A lot of people who can apparently see the difference between three day old bread versus three and a half day old bread really dislike Serious Sam: The Next Encounter for the PS2 and GameCube. Something about it not being as enjoyable as the original Serious Sam, and then something else about series developer CroTeam not being involved, but I don't know. It all looks and plays the same way to me, and that's why Serious Sam II is nothing special. For all its graphical delights, extensive weapon and enemy list, and inclusion of some vehicles, there's nothing that's so drastically different about this game that it sets it apart from its predecessors. Also, the fact that it's $39.99 sucks like an octopus.

After spending $39.99 (plus NJ sales tax) on this game I still don't understand why it costs so much. It's certainly not for the narrative, which is the same old forgettable stuff that plagues this series. It's definitely not for those snazzy Xbox visuals which aren't exactly up to par with the more attractive looking PC version. And it's definitely not for the gameplay, which, although there's even more enemies on screen at the same time and therefore more action, is basically nothing special. Nope, nothing about the actual product warrants burning through two Andrew Jacksons and a couple of George Washingtons. It's more like 2K Games had a licensing fee to pay. That's probably it.

What this all basically means is there's nothing so drastically different about Serious Sam II that it should have escaped its $19.99 bargain price. I appreciate having more enemies to blast, vehicles (like a giant roller ball that can be used to crush bad guys) to ride around on, and an extensive arsenal that includes exploding parrots, a multiple barreled shotgun, and a giant canon, but the tried and true Serious Sam gameplay is tired in 2005. It's still all about listening to this guy make amusing comments and then running through a level eliminating a certain amount of enemies. There's no strategy to the gameplay, nor is there weapon balancing. Why is the shotgun a long range weapon? And why do monsters die so easily? Yeah, there are 40 levels in this game and there needed to be, otherwise we'd all finish it in a single sitting.

Despite its been there/done that design, Serious Sam II isn't a bad game. I'm not exactly thrilled that the frame rate drops once and a while and that there isn't an extensive list of online options (though four player co-op is pretty cool), but the product is still enjoyable. The levels are quite large and feature plenty of attractive scenery, and running through hordes of creatures and leaving lots of gibs in my wake makes me smile. I never once found myself disliking this game at all. I just merely recognized that I've done this before and that I wasn't having as much fun as I used to.

Serious Sam II a great game for when you don't want to think, and if all you want to do is sit in your comfy chair and kill things then by all means, this game will satisfy that desire. But I paid $20 for the first Serious Sam, $20 for Next Encounter, and $40 for this official sequel, and aside from 2K Games wanting to make a profit (an understandable desire), there's nothing else that justifies the cost. There's not enough here to warrant the price hike. If you really need your fill of Sam, playing the original for 20-30 minutes will most definitely get it out of your system.