On April 7th, 2010, Croatian development house Croteam announced that Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter would be available for download from Valve's Steam service on April 28, 2010. On the very next day, Croteam released a gameplay trailer, showing off the fancy graphical updates the game has received since its initial release.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIYMzD5bLmU&

For you few readers who aren't completely up to speed with your Serious Sam canon, Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter picks up almost immediately where the first game left off: As Sam is escaping the perils of The First Encounter, his spacecraft is damaged by some kind of interstellar school bus, sending him crashing back to earth. When he lands in a conveniently-placed lake, he discovers that he is now in Central America during the Mayan age. What a world! To get back to wherever it is he calls home, Sam must locate a series of time-gates, which have been left around by the Sirians, the series' antagonistic alien race. Thus begins a truly bizarre and gratuitously violent caper through time.

Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter has also been confirmed for Xbox Live Arcade, but no word still regarding the PlayStation Network. As for you PC Ranters, pre-orders can be placed on Steam right now for $17.99 (a $2 discount!) with the download becoming available on April 28th. Those who pre-order will receive an extra multiplayer and co-op character: Ugh-zan, the boss of The First Encounter. For more information on the game, head on over to the official website.

Ranters, I'm calling an impromptu discussion. The Serious Sam games never claimed to be any more than shallow, violent run-and-gun gameplay with neat visuals. Playing the game is an instinctive experience rather than a cerebral one. Is an HD make-over for this type of game enough to satisfy the appetite of today's gamers? Or is there no longer a place in the market for niche experiences like this?  Sound off!

Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter releases for the PC on April 28, 2010, and for XBLA on a date yet to be determined.

Source: Big Download