| Serious Sam: The Second Encounter | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Croteam[a] |
| Publisher(s) | Gathering of Developers[b] |
| Designer(s) |
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| Programmer(s) |
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| Artist(s) |
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| Composer(s) | Damjan Mravunac |
| Series | Serious Sam |
| Engine | Serious Engine |
| Platform(s) |
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| Release | 5 February 2002
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| Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Serious Sam: The Second Encounter is a 2002 first-person shooter game developed by Croteam and published by Gathering of Developers. It is the successor to Serious Sam: The First Encounter and the second game in the Serious Sam series. Taking place immediately after The First Encounter, it follows the soldier Sam "Serious" Stone, whose spaceship crashes back to Earth on his way from ancient Egypt to Sirius, requiring him to seek the Holy Grail to continue his journey. As Sam, the player traverses linear levels, either enclosed or set on open plains, and battles increasingly large waves of enemies with an expanding arsenal. The gameplay builds on that of The First Encounter while adding additional weapons, more enemy types, and platforming elements, and additionally contains the Seriously Warped Deathmatch mod by A Few Screws Loose.
Development began immediately after Croteam had completed the first game. Working in an improved version of Serious Engine with an expanded team, the studio set out to create three environments that moved away from the ancient Egyptian setting of the original. A lower number of levels was compensated by making individual levels larger and more interactive, while three weapons were added to the original arsenal for their gameplay impact. Initially intended as a mission pack, The Second Encounter was ultimately turned into a standalone product, regarded as the second episode after The First Encounter. After a delay from November 2001, Gathering of Developers released the game in February 2002.
The game received positive reviews, with praise for its improvements over The First Encounter but criticism for its lack of innovation. The level variety and presentation were well received, as were the music and inclusion of power-ups. The bosses raised mixed opinions. Like its predecessor, the game was highlighted for its price–performance ratio. It was GameSpot's "Game of the Month" for February 2002 and "Best Budget Game on PC" of the year.
The Second Encounter and its predecessor have been combined into one in several packages, including an Xbox port released by Gotham Games in November 2002. Instead of a third episode, The Second Encounter was followed up by a sequel, Serious Sam 2, in October 2005. With the publisher Devolver Digital, Croteam developed a remake, Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter, that was first released in April 2010 and later brought to Xbox 360, Stadia, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. A virtual reality port of that remake, Serious Sam VR: The Second Encounter, was released in April 2017.
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