Serious Sam is hard. We all know that. But one thing it’s never been considered is complex. You have a gun, you run around, and you shoot waves upon waves of slobbering monstrosities. However, if you call Serious Sam simplistic, Croteam may have something to say to you, like what studio founder Roman Ribaric said to us when we asked why the game’s simplicity was so profound.
“Yes, simplicity is our thing. There are lots of players to enjoy that kind of gameplay. Seems that almost everyone played the original Serious Sam. And with Left for Dead 2, there is a huge base of players that like wandering around and shooting like crazy at the same time,” states Roman.
“[However] people seem not to realize how complex Serious Sam gameplay actually is. Most of the time you can hear them saying you just run and shoot or it’s a brainless shooter. However, I would like to see them play on some higher difficulty than Tourist or Easy. Not to mention on Serious difficulty. I bet they would survive only for a few seconds there in some mid-sized fights with just 3-4 enemies on scene. If of course they use cheats, which they mostly do and then comment on easy, boring or not challenging and complex enough.
“Serious Sam is a game that requires precise movements, choosing the right weapon at the right time, knowing how many rockets or bullets can kill each specific enemy or wound him or interrupt his attack, so you can switch to other weapons and dispose of another bunch of enemies charging from behind and get back to the original enemy. Enemies do appear dumb, but in large numbers they are deadly if you are not careful or don’t think quickly. Our game sometimes generates hundreds of enemies charging, shooting or flying from above. To further add to that situation, you are running at ten meters per second. So, it gets very hard to stay alive. However, once you master the situation, you then think that was pretty easy. You just needed the right combination of clicks, maneuvers, shots and weapons.”
So there you have it. Serious Sam is pretty bloody strategic if you think about it. Let it never be said that the game is just a dumb shooter ever again. It shall be you who appears dumb for saying such a thing.
