The ultimate pwnage...
This review will be short, because i have written quite a big review about the original game, and there is no point to repeat all that has been said; so here i will just mention what's new, why this game had me rocked and why you need to play it! This having in mind you played The First Encounter..
We will start things off with the distinctive feature that The Second Encounter brings over The First Encounter - well finally, this expansion brings the long awaited weapons those bring the balance to the gameplay - the sniper rifle and the flamethrower. Without the flame thrower it was really hard in The First Encounter to handle large packs of monsters at close ranges, while without the sniper rifle you did not have a weapon that could take out a very strong monster from a great distance. Of course you had the chaingun - a universal solution to both situations, powerfull enough for every task - but that is just it, and it's ammo was getting depleted fast.. Now i can clearly say that the total package has been completed and sealed with a third new weapon - the serious bomb, which blows up the WHOLE MAP, noone survives.. Yep! Some 200 or 300 meters radius turns out in total annihilation. I found this weapon very usefully in situations where i simply could not handle all the different types of monsters coming at you from all directions. It is quite easy to take out a swarm of the same type monsters, but when they come each different, and you need different tactics for everyone, then the last resort is the serious bomb.. I also recommend it when fighting bosses - it won't kill them, but will allow you to concentrate all your fire and not be distracted by any critters. The gameplay does not change, apart the fact that now it is much more balanced, it just includes some new content and story. The first game set Sam's footmarks in Egypt, while this time the game features 3 different chapters - Central America, Mesopotamia and Central Europe. And of course all the 3 chapters contain sublevels and different architecture is present in every one. There remains the same great amount of challenge and fun - secret areas and primary quests. No side BS just like in the original game.
The visuals look just as good as in the first game, and there are some moments where your jaw drops on the floor from the stunning detail level you see, for example, a glass stained Babylonian floor - you have to see to believe that. However not all levels deliver that much beauty - you clearly notice, that in the medieval setting the visuals look decreased and not as detailed as in previous levels - clearly the developers were in a hurry to finish the game up.
Soundtrack: just as great as in the original, ever changing according to situations, well paced and quite memorable..
Sounds: nothing to add from the original review. Perhaps Serious Sam talks more smack now: - "These guys have seriously lost their heads"...
Final words: you really should read my review about The First Encounter first. Both games are not perfect and i explained why in the original review. Never the less, The Second Encounter is even better than The First Encounter, despite the fact that the final level battles were not as appealing as the ones in The First Encounter. The developers could have striven abit more. Seriously this game is the ultimate incarnation of "don't stop running, kill everything that moves and as fast as you can, take no prisoners" formula"..