Croteam’s been busy lately.

It’s almost time for the 10-year anniversary of one of the most pure shooting action series ever, and there’s no better way to celebrate than to retool the originals to modern graphic standards.  Majesco and CDV Software announced today that they’ve got a remake of Serious Sam: The First Encounter coming to XBLA this summer, with the nearly meaningless title of Serious Sam HD.

Serious Sam HD will relaunch the Serious Sam series using Croteam’s new Serious Engine 3, making it look, in technical terms, awful purty.  Other than that this is looking to be a straight port, although that could be subject to change due to the scarcity of information outside of “this game exists” that’s been released so far.  The only solid detail is the four-player co-op multiplayer.

Serious Sam HD hits at an unspecified point this summer for XBLA and later this fall for PC.  It seems that Serious Sam: The Second Encounter will be getting an upgrade as well relatively soon-ish after that, although details on its release are still sketchy.

One thing worth clarifying, though, is the development path.  CDV is co-publishing the PC version and Majesco the XBLA one, both in conjunction with Devolver Digital, and Croteam is developing the game in-house.  So if you don’t love Serious Sam HD you’re disappointing a whole lot of people who only care about the well-deserved revival of the most monster-filled and adrenaline-pumping arcade FPS ever made.

D3 does E3.

D3 was showing three games on the show floor, all of which were media-based but don’t hold that against them. The Secret Saturdays: Beasts of the 5^th Sun, Ben 10 Alien Force: Vigax Attacks, and Astro Boy: The Video Game are all on the display and looking pretty solid.

Leading off the tour was Secret Saturdays, a side-scrolling action platfomer based on a Cartoon Network series. It stars Zak Saturday, the teenage son of the crypto-zoologist adventurer family, but frequently switching characters to take advantage of their skills. He’s pretty handy without much help, however, as he runs, jumps, and uses a claw to swing through the levels. Zak can also use a scanner to identify various animals, with varying effects depending on what he finds. Some animals are just there to be cataloged, others can be influenced to flip switches to deactivate traps, and some can even be taken control of directly. The level I got to play was fun to explore, especially seeing as Zak controls exactly like I wanted with a useful, well-designed move set.

Not faring quite so well was Ben 10, a fully 3D action-platform adventure that felt a bit generic. Ben has all of his transformations available, with different abilities in both combat and movement for all of them, but the level on display looked bland and the combat didn’t feel quite right. It’s big advantage is the sheer number of tools available to the player at any time thanks to the variety of forms available at any given moment. Plus, like Secret Saturdays, it’s voiced by the original cast and meticulously designed to keep the look of the show intact. Fans of both shows should have a good time with each of them.

Finally there’s Astro Boy, which developer High Voltage knows has a lot to live up to after Treasure’s GBA game. I didn’t get hands-on time with this one, instead watching a developer play it, but he knew what he was doing and laid the firepower down fast. Astro Boy is another side-scroller, much like the aforementioned GBA version, with both run & gun and shooter levels. The run & gun sections actually combine punches and kicks with the finger laser and butt gun, so there’s a lot of ways to string enemy damage together. Certain moves like the butt gun can only be used a limited number of times, but destroyed enemies drop glowing purple pips that refill the special gauge. The side-scrolling shooter levels are roughly similar, except no melee attacks. What I got to saw moved at a decent clip with plenty of enemies to destroy, although it’s maybe a bit too easy to spam the special attacks in its current form.

While all three games are based on kids’ shows, it’s good to see some care being taken with the gameplay. I’ve seen enough lazy, half-hearted cash runs to be heartily sick of them, and all three games felt like effort was being taken to do more than just represent a license. Kids (and adults too) are always going to want games based on what they see on tv, and someone will always provide it in some form or other. It’s good to see some effort being made to provide them with something worth playing.

No show yet but a busy start anyway.

While E3 starts tomorrow (or technically a handful of hours as I write this) it unofficially kicked in today with a handful of press conferences.  Microsoft, Electronic Arts, and Ubisoft all had things to announce, some more impressive than others.

