Revamping an indie spinoff first released for PC in 2011, Serious Sam Double D XXL yanks Sam out of his traditional first-person surroundings and drops him into a side-scrolling shoot-’em-up filled with huge foes and confusingly thick hordes of headless kamikaze idiots. The only way to deal with such outrageous pacing is, of course, lots of guns. At once.
Double D XXL’s big hook is its “gun stacker,” an item that lets you connect up to six different guns and fire them simultaneously. As you add to your increasingly bizarre arsenal, you’re free to experiment with different combinations, creating stacks of shotguns, rocket launchers, bee rifles, cannons, and chainsaws that you can switch out on the fly. Unloading a huge spray of deadly projectiles at crowds of goofball opponents can be awfully fun, and it’s made more enjoyable by the game’s surprising amount of variety. Its levels are filled with branching paths, and your enemies — which range from cannon-fodder commandos to dinosaurs to bosses so huge the screen can’t contain them — occasionally even require strategies beyond “shoot until dead.”
The over-the-top carnage is rounded out with co-op play (starring new redneck pal Huff), vehicle stages, new levels not in the PC version, and an inexhaustible supply of sticky high-jump pads — though it’s held back by rough visuals, co-op lag, and an overall lack of polish. Still, if you just want to unload fountains of destruction at scores of 2D baddies, this game is a fun way to spend an afternoon.
Finishing the game unlocks co-op partner Dan "Huff" Huffington for solo play, along with a slightly different story.PUBLISHER: Mastertronic • DEVELOPER: Mommy’s Best Games • ESRB: Mature • MULTIPLAYER: 2 on same screen only • ACHIEVEMENTS: Generous • COST: 800 Microsoft Points ($10) • RELEASE DATE: February 20, 2013
+ Mowing down charging hordes with stacked guns can be immensely fun.
+ Stages are surprisingly huge, with plenty of hidden paths and items.
– The characters look like roughly animated paper cutouts; some lag in co-op play; general lack of polish.
? Does this mean we’ll see the other Serious Sam indie spinoffs on XBLA soon?
