The Humbleness, It Burns

...ahhh, we meet again, Humble Indie Bundle. You know, I don't mean any offence, but you're making us look bad. You're offering seven - seven - games. For the low low price of whatever we want. Earlier, your bundles were... humble. They had maybe two or three titles, maybe an upcoming beta pass for an unreleased game. They befitted the namesake "humble indie bundle". But I can't help but feel like you're just showing off now. You have on offer games of the ilk of Super Meat Boy, Shank, Cave Story+, and BIT.TRIP RUNNER. ...and you're so confident it's worth buying, you're letting us get them for whatever we want. That ain't humble. That's cocky.

I'm not complaining of course.

Review: "Serious Sam 3: BFE"

Go "Auuuurgggh!" Yourself

review for Serious Sam 3: BFE (PC), 1-16 player FPS, out now

I'm writing this review right now, ladies and gentlemen, out of panic. Y'see, Serious Sam 3: BFE has been out for a relative while now, and it is quite possibly the best first-person shooter of 2011. No, actually, strike that "quite possibly". It is the best FPS of the year. I know so. It's a fact. ...but, you see, despite having been released some time ago, and despite having a plethora of mostly positive reviews written about it, I'm utterly convinced that I'm the only sane person left on the internet who actually understands why Serious Sam 3 is so goddamn amazing.

There's a misconception, you see, that Serious Sam is "stupid". This idea that Serious Sam, as a series, is just about shooting guns at monsters. ...and, well, okay, that's not a lie, but Sam goes beyond that. It is a game about shooting guns at monsters, but that's not what makes these games so special. They are so good - Serious Sam 3 especially - at creating an experience driven by the player and AI alone. They're part of a very rare breed of shooters - a very rare breed of games - that will dump the player (or players) into an arena full of vindictive AI, and let the game plot its own course. Back in 2001 when the first Serious Sam game came out, this was more or less the norm - but now, ten years later, in 2011, games like this have been replaced by linear asset tours - heavily scripted movies in which the player is grudgingly invited to participate. Not even participate; watch.