We got a quick look today at Serious Sam: Next Encounter, the original console-only entry in the Serious Sam series that's being produced by developer Climax. Next Encounter doesn't stray in the slightest from the Serious Sam formula, which ought to be a good thing for fans of nonstop hardcore action games. In fact, Climax is going one step further by adding a lot more of what made the first games great in terms of weaponry, enemies, and environments.

　　The storyline is admittedly thin in Serious Sam: Next Encounter. The series' villain, Mental, is still meddling with different periods of history, so you've got to go back in time to kill lots of enemies to make sure he's stopped. The game features three time periods spread across 32 levels, including ancient Rome, feudal China, and the legendary Atlantis. All of the levels will be populated by hordes of adversaries. Some you'll recognize from previous games, while others have been created specifically for Next Encounter. It seems like Climax is doing a good job of creating characters in the series' quirky, humorous style. For instance, we actually saw a bunch of chariot-riding centurions as they fired rockets in one of the Rome levels.

　　Most of the game's 12 weapons return from previous Serious Sam games, but there are a handful of new arms with which you can get your kill on. Sam starts out with a pair of .45s that pack a pretty mean punch, and you can also get dual Uzis later on so that you can tear it up John Woo-style. In addition to the few new weapons, many of the old weapons have newly added firing modes. For instance, the grenade launcher can also double as a mine layer, and it can even dispense mobile spider mines. The chaingun has an interesting heat-seeking ammo mode, while the flamethrower can also be loaded with freeze gas or laughing gas if you want to see your enemies freeze or laugh themselves to death. If you kill enough enemies quickly enough, you'll enter a "supercombo killing spree" mode that lets you move and fire faster and adds big bonuses to your score. Finally, Next Encounter is also the first game in the series to feature vehicles--including a jeep, a submarine, and a thresher (think farm machinery)--for your driving pleasure.

　　There's a good bit of multiplayer value in the game, too, since GameCube owners can play in four-player split-screen mode, and PS2 owners can play with two players this same way or with up to eight online. You'll have access to all the standard multiplayer modes that you'd expect, like deathmatch and capture the flag. You'll get even more replay value by winning medals through exemplary performances in the main levels, and you can eventually unlock 10 more levels by gaining additional medals.

　　So far, Serious Sam: Next Encounter looks like a pretty worthy addition to the now-classic line of kill-everything action shooters. The game will retail for a mere $20 on both the GameCube and PlayStation 2, so amateur kill-jockeys on a budget can get their fills of shooting action--both online and off--without hurting their wallets too much. Serious Sam: Next Encounter is due for release this spring