E3 2011: Serious Sam 3: BFE hands-on preview – old-school mayhem with 16-player co-op

When we walked out of our Serious Sam 3 demo, we thought about Duke Nukem Forever. Duke, whose decade-long legacy of not being released was recently ended by finally going on sale, is an old series. Its newest edition is like a 1999 design doc brought to life on semi-modern tech. Serious Sam feels much the same way, but without the crass, juvenile jokes to bog down its otherwise entertaining madness. SS3 cuts to the core of Serious Sam: Big-ass guns, bigger-ass enemies, and mindless messiness. It’s looking bloody brilliant.

Serious Sam 3’s 16-player co-op is, even in concept, complete chaos. This is absolutely excessive, but it’s in a way that you can’t help but shrug and laugh at. All right, 16 dudes with rocket launchers. Why not? Developer Croteam’s goal isn’t to scatter secrets, design memorable levels, or craft a story that’s anything above forgettable. The enemy encounters and the water cooler stories that come from them are the obvious points of interest on the design side.

We fooled around with Sam 3 for 15 minutes or so. In the process, we smashed bits of the world with Sam’s sledgehammer, shot the shit out of dozens of headless kamikaze goons (whose chain reaction limbsplosions are hilarious), and ripped many an eyeball from the faces of fugly gnaars. Enemies swarm from every direction, like they do, and the fun of fleeing while shooting a chaingun or a shotgun or an RPG is as frantic and fast as it ever was.

It’s odd that this ancient formula still works - only because it’s Serious Sam, to be honest. If anything else tried this, it’d be lambasted for being a senseless, creatively bankrupt FPS. But a history of absurdity is Serious Sam 3’s primary support. The embracing of old design ideas is exactly what’s going to set it apart from the too-serious modern military shooters diluting the market. Others may be flashier or more epic, but this is just freaking fun.

Jun 15, 2011

Latest in Action
Tomb Raider
5 years after Avengers, 2 years after its last layoffs, and who knows how long before Perfect Dark and Tomb Raider return, Crystal Dynamics announces another round of layoffs
Naoe looks over at a dense, lush, green forest in Assassin's Creed Shadows from a viewpoint
Getting Assassin's Creed Shadows on PS5 and Xbox Series X was all about adding "dynamism" to the open world, but the devs seem most proud about the trees
Naoe and Yasuke walk in the sunset in a screenshot from Assassin's Creed Shadows
Following Assassin's Creed Shadows controversy, Baldur's Gate 3 publishing director says "every big AAA game could be better," but players shouldn't be mad "just because some dude told you to"
Assassin's Creed Shadows Wanted Status
How to remove Wanted status in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Naoe kills a target with a black and white filter over the camera highlighting the red of blood spray in Assassin's Creed Shadows, with an On The Radar orange frame
Assassin's Creed Shadows "has a little bit of Tarantino flavor", but its real secret ingredient is intrigue: "It's almost like you're watching an episode of Shogun"
God of War
20 years later, God of War's original monster art has been revealed: behold this army of stick figures slapped on a whiteboard, no clue Kratos is coming for them
Latest in Features
Naoe kills a target with a black and white filter over the camera highlighting the red of blood spray in Assassin's Creed Shadows, with an On The Radar orange frame
Assassin's Creed Shadows "has a little bit of Tarantino flavor", but its real secret ingredient is intrigue: "It's almost like you're watching an episode of Shogun"
Helldivers 2 Borderline Justice Warbond helldiver using hoverpack to shoot down with hunting rifle
Talking points from the Game Developers Conference 2025 and how they could impact the future of gaming
Flexispot E7 Plus with plant, monitor, soundbar, and controller on top next to white wall lighting.
Gaming desks vs regular desks: which surface should you buy?
Google Pixel 9a smartphones on a beige background
One Google Pixel 9a feature could make it a better gaming phone than most budget mainstream models
Yasuke and Naoe ready to fight on the Assassin's Creed Shadows On The Radar thumbnail
On The Radar: Assassin's Creed Shadows coverage hub
Captain Planet #1
Captain Planet is back after 33 years with a "sexy" makeover and a message that's as important as ever: "Reality has gotten a lot less subtle"