I've played and beaten this game, and after reading this review, I have the following things to assert.
1) The game's diverse set of locales is an improvement over the original. It is the next logical step up after The Second Encounter gave us vast plains, Mayan architecture, and snowy fields.
The vast majority of levels in Serious Sam II have significant differences from one another. The first jungle episode being the weakest example.
2) Croteam is about as funny as a dead family pet being found under the power-lines. Hire a writer. This wierd stuff may fly in Croatia, but the rest of the civilized (I'm guessing Europeans, Australians, Asian countries won't get it any more then this American did) world does not want to watch what could be gently referred to as retarded 70s British comedy.
3) They took out localized gravity and portals. This was pretty much eye-candy in the first game, true, but damn-it-all, the gravity was FUN. The only reason they took it out of this game, I would think, is that they couldn't make it work in the new engine.
4) *spoiler* No Mental, and he did the joke we all just knew he'd do (maybe it was done in SS:SE? Reeeal familiar, anyway).
5) Underpowered weaponry, good way to describe it. I want a double-barreled shotgun that can take out a crowd, not just two at the most. That said, some of the weapons are fun to look at
6) Boss battles are fun, but sometimes uneven. For instance: Second-to-last boss battle involves you running like hell from a marauding robot which has Mental inside. You run up and suddenly find yourself in a helicopter. Now, the controls are logical, but this is the first instance where you have piloted something that can actually move freely in three dimensions. That little moment of startling uncertainty is fun, and unique in the game. It is probably not such a bonus to people lulled into a shoot-reload malaise.
7) The best FPS computer game featuring co-op play out this year. Also the only one.
Re:Blizz should've taken a page from id's book
on
Blizzcon Writeup
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· Score: 1
Sorry, does anyone have statistics on Blizzard's revenue? They got 4 million subscribers, but how much does that really leave them with at the end of the fiscal year? Do Chinese gamers pay the yuan equivalent of $12 a month (forgive me if this amount is off by -2 dollars)?
While it seems certain that they are breaking even, they might not be in a position to suddenly lose the amount of money it would cost to manage a small-to-medium sized convention like Blizzcon.
You could take this as a hopeful sign. Perhaps Blizzard has been reinvesting its profits into new, unannounced projects, or to keep the fantastic rate of new content flowing to World of Warcraft (I use fantastic having played UO, EQ, Gemstone III... pretty static by comparison).
Bottom line: don't assume that a company getting millions a month ain't spending it just as quickly, and don't be a ****ing cheapskate. If nothing else, the door charge tacks on a neat disclaimer to parents who might be flustered to find they've dragged their twelve year-olds to a play where *gasp* alky-holl is served!
Slashdot Mirror
I've played and beaten this game, and after reading this review, I have the following things to assert.
1) The game's diverse set of locales is an improvement over the original. It is the next logical step up after The Second Encounter gave us vast plains, Mayan architecture, and snowy fields.
The vast majority of levels in Serious Sam II have significant differences from one another. The first jungle episode being the weakest example.
2) Croteam is about as funny as a dead family pet being found under the power-lines. Hire a writer. This wierd stuff may fly in Croatia, but the rest of the civilized (I'm guessing Europeans, Australians, Asian countries won't get it any more then this American did) world does not want to watch what could be gently referred to as retarded 70s British comedy.
3) They took out localized gravity and portals. This was pretty much eye-candy in the first game, true, but damn-it-all, the gravity was FUN. The only reason they took it out of this game, I would think, is that they couldn't make it work in the new engine.
4) *spoiler* No Mental, and he did the joke we all just knew he'd do (maybe it was done in SS:SE? Reeeal familiar, anyway).
5) Underpowered weaponry, good way to describe it. I want a double-barreled shotgun that can take out a crowd, not just two at the most. That said, some of the weapons are fun to look at
6) Boss battles are fun, but sometimes uneven. For instance: Second-to-last boss battle involves you running like hell from a marauding robot which has Mental inside. You run up and suddenly find yourself in a helicopter. Now, the controls are logical, but this is the first instance where you have piloted something that can actually move freely in three dimensions. That little moment of startling uncertainty is fun, and unique in the game. It is probably not such a bonus to people lulled into a shoot-reload malaise.
7) The best FPS computer game featuring co-op play out this year. Also the only one.
Sorry, does anyone have statistics on Blizzard's revenue? They got 4 million subscribers, but how much does that really leave them with at the end of the fiscal year? Do Chinese gamers pay the yuan equivalent of $12 a month (forgive me if this amount is off by -2 dollars)? While it seems certain that they are breaking even, they might not be in a position to suddenly lose the amount of money it would cost to manage a small-to-medium sized convention like Blizzcon. You could take this as a hopeful sign. Perhaps Blizzard has been reinvesting its profits into new, unannounced projects, or to keep the fantastic rate of new content flowing to World of Warcraft (I use fantastic having played UO, EQ, Gemstone III... pretty static by comparison). Bottom line: don't assume that a company getting millions a month ain't spending it just as quickly, and don't be a ****ing cheapskate. If nothing else, the door charge tacks on a neat disclaimer to parents who might be flustered to find they've dragged their twelve year-olds to a play where *gasp* alky-holl is served!