Microsoft kicked off the day with a press conference so incredibly exciting that Nick, Travis, Aaron and I all gave up simultaneously and went to Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles instead.  From a personal perspective there were two things that caught my eye, namely Crackdown 2 and Shadow Complex.  The latter especially looks like it has a lot of potential, thanks to its unashamed Metroid/Castlevania influences.  Crackdown 2 didn’t have enough shown to get by on anything other than brand-name, though.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Microsoft’s camera control, Project Natal.  This looks more than a little silly, and not very fun at all.  Why would I want to move menus around with arm gestures when a few pokes at a controller does the same thing?  Why would I want my dashboard avatar to mimick my body movements?  Do we really need virtual friends like Milo?  And finally, do I really want to flail around my apartment in the fashion necessary to have full control of whatever games may come out for it?  I’m not feeling the optimism at the moment.

EA and Ubisoft both fared much better.  EA specifically was focused on games, games, and nothing but games, making a refreshing change from Microsoft’s social netowork integration and Ubisoft’s bizarre belief that the Hollywood skillset somehow makes for better gaming.

Take Brutal Legend, for example.  If Jack Black wasn’t involved this would still look like a complete blast.  There’s no Hollywood at all in Saboteur and it looks like a wonderfully fun stealth action game, especially seeing as it adds large explosions to the genre.  What movies have to offer games is endless experience in visual storytelling and the talent to present it, but that’s only one part of the overall gaming experience.

Still, it’s not like Ubisoft didn’t have a few goodies to show off.  None of them were Beyond Good & Evil 2, unfortunately, but Rabbids Go Home looks funny as hell so that’s ok.  A real surprise was Red Steel 2, which looks like it has the potential to make up for the pain caused by its predecessor.  I’m already sold on the Rabbids so may not devote much time to them on the show floor, but Red Steel 2’s improved style and more integrated swordplay makes it look like it might become the game Red Steel 1 wanted to be.

While all three companies had much more to say and show off, this is what stuck with me today.  The endless river of info has started flowing and it’s only possible to soak in a certain amount at one time.  In 6.5 hours the Nintendo conference begins, and then it’s off to the show floor for complete gaming submersion.  It’s going to be a very busy day.

And a mystery Croteam title, too.

Once upon a time first person shooters were defined by bodycount.  Doom, Heretic, Descent, Rise of the Triad, and a whole host of also-rans substituted overwhelming enemy counts for AI, primarily due to the technology of the time.  Eventually, though, FPSes became less about arcade blasting and more about tactical or military action, backed up by a heavy online focus.  Every few years, however, Croteam releases a new Serious Sam to remind us what pure, unfiltered ass-kicking is all about.

Four years since the somewhat disappointing Serious Sam 2, Croteam has announced they’re finally getting to work on the fourth game (the first Serious Sam was divided in half) in the series.  They’re in the process of landing a publisher, so no details have been revealed yet, but work has been started and that’s good enough for the moment.  Hopefully the new game will return to the amusingly gruesome style of the original games rather than the forced and unfunny cartoonish style of Serious Sam 2.

Croteam’s update also mentions a second mystery project.  This isn’t the military title Gamecock showed a few screens of at last year’s E3, due to that being canceled when the contract with the  publisher fell apart, but rather an all-new game of some sort.  Details are still a good way off for both titles, but it’s great to see Croteam getting back up to speed.

Super-squishy demon!

Swag Alert is a new mini-feature pointing out the goodies available for reserving games.  If you like nifty tchotchkes, great.  If not, then there’s more for the rest of us.

Little King Story is a Pikmin-ish strategy title that’s already out in Europe and garnered solid reviews despite being somewhat un-polished.  It’s being released June 23 on this side of the Atlantic, and those who reserve get a squishy Onii.  These little demon-beasties are the most common baddie infesting the kingdom, and having one available to physically squish can only lead to a happier, stress-free life.