For over a decade, Serious Sam has been the badass, gun toting, laugh inducing pin-up icon of the first person shooter genre. Settled quite happily in this field, the series has received rather generous reviews, flourished through a committed fan base, and grown from a once PC-only title into to a multi-platform epic. But Serious Sam: The Random Encounter is different. It’s not an FPS.
As I sit atop my ivory tower, I watch the blistering action unfold below me. My rifleman cautiously edges forward, ducking low behind a fortunately placed ledge to avoid the ever-present threat of enemy fire. Meanwhile, and on the other side of the map, my mixed squad of grenade and rocket launchers are positioning themselves tactically, hoping to catch the enemy off-guard and deliver a fatal blow to their unit-count.
Oxford based indie developers Mode 7 have announced via amusing press release that Frozen Synapse is now entering the final stages of beta testing. They’ve also announced a single-player campaign which is available to those of you who pre-ordered to play right now.
Civilization V, flaws aside is another fantastic entry into the series. It combines a clean, easy to use UI with crisp graphics and tactical depth.