More guns equals more fun and in the 2D side-scrolling shooter “Serious Sam Double D XXL†there’s more fun than you can shake a shotgun at — unless you already played the original.
“Serious Sam Double D XXL†is a reloaded port of “Serious Sam Double D†for the PC that features a new storyline, brand new co-op mode and new upgradeable weapons.
Oh the weapons, the beautiful glorious weapons. They may not look like much when you first receive them, but when given upgrades, they become an entity of their own. With features such as additional health per shot, damage over time and ricocheting bullets — there’s something for everyone.
There’s no trouble deciding on a favorite to use as the gun stacker feature from the original makes a return. The ability to stack up to six guns or chainsaws together is a sight to behold.
One gun is definitely not enough. Enemies spawn from every different direction imaginable. The variety of baddies range from basic grunt marines, to half naked female kamikazes- who display their round bouncy bombs for all to see.
Some enemies are better experienced than explained. They get rather creative. Without giving much away, expect kittens and pancakes to make an appearance in your path to victory.
On that path it’s suggested to enlist the help of a friend as it does make the game more enjoyable and is strongly recommended if you want the full experience of the game.
Though the game is better in a cooperative setting there is one major flaw that was hard to look past. There is an inability for the second player to choose and customize the guns they want. The gun selection for the second player solely relies on the first player’s setup. This makes the second player feel more like a sidekick other than their own killing machine.
Hopefully the symphony of destruction you lay down will distract you from the story. Most of the cut scenes and dialogue are absolutely awful. The cringe-inducing lines that come out of Sam’s mouth are enough to skip every cut scene, which thankfully is given as an option.
On the other hand the one-liners from his hillbilly buddy Huff provide amusement and are redemption for the poor voice acting. Unfortunately for anyone who is unable to find someone to play with him or her, he won’t show up in the dialogue in single player.
One of the main drawbacks of this game is that if you played the original “Serious Sam Double Dâ€, it feels like you’ve already played this game before. There is little to no difference in the gameplay except that there’s new guns and a co-op mode.
Just like the original things tend to get repetitive with the same enemies that respawn constantly. It doesn’t help that the music is dull and the maps are incredibly bland. On a positive note there are many hidden secrets throughout the game that does help break up the monotony of the mass murder a bit.
“Serious Sam Double D XXL†should appeal to longtime fans of the series and also side-scrolling shooter genre enthusiasts — other than those two groups, this game should be avoided — seriously.
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