Second Serious Sam goes gold

Take-Two Interactive has announced that Serious Sam: The Second Encounter, the latest first-person shooter from Croteam, has gone gold and will arrive in stores in early February. The game is the follow-up to Serious Sam: The First Encounter, the fast-paced action game that recently won GameSpot's 2001 PC Game of the Year award.

The new game features a number of improvements on its predecessor, including three new weapons (the flamethrower, the 8X zoom sniper rifle, and the chainsaw), seven new enemies, and 12 new single-player levels. Players again assume the role of Sam "Serious" Stone, a hero on a mission to save the universe from the evil plots of the villain Mental. In addition to an extensive single-player campaign, the game features cooperative play through the single-player levels and several other multiplayer modes for up to 16 players.

Serious Sam: The Second Encounter was created by Croteam, the Croatian game studio that created the previous game, and it will be available in stores on February 5 for an approximate retail price of $19.99. For more information, take a look at our previous coverage of the game.