Serious Sam Double D XXL – Diet Sam

Game: Serious Sam Double D XXL

Released: 20/02/12

Age rating: 18+

Price: 800 MSP / £6.80

Genre: 2D action platformer

Gameplay: Left stick to move, right stick to aim, left trigger to jump and right trigger to fire. That’s right, it’s a run and gun platformer. Once you get past the problems of occasionally tying your own thumbs in knots, this genre can be a whole lot of fun.

Serious Sam doesn’t stray far from the formula, adding a few of it’s own twists, such as moveable jump pads and most significantly; gun stacking.

This allows you to put a gun on top of another gun on top of another gun…you get the idea. Then they all fire at once; the effect is destructive to say the least. This is rather handy as enemies take no prisoners and even on the easier levels you’ll be dying lots. Fortunately there are plenty of checkpoints littered through the levels that act as quick-save points and allowing you to jump straight back into the action with a minimum of fuss.

Visuals and Sound: Has the looks of an upmarket flash game…which is unsurprising as this was originally released on PC nearly two years ago and it looked like a flash game then. Everything has that jerky, poorly-animated, frames missing feel to it.

The music isn’t terrible but isn’t anything special either. Guns and explosions are pretty meaty, though the dialogue in the mini cut-scenes will probably have you reaching for the mute button on your TV remote.

Like it:

• Stacking guns on top of each other for extreme fire power is pure genius.

• Co-op craziness.

Loathe it:

• Very samey, even in the demo.

• Cringe inducing dialogue.

Worth a purchase?: As 2D run and gun games go, this one is pretty good, but not significantly better than some indie titles, particularly Bleed which is available at half the price.

It’s all the usual trappings of Serious Sam silliness in a 2D package. It just feels so very…diet. There’s no real substance to it and it’s very repetitive. It is fun, but only in short bursts.

Rating: 2/5

Also available on: PC