Serious Sam: The First Encounter

Serious Sam: The First Encounter is the first game in the first-person shooter Serious Sam series, created by Croteam. It had been in the making since 1996 and had a video showing its early gameplay in 2000. The First Encounter was originally developed by Croteam as a demonstrator for their engine and this is the reason why some countries saw its initial release priced at less than half the price of other games in the genre.

Serious Sam: The First Encounter
Developer(s)
  • Croteam
  • InterActive Vision (Palm OS)
Publisher(s)
SeriesSerious Sam
EngineSerious Engine
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, Palm OS, Xbox
Release
  • Microsoft Windows
  • 21 March 2001[2]
  • Palm OS
  • December 2001[3][4]
  • Xbox
  • 12 November 2002[5]
Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Plot

In ancient times, Earth was involved in a massive conflict between Mental, an evil extraterrestrial being who wants to rule the universe, and the Sirians, a technologically advanced sentient alien race that left many of its artefacts to be discovered by humanity. In the 22nd century, Mental and his army of grotesquely twisted monsters return to Earth intending to destroy humanity. The humans are quickly overwhelmed and driven back to Earth. As a last resort, humanity uses the "Time-Lock". This mysterious Sirian artefact contains the power to transport a single person back to a chosen point in time. Because of his bravery in fighting these monsters, Sam "Serious" Stone is chosen to use the Time-Lock in hopes that he will defeat Mental and change the course of history. As the game opens, Sam appears in Egypt. He travels from one Egyptian monument to the next, fighting against the monsters Mental sent after him along the way. During Sam's journey, Sam is able to find and activate a hidden Sirian communicator in the shape of an obelisk located in Luxor, which summons a Sirian starship to Earth from deep space. Sam rushes to the Great Pyramids of Giza in order to rendezvous with the starship, only to be cornered by Mental's general, Ugh Zan III. After defeating the giant, Sam then teleports himself onto the starship. While Sam is aboard the "SSS Centerprice", he leaves a phone message to Mental telling him that "he has a special delivery package for him" and sets a course to Sirius, the Sirian homeworld.

Reception
Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic(PC) 87/100[6]
Review score
PublicationScore
Next Generation[7]

Kevin Rice reviewed the PC version of the game for Next Generation, rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "Hmmm, should you get Deer Hunter XXII Extreme Plus [...] or Serious Sam for the same price? This is a no-brainer purchase for any FPS gamer."[7]

In the United States, Serious Sam: The First Encounter sold 83,000 copies by October 2001.[8]

The First Encounter was the recipient of various editorial and consumer praise, with an overall review ratio of 87/100 on Metacritic. It also received numerous awards, including multiple Game of the Year awards.

Serious Sam won The Electric Playground's "Best Independent PC Game" prize, and was a nominee in the show's "Best Shooter for PC", "Best Graphics in a PC Game" and "Best Action Game for PC" categories.[9]

  • Game of the Year 2001 — GameSpot
  • Game of the Month April 2001 — PC Gamer UK
  • Best Value Priced Game 2001 — GameSpy
  • Best End Boss 2001 — GameSpy
  • Premier Awards 2001 — Computer Gaming World
  • Action Vault Award 2001 (Outstanding Achievement in Technology) — IGN
  • Action Vault Award 2001 (Surprise of the Year) — IGN
  • Platinum 2001 Award — Gamer's Pulse
  • Editors' Choice Award 2001 — IGN
  • #1 PC Games of 2001 — EB Games
  • PC Action Cream of the Crop Award — GamePen
  • Best First Person Shooter 2001 — Christian Computer Gaming Review

References
  1. "Serious Sam". InterActive Vision Games. Archived from the original on 7 June 2002.
  2. "GodGames Reveals More Details on Serious Sam". Gathering of Developers. 21 March 2001. Archived from the original on 18 April 2001.
  3. Walker, Trey (15 November 2001). "Serious Sam on your Palm". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 5 December 2001.
  4. "News Archive". InterActive Vision Games. Archived from the original on 9 June 2002.
  5. Parker, Sam (25 October 2002). "Serious Sam update". GameSpot.
  6. "Serious Sam: The First Encounter Critic Reviews for PC". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  7. Rice, Kevin (June 2001). "Finals". Next Generation. Vol. 4 no. 6. Imagine Media. p. 88.
  8. Keighley, Geoff (October 2001). "READ.ME; G.O.D.'s Fall from Grace". Computer Gaming World (207): 30–32.
  9. Staff. "Blister Awards 2001". The Electric Playground. Archived from the original on 13 October 2003.
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