Serious Sam: Next Encounter

PSX Nation

While the single player game is basic and ultimately boring, the game more than makes up for that with its online play.

PSM Magazine

This is unapologetically brainless fun at its most brainless and fun. Give it a shot. [June 2004, p.30]

GamePro

Delivers all the requirements of an exciting FPS, and the 20-buck asking price is a sweet incentive. Second Encounter is a shooter with simple requirements: A minimum of brains and maximum of reflexes.

3DAvenue

Those wanting a deep, story oriented game should definitely look elsewhere but if you want a game which you can pick up once every few weeks and have nothing to worry about other then destroying hordes of enemies, then Serious Sam: Next Encounter is definitely it.

Game Informer

Hidden levels, new features, and cheats all await the dedicated gamer. However, it will take a seriously patient player to not only finish the game, but to go back and earn the gold medals. [May 2004, p.94]

GameCritics

The game has the energy and vibe of a Roger Corman film, and like Corman's movies, Serious Sam: Next Encounter not only feels like it was created in just a few days on a very low budget, but it's also obvious from the puckish spirit of the final product that the people who made the game had one hell of a time doing so.

PGNx Media

The Croteam-developed games developed a sense on tension because it was a bit tougher. Here, you are given much ammo to destroy the enemies so it becomes even more of a shoot-a-thon.

GameZone

The overall concept is repetitive (walk in area, door shuts, tons of monsters come at you until all of them are dead), but the furious action keeps the game interesting.

GMR Magazine

The graphics and sound are far from revolutionary, the weapons basic, and the story a total throwaway, but when the gameplay is as fast and frenetic as this, no one will care. [June 2004, p.86]

AceGamez

Offers no new concepts, no realism and is highly repetitive, yet what it does it does so well. It provides the perfect environment for a quick blast about, either on your own against endless hordes of colourful monsters, or with friends.

Edge Magazine

Next Encounter is one of the grandest and busiest console battlefields yet created. This is a spiritual update to Space Invaders, a one-trick pony that kicks harder than most FPS thoroughbreds, making the "Medal of Honour" series seem like a vain diva by comparison. [June 2004, p.109]

Official U.S. Playstation Magazine

Sam has some of the craziest yet most ingenious enemies in a shooter - I dare you to come up with a better enemy than the headless screaming kamikaze bomber. [June 2004, p.96]

Frictionless Insight

The online multiplayer component may not be deeply compelling, but the lighthearted monster design, lack of pretense and serious carnage make this game easily worth the $20 price tag.

GameSpot

If you can forgive the game's dated-looking graphics, its rather basic gameplay model, and its comparative level of ease--which is, admittedly, a lot to forgive--you can have a good time with Serious Sam: Next Encounter.

IGN

If you miss the old days of "DOOM" or just want a cheap thrill, then Next Encounter will help pass the time even if it may make your brain feel like it's shrinking.

Electronic Gaming Monthly

Ten years ago this balls-out approach might've been considered fresh, but today it feels like an empty stereotype of the genre's past. Some might dig its old-school vibe, but I'll take a pass. [June 2004, p.93]

Eurogamer

No one should really expect it to be cutting edge entertainment, although it does succeed in providing a new spin on long abandoned gaming principles. Despite its overtly simplistic nature, it's still a blisteringly entertaining romp in small doses, providing you take it in the right spirit.

Play.tm

It is cheap and cheerful but it ultimately fails to do itself justice on the PS2.

Worth Playing

It looks and feels somewhat like a game in the series, but in the end is miles away from touching the real Serious Sam games.

Armchair Empire

Serious Sam fans might be intrigued by this game, but other first person shooter fans should check out games likes "Time Splitters 2" or "Red Faction." SSNE is just another first person shooter that can’t be taken all that seriously.

Play Magazine

A lack of variety hurts in the end, and while the visual style is enjoyably simple and nicely handled within its constraints, you start to want more meat on the bones. [May 2004, p.56]

Game Chronicles

If you’re sitting at home in your ripped jeans, watching "Army of Darkness" on VHS and have a crumpled Jackson in your pocket, this game is not only calling you, it’s running at you, screaming with a hissing bomb in its hands.

GameBiz

A repetitive and dull First-Person Shooter.

games(TM)

By trying to compete in the 'ultimate first-person shooter' squabble, many a title finds its grasp underplayed by its reach. The beauty of Serious Sam is its totally nonchalent attitude towards the genre and the way it plays what could be seen as its weakest card as its strength. [June 2004, p.109]

Cheat Code Central

The action is fast and furious although the PS2 version has been made a little easier with readily available health and ammo. Even the monsters are a little bit more subdued.

Game Revolution

If you want a console version of Serious Sam, go look into the Xbox version or just find a cheap copy of the PC original. Next Encounter is a serious waste of time.

Thunderbolt

The game is a real mess, with shoddy graphics, a badly constructed and executed plot, repetitive and flawed gameplay, bland multiplayer elements and a serious lack of atmosphere.