Serious Sam II

From SeriousEngine.com

Serious Sam II

Developer(s)	Croteam
Publisher(s)	2K Games
Engine	Serious Engine 2
Release date(s)	October 2005
Genre	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: Mature (M)
Platform(s)	PC (Windows), (Linux), (Xbox)
Input	Keyboard and Mouse, XBox Controller

1 Overview
2 Non-Player Characters (NPCs)
3 External links

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Overview

Serious Sam II (or Serious Sam 2) is the full sequel to Serious Sam and is currently in development using a brand new iteration of the Serious Engine known as "Serious Engine 2." featuring many state-of-the-art features. The last media from the new engine was released at the 2004 Game Developers Conference (GDC). Both in-game videos and screenshots were released in the time surrounding the GDC. Since then there have been development reports on the Engine released via Croteam's official website, with specifics on Serious Engine 2's capabilities.

Serious Sam II was officially announced in mid-April and showcased at E3 in May 2005 and should be released in October of 2005. Shown at the E3 Expo in 2005 was the official trailer for the game, and an early build of the game was playable on the show floor. A result of this was a rather long video interview of Serious Sam II which contains over 30 minutes of gameplay footage and a question and answer session between Seriously! owner and director Jason Rodzik and the game's producer Fernando Melo. A summary of the video is also available for those without the bandwidth to download the video. In the time following the game's official announcement, there has been a steady trickle of media released, and there are currently a total of 91 screenshots that have been released, in which the vibrant colors and wide-open spaces that characterized the previous games can be seen.

It was recently announced that a demo of the game would be released one month prior to the game's release, and thus a demo is expected sometime between mid-August and the end of September. The latest news on the game can be found at the biggest site for the series of games, Seriously!. EB Games estimates the specific release for XBox and PC to be October 10, 2005, while a forum post by 2K Games on the game's official forums states the official release date as simply sometime during October, with no specific day mentioned.

The game will feature sixteen player online co-op play for the PC, while up to four people can play via XBox systemlink or Xbox Live. While the game will not ship with any other online gameplay modes, Croteam said they plan to release a patch which adds in Deathmatch support[1].

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Non-Player Characters (NPCs)

Serious Sam II features several different kinds of Non-player characters:

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Simbas

Simbas are the only race, besides Gurrs, that inhabit planet M'Digbo. They are a blue skinned, friendly nation that usually gets in trouble just because they welcome their visitors with a big smile. Many civilizations and armies exploited their natural and man-made resources as Simbas never tried to strike back or defend their planet. But, there is a reason behind this phenomenon. The Simbas have a strong religion and an occult witchcraft, which predicted "The Coming" - an event that will end the days of misery. It involves a stranger and Kwongo, one of their biggest gods.

Being oppressed for most of their recent history, the Simbas are still stuck in the Stone Age. However, under the tyranny of Mental, many cities emerged, the biggest of them being Ursul. Ursul was used as Mental’s headquarters and many diseases of modern mankind were brought there - casinos, red light districts, prisons…all of which corrupted the Simban way of life.

As mentioned before, Simbas live in tribes, or very large family communities. They share a strong family bond so the hierarchy is usually set up in this manner.

The Chief, or the most dominant male, is at the head of the tribe. However, he is usually counselled by family elders, appropriately called Shamans. Much of the Simban contraptions come as a result of the Shaman’s reinterpretation of things they see or learn from other civilizations.

Below Shamans and Chieftains is the rest of the tribe. Only the males are divided into workers and warriors. They can be easily distinguished, as the Warriors wear war colours on their faces. Female Simbas are usually in charge of the households, raising kids and preparing food. Up until recently, Boongans (or Sundays) were usually celebrated with roasted Kleer and potatoes. But much has changed.

You should make good use of most of the warriors, as well as workers as they will supply you with food, ammo or even pick up a weapon to fight by your side.

