Big, stupid and totally over the top, Serious Sam 3: BFE is a great way to enjoy the old run and gun style of 3D shoot 'em ups from the pre-Halo years. Overwhelming hordes of monsters to kill, using old school pack peddling, strafing and well timed melee hits. It's back to the 90s, but in glorious HD.
How is Serious Sam 3: BFE different?
For ten years, we have got used to FPS games where using cover is essential. Find cover, kill enemies, find next cover, shoot more enemies. Halo is credited with starting this trend, and today's biggest shooters like Modern Warfare 3 still adhere to it.
In Serious Sam 3: BFE, you basically don't use cover. There is lots of space for much of the game, and you will have to use to dodge attacks and enemies. Sam will often be overrun by huge waves of monsters; instead of hiding behind a rock to pick them off, you'll have to strafe and backpedal while taking out the gruesome bad guys. It's unsubtle, and can be very tough going.
A challenge to get into
Serious Sam 3: BFE starts off a little slow in our opinion. Once you have progressed enough to have an impressive arsenal at your disposal, the over the top explosive fun really impresses. However, starting out is challenging, you'll find ammo lacking and health far to easy to lose!
Multiplayer
On PC, there are excellent multiplayer modes. Survival mode, which lets up to 16 players play cooperatively against ever increasing odds is especially fun. There is also up to four player split-screen mode.
Conclusion
Serious Sam 3: BFE saves the planet in jeans and t-shirt, while carrying as many weapons as you need. It's not about realism, but about fun. The old school action is refreshing, but there are a few areas where it could have been modernized, and the difficulty settings could be more subtle.
