Serious Sam Next Encounter is a bit of a throwback to the days of Doom, and at times even feels like an old twitch 'n' fire 2D shooter as you run and gun your way through the 40 monstrous (monstrous in more ways than one) levels.

The hero of the title (Sam Stone) probably wouldn't exist without the likes of Doom and Duke Nukem, and he makes (occasionally) amusing wisecracks throughout the game in true Nukem style. The gameplay is pure Doom:-
a) Shoot all the monsters
b) Find exit
Simple. This gameplay ethos is sometimes complicated by an occasional
c) Find massive, shiny key to door &
d) Go through door.

Despite (or perhaps because of) the title, this is not a game that takes itself seriously, and so the wacky weapons, bizarre enemies and the brilliant primary colours come thick and fast - a realistic tactical shooter this ain't…

   

A cult hit on PC, Serious Sam made an unimpressive console debut on Xbox, and was mostly ignored as there were much better and technically more impressive FPS about at the time - this shiny new Gamecube version has been given a complete overhaul, whilst retaining the insane gameplay and cartoony graphics. This game is a real holiday for the brain, but workout time for the reactions, as wave-after wave of baddies (of all shapes and sizes) try to stop you from getting to the exit of the level.

Without going too deeply into the - what we'll laughingly call a - "plot", the enemy consists of mostly unwilling minions of an 'evil being' named Mental (I think that's enough "plot" now). They range from headless kamikaze marines with bombs for hands who run at you screaming, monkeys with knives, living metal dog statues with cannons in their mouths, 30ft fireball-throwing reptiloid demons… you get the picture, anything you could imagine in your weirdest nightmare is in here, and they all want to kill you. You of course, want to kill them, and get to do so with a selection of realistic weapons (pistols, twin uzis, shotgun etc) and some fantastic ones like the Serious cannon and the Sirian power gun. Rack up the kills quickly and you'll go into an arcade-style "super combo killing spree" and the screen will flash and the points total will start multiplying up like a pinball machine - it's certainly a hit on the senses…

   

Gamecube Serious Sam isn't confined to foot travel either, and you get to zoom around on skates, drive a jeep, a combine harvester (no, really) and even a mini sub. Some levels are absolutely massive, and although you wouldn't normally expect a sniper rifle to be much use in a shooter of this kind, it is purely because of the distances that are sometimes involved. The bigger levels make Medal of Honor's, Metroid Prime's or even Halo's look like your front room in comparison, but you're never likely to get lost as the game always gives you blatant visual clues as to where to go next.

   

No Gamecube FPS would be complete without a multiplayer mode and SS's is pretty good, with a full co-op mode that lets you play through the entire story mode with a mate; and deathmatch, hold the flag and pass the bomb modes for 2-4 players on a nice selection of levels (although good luck figuring out the "Towers of Decay" level - it really screws with your head) - again, some of these are huge and give plenty of sneaky sniping opportunities that so many games fail to. SS is without doubt the best multiplayer FPS we've played on the Gamecube (and it obviously gets a lot more tactical than the solo game), and knocks Medal of Honor Rising Sun's into next week. You can use any of 11 weird characters and define the time/frag limit, powerups and weapons sets.

   

With its nice textures, non-stop action, massive levels and silky smooth frame rate, maybe Serious Sam should have been better. But, and it's a seriously big but: the no-brainer run and gun gameplay gets repetitive, and even if the game does keep drawing you back, it'll only be in shortish sessions. Prolonged use of SS might well give you eye, ear and head aches - I can still hear those bloody headless bombers now!

Serious Sam Next Encounter'll give you plenty of thrills and even the occasional scare, but it certainly won't be entering anyone's all-time top ten. If you play a lot of multiplayer games, give it a try; there aren't many more entertaining 4-player games on Gamecube.