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Zixies

Zixies are a tribe that inhabit the planet Magnor. Similar to Simbas, they live a simple and primitive life somewhere in the forests of Deadwood. But unlike Simbas, the Zixies choose to live in harmony with nature. They used to share the planet with one of the most technologically advanced races in the Universe, the Jets-Dudis. This symbiosis proved to be very useful, as the Zixies supplied fresh plants, clean air, and infinite amounts of wood, while the Jets-Dudis proved to be solid protection from any aggressors. In addition to that, the big swamps and thick woods offered enough privacy and a hiding place from menacing predators.

However, Mental eventually found his way to Magnor and practically wiped out the majority of Jets-Dudis who tried to resist. The survivors, who escaped, never looked back, leaving the Zixies unprotected and all alone. The tribes moved deeper into the forest so their exact whereabouts are unknown, even their existence is not positively confirmed.

The tribe is also led by a Chief, but in this case it is usually the oldest and wisest man. The younger members of the tribe collect food, which is actually very difficult to find around smelly swamps. That explains their large noses, as they sniff around in search of edible plants and fruits. Zixies do not have warrior units, but make no mistake about it - they WILL pick up the weapons left from the enemies and join you, so make good use of their strengths.

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Chi Che

Unlike the previous civilizations, the Chi Che actually made a lot of progress in their society, building large cities, squares and streets. This would be quite a confusing fact, because of their small stature, if it weren't for a BIGGER explanation. Prince Chan, a 50 ton baby-boy, was placed as ruler by Mental. He is actually the direct offspring of the Ugh-Zan Clan, but heavily subjected to plastic surgery, to look similar enough for the Chi Che to accept him as their god. As one of Mental’s dearest experiments, a lot of technology from Sirius was given to Chi Che as well as advanced architecture that could withstand Chan’s growth. Electricity, amusement parks for Chan to play in, bright colours and huge environments were all presents from Mental, which actually gave the Chi Che a good boost climbing the evolutionary ladder.

It’s been 2036 years since Chan took control, but he is still in his infancy. A long time has passed since Chi Fang’s original ruler Yengh, from the house of Sakamoto, was overthrown and eaten by Chan. Only the oldest members of the society still remember him. That’s why most of the Chi Che people take Chan as their only god and Ruler.

There’s no special hierarchy among the Chi Che, only the Elders and the Common, who mostly serve as a working class. Another race of an unknown name, originating from Chi Fang - but heavily modified by Mental - serves as defense and army units.

Do not expect much help from the citizens, as they are terrified of Chan, who regularly eats about a dozen of them for breakfast, but you can be sure they won't mind you blowing Chan to bits and pieces.

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Elvians

The cities of Ellenier are based on rock and roll, high heels and glittering glamour. The capital Kingsburg, is located on the eastern side of the sea. Its townsfolk, the Elvians, are the most advanced race in these parts of the galaxy, and much of their civilization lies on hedonism and appreciation of music.

Ruled by, simply, The King and his royal suite, the Elvians are a relaxed and peaceful nation. Law and order are maintained by the King’s Royal Guard, as well as the King’s henchmen. The members of the Royal Family consist of The King and The Queen, their beloved daughter Olga and a few other, but not very important, relatives. As the Royal Family do nothing all day, it’s a brilliant environment for plotting, accusing each other of treason, and generally being involved in immoral actions.

Below them live the peasants, merchants and other, more common people. You will find markets, street merchants and hustlers all over the town. There is a big Vegas University nearby, so do not be surprised to see students strolling around.

However, all this peaceful life comes at a cost. Mental’s minions are free to walk around, as well as another one of his bigger nasties - Cecil the Dragon. Cecil guards the medallion, and the townsfolk are required to give a monthly fee in grain, money and virgins.

As the Royal Family is too occupied by their life of luxury, there were never any initiatives to resist Mental or even reclaim the medallion. This leaves only you to do the job. Maybe you can get some help from the people, but don't count on it.

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