Serious Sam Siberian Mayhem Game Review

Serious Sam Siberian Mayhem Game Review

Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem can be very briefly described in one phrase – “Sam Stone is thrown into the very heart of Siberia, where he lets hundreds and thousands of alien opponents into minced meat.” This is, in general, an exhaustive description of all games in the series, just know the name of the location and change it. The most important thing here is that the twenty-year-old gameplay formula still works and is able to give everyone a few hours of non-stop action.

About the plot and setting

The plot in “Cool Sam” has always been nothing more than an excuse for the mess that is happening on the screen. Laser guns, huge monsters the size of a nine-story building, and a massacre against the backdrop of the Egyptian pyramids – all this was explained by the fact that the hero goes into the past and fights for the future of the Earth there.

The approach to the plot of the developers from Croteam changed with each part: – at first, it was just a light fool as if written as a script for a B-movie; in the second part of the madness became much more; the third, on the contrary, has become much more mundane and serious. In the fourth, the authors returned to what was happening in the original: the plot seems to be serious, but with so many selected games that it is impossible to perceive it without laughter. Siberian Mayhem follows the same path, except that the thrash for a player from Russia and the former Soviet countries will be much higher than for Western fans of the series.

Before us is a spin-off of Sam’s adventures, the events of which unfold between the final chapters of the fourth part. A brave fighter against an alien threat was brought to Siberia, where the traitor of humanity, General Brand, fled. With a faithful Kalash in his hands, cursing like a shoemaker, along with …. Commander of the partisan detachment Igor Ledov (everything is going according to plan!) Sam makes his way through the hordes of monsters to tear off the general’s treacherous head.

The theme of Russia is revealed in the game a little as usual for such a release: it begins with a non-trivial reference to the personality of the leader of the “Civil Defense”, but ends with boring jokes that the roads after the invasion of the Mental hordes have not changed much. Add to this the carpets on the walls, kneading for “Kalinka-Malinka”, as well as constant jokes about vodka and other strong drinks. True, because of such perfect cranberries, you don’t want to be indignant at all: the series has always been caricatured, so all the above elements in Siberian Mayhem look organic and work well for the atmosphere.

How Siberian Mayhem is played

Exactly the same as the fourth part of the series – in front of you is a typical “Sam”. Rush through the levels, pouring lead from all barrels on the enemy, complete simple side tasks, and look for secrets. The locations are traditionally huge, there are a lot of enemies, and in order to effectively fight, you will definitely have to switch between guns (otherwise you simply won’t have enough ammo), actively maneuver and use various useful gadgets, such as time dilation or an assistant drone that mows down opponents faster than Sam himself.

All the gameplay problems have migrated from the fourth part: absolutely useless finishing moves (useless because while you are trying to kill someone like that, you will be torn to pieces a hundred times), the pumping system, huge open locations that you have to ride back and forth on a snowmobile …

Fortunately, the game does not focus on this. There is only one open card; the skills that the game gives out in the story are enough to unlock the most useful perks, and there is simply no point in finishing off someone in the local shooting range – the enemies come in such huge waves that you don’t even think about such a possibility.

Moreover, the game does not hesitate to constantly change the pace. After clearing the processing plant from the hordes of Mental, an incredibly driving episode awaits you, where Sam controls the mech (with a huge chainsaw!) And, to the vigorous remix of “Kalinka-Malinka”, guts opponents left and right. Then a more or less calm ride through the snowy forests and fields of Siberia, which smoothly flows into a collision of one tank with an entire army (but you can try without a tank – they will give you an achievement if you can).

Next, Stone meets the partisans of the Ledov detachment, who present Sam with a completely lethal thing – a ray gun that “warms up” opponents and makes them explode. Needless to say, immediately after this, there is an episode where you, with the help of this same cannon, mow down the population of a small village, laughing evilly in the process.

Is it worth taking?

“Sam” has remained an “old school” shooter – one where you run at enemies, shoot and try to shout them down. This is both a plus and a minus of the project – for some, the game may seem hopelessly outdated, and for someone, having spent seven to eight hours going through the story campaign (it is short in Siberian Mayhem, only five levels), they will get a huge adrenaline rush and charge good vibes for the week ahead.

So if you are a fan of the Serious Sam series, or just want to play an uncompromising and absolutely crazy shooter, then you simply have no options. Fortunately, the game costs only 549 rubles – of the alternatives for such a price, you can only take First and Second Encounter.

Outcome

An insanely driving, funny, and cool action game that ends exactly when you already want to take a break from the constant screams of opponents, pieces of meat and special effects filling up the monitor. Siberian Mayhem does not bring anything new to the genre at all – in fact, the game quite successfully steps on the same rake that the original Serious Sam 4 went on. However, Timelock Studios still managed to make a good game that is just fun to play.

I hope that the cooperation between Croteam and Timelock will not end there, and the studios will work together in the future. Who knows, maybe one day the authors will want to put an end to the history of Sam Stone, and we will finally find out how many cannonballs need to be spent to finish off Mental.

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