Serious Sam: The First Encounter

Lore & Background

The game follows soldier Sam 'Serious' Stone, sent back in time to 1378 BCE in ancient Egypt to uncover information about the Sirians, a technologically advanced alien civilization, to help humanity survive extraterrestrial attacks in the 22nd century. The player traverses fifteen mostly linear levels, either enclosed or on open plains, battling increasingly large waves of enemies with an expanding arsenal of ten weapons. Enemies include the Beheaded Kamikaze, which approaches quickly and self-destructs. The game features two deathmatch modes and cooperative play for the single-player campaign.

Development began in 1996 after Croteam moved away from Amiga game development. Unable to afford a commercial engine, the studio created S-Cape3D alongside a story-driven first-person shooter concept called In the Flesh, inspired by Half-Life. This concept was abandoned as Croteam's CEO Roman Ribarić considered it not achievable due to the team's size. In 1999, Ribarić and programmer Alen Ladavac devised the name 'Serious Sam' and a new narrative. With little funding and no publisher, Croteam licensed out its engine and released a demo in May 2000, which became popular after Erik Wolpaw interviewed Ribarić for Old Man Murray. Croteam signed with On Deck Interactive, but after that division was shut down, the game moved to Gathering of Developers and was released on 21 March 2001.

Reader's Guide

Serious Sam: The First Encounter received positive reviews, with critics praising its engine, gameplay, presentation, sound, and humor. Mixed opinions were raised about its multiplayer modes and repetitiveness, while puzzle elements were criticized as too trivial. Due to its budget price, several reviewers cited the price–performance ratio as particularly positive, leading to scorn when the game was released in the United Kingdom at double the US price. The game won multiple year-end accolades, including game of the year from GameSpot. It was followed by Serious Sam: The Second Encounter in February 2002. Both games were combined in several packages, including an Xbox port by Gotham Games in November 2002. A remake, Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter, was released in November 2009, later ported to multiple platforms, and a virtual reality version followed in March 2017.

Did You Know?

• The game's engine, originally called S-Cape3D, was later renamed Serious Engine.
• The game was originally planned as a story-driven shooter called In the Flesh, inspired by Half-Life.
• The Beheaded Kamikaze enemy approaches Sam quickly and blows itself up once close enough.
• The game won game of the year from GameSpot.