miss in the menu and most options are set by using your up/down arrows to scroll through the option list and left/right to change options. When keybinding, you can't use the mouse at all or you will set that key to the mouse movement. Also, although higher resolutions are left out of this and most demos, Sam 2 fails to give the display option of 1280 x 1024, the standard resolution for most LCDs, even though 1280 x 960 is an available option. Different resolutions work if you edit the config file, so the lack of these options in the menu is puzzling.

It doesn't help either when on the LAN/Internet option menu, the background image is that of TVs hooked up to XBox's. Also, on the name entry screen, there is an on-screen keyboard shown which may or may not be required to enter your name, depending on if you clicked the entry box first. This just adds to the image that Sam 2 is not primarily a PC game, its simply a console game that is ported over to take advantage of another retail market.

The Level

The hallmark of Sam FE/SE was the expansive levels, letting players run in straight lines for minutes to reach the outskirts of levels. And even when those edges were reached, you were blocked by large mountains or steadily decreasing health from the desert sun.

The Sam 2 demo goes in the completely opposite direction, giving the player a rather small confined level, which is littered with invisible walls to hold you in. There aren't even clever ways of holding Sam in the level now. The least that could have been done is create rooms or surrounding skyscrapers that hold you in. Running up against an invisible wall at the level's edges is sloppy design and reminiscent of mid-90's FPS games. The most likely reason for this is once again the XBox, which has much less memory, leaving designers to code for much smaller levels.

The Art

Sam FE started the legacy in ancient Egypt, with battles happening throughout large courtyards and pyramids. It had a great theme from beginning to end and the user felt like a mix of the Terminator and Indiana Jones. Sam SE moved the setting to more Myan and Inca themed levels, but for the most part it kept the feeling the same. It added even larger levels and battles to keep users on their toes for hours on end.
When the first XBox Serious Sam was released, it brought a new art direction for the franchise. Instead of being a semi-realistic character that spoofed Duke Nukem with jeans and a t-shirt as was the case in FE and SE, Sam was now an almost caricatured version of himself. The design was heavy on the cartoonish look and was present in not only Sam, but the UI, and even the box art changed rather drastically. The new cartoon version of Sam is taken to the nth degree now, and the biggest victims this time in the demo is the level and its enemies.

The Sam 2 demo takes place in a futuristic city which feels like it was ripped out of Sonic the Hedgehog or a bad Unreal game. The weapons no longer have any base in reality and most don't even resemble what they are supposed to look like. There was no mistake before if you were holding a shotgun or a rocket launcher, but now there are many times when I'm left scratching my head as to what weapon I'm holding. Thanks to the dumbed down UI, you either have to memorize what each weapon looks like or shoot it first to find out.

The Speed

Speed was a big factor in the first two PC games. The normal speed was close to Q3 Arena, and in deathmatch, when you switched to your default weapon the knife, you moved in even faster, letting you easily catch up to others or fly from one end of the level to the other. Sam must have suffered some horrible leg injury between Sam SE and Sam 2 because it feels like he is barely moving faster than a brisk walk. If you have hundreds of enemies chasing you, you would think you could muster up at least a jog.

Another difference is the way the enemies are thrown at you. The originals threw hundreds and hundreds of enemies at you usually in a constant stream leaving you little time to rest. Now, Sam still faces dozens of enemies at the same time, but they come at you in waves. Once you clear one wave, you can relax until you move into the next area and trigger the next wave. It just feels wrong and is one of the biggest reasons why Sam doesn't feel like itself.

The Bugs

What would a demo release be without a few bugs? The only problem though is that there is one slightly annoying problem...the multiplayer browser is completely broken. Users have found that the only way to connect to a multiplayer game is to specify the server's IP. Just searching for a game through GameSpy's in-game browser leaves you with a "Session could not be found" error. For a game whose biggest selling point is the co-op gameplay, you would think that Croteam would have properly tested the game browser before releasing this.

There are many other smaller bugs, but this is a demo and can be expected. Missing weapon animations in third-person mode, weak sounds, clipping, bad AI, and other small hindrances can be found throughout the demo, but hopefully will be fixed for the retail release.

Conclusion

Since this is only a demo, and not the full retail game, there won't be a score handed out, just our general impressions. With this demo, its obvious that Croteam and 2K Games have decided that the real money is in the console market, and Sam has definitely been consolized. The smaller level, heavy cartoonish art direction, and embarrassing setup menus all point to the XBox being the main target audience for this version.

Sam FE and SE fans will find bits and pieces of the Sam they loved in this demo, but those moments are just too few and far between to really satisfy the current longtime die hard. If you still decide to download this demo and you are a current fan, forget absolutely everything you know about the first games. If not, you'll keep finding yourself disappointed instead of enjoying some of the new improvements like a much stronger graphics engine and vehicles.

Many fans are holding out hope by saying that this is just a demo and not representative of the final game. I find that's a complete contradiction to itself. The reason companies put out demos is that they are demonstrations of the full game. They pick what they feel will get the users the most excited, and shows off what the game is capable of. If this is what 2K Games and Croteam thinks the average Sam player is hoping for, they are horribly mistaken.

When its all said and done, the Sam 2 demo leaves a bad taste in your mouth and a disappointing feeling in your stomach. After years of waiting for a new Sam, current fans will most likely be disappointed, while new console FPS players may be excited to see the new direction the series has taken for them.

Sam 2 is due to be released on 10/10/2005 for $29.99 (PC) and $39.99 (XBox).