<s>
Serious	B-Application
Sam	I-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
First	I-Application
Encounter	I-Application
is	O
a	O
first-person	O
shooter	O
video	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
Croteam	O
and	O
originally	O
published	O
by	O
Gathering	O
of	O
Developers	O
,	O
first	O
released	O
on	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
on	O
21	O
March	O
2001	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
game	O
was	O
followed	O
by	O
a	O
sequel	O
,	O
Serious	B-Application
Sam	I-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Second	I-Application
Encounter	I-Application
,	O
released	O
eleven	O
months	O
later	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
The	O
First	O
Encounter	O
and	O
The	O
Second	O
Encounter	O
were	O
combined	O
into	O
one	O
game	O
and	O
ported	O
to	O
the	O
Xbox	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
High-definition	O
remakes	B-General_Concept
of	O
both	O
episodes	O
were	O
released	O
in	O
2009	O
and	O
2010	O
on	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
,	O
and	O
were	O
later	O
ported	O
to	O
the	B-Operating_System
Xbox	I-Operating_System
360	I-Operating_System
,	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Switch	I-Application
,	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
Xbox	B-Device
One	I-Device
video	B-Device
game	I-Device
consoles	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
visits	O
several	O
locations	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
Valley	B-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Kings	I-Application
,	O
to	O
collect	O
religious	O
icons	O
representing	O
the	O
four	O
elements	O
of	O
Water	O
,	O
Earth	O
,	O
Air	O
,	O
and	O
Fire	O
while	O
battling	O
hordes	O
of	O
aliens	O
sent	O
by	O
Mental	O
to	O
stop	O
him	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
Thebes	O
,	O
Sam	O
works	O
his	O
way	O
through	O
the	O
city	O
until	O
he	O
reaches	O
a	O
sanctuary	O
where	O
he	O
manages	O
to	O
activate	O
a	O
hidden	O
Sirian	O
communicator	O
concealed	O
in	O
an	O
obelisk	O
in	O
the	O
heart	O
of	O
Luxor	B-Language
,	O
which	O
summons	O
a	O
Sirian	O
starship	O
to	O
Earth	O
from	O
deep	O
space	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Over	O
time	O
,	O
the	O
tone	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
changed	O
from	O
its	O
dark	O
horror	O
to	O
a	O
bright	O
and	O
colorful	O
setting	O
,	O
and	O
began	O
developing	O
Serious	B-Device
Sam	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Serious	O
Engine	O
is	O
very	O
efficient	O
,	O
capable	O
of	O
maintaining	O
dozens	O
of	O
moving	O
enemies	O
(	O
often	O
stampedes	O
)	O
and	O
enormous	O
enemies	O
,	O
even	O
on	O
a	O
modest	O
system	O
challenging	O
the	O
well	O
known	O
id	B-Application
Tech	I-Application
,	O
Unreal	B-Operating_System
Engine	I-Operating_System
or	O
Source	B-Application
engines	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
"	O
Serious	O
Engine	O
"	O
can	O
render	O
through	O
both	O
Direct3D	B-Application
or	O
OpenGL	B-Application
and	O
,	O
while	O
it	O
does	O
not	O
support	O
pixel	O
or	O
vertex	O
shaders	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
optimized	O
for	O
Direct3D	B-Application
7	O
's	O
hardware	O
transformation	O
,	O
clipping	O
and	O
lighting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
more	O
powerful	O
iteration	O
of	O
the	O
"	O
Serious	O
Engine	O
"	O
was	O
developed	O
for	O
use	O
in	O
Serious	B-Device
Sam	I-Device
2	O
and	O
is	O
known	O
as	O
"	O
Serious	O
Engine	O
2	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Serious	O
Engine	O
3	O
was	O
used	O
in	O
Serious	B-Application
Sam	I-Application
HD	I-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
First	I-Application
Encounter	I-Application
and	O
Serious	B-Application
Sam	I-Application
HD	I-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Second	I-Application
Encounter	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
updated	O
version	O
,	O
Serious	O
Engine	O
3.5	O
,	O
is	O
used	O
in	O
Serious	B-Application
Sam	I-Application
3	I-Application
:	I-Application
BFE	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
latest	O
version	O
is	O
the	O
Serious	O
Engine	O
4	O
,	O
which	O
Croteam	O
used	O
in	O
their	O
most	O
recent	O
game	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Talos	I-Application
Principle	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
12	O
November	O
2002	O
,	O
both	O
The	O
First	O
Encounter	O
and	O
The	O
Second	O
Encounter	O
were	O
combined	O
into	O
one	O
game	O
and	O
ported	O
to	O
the	O
Xbox	B-Application
titled	O
Serious	B-Device
Sam	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Xbox	B-Application
version	O
includes	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
levels	O
from	O
both	O
PC	O
games	O
,	O
though	O
some	O
were	O
modified	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
memory	O
constraints	O
of	O
the	O
Xbox	B-Application
console	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
the	O
hardware	O
limitations	O
of	O
the	O
Xbox	B-Application
,	O
instead	O
of	O
allowing	O
the	O
player	O
to	O
manually	O
save	O
at	O
any	O
point	O
during	O
a	O
level	O
in	O
the	O
PC	O
versions	O
,	O
there	O
are	O
save	O
points	O
that	O
are	O
designated	O
by	O
red	O
phone	O
booths	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
found	O
in	O
each	O
level	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Auto-aiming	O
was	O
also	O
added	O
to	O
the	O
Xbox	B-Application
version	O
to	O
compensate	O
for	O
the	O
degree	O
of	O
control	O
usually	O
offered	O
by	O
a	O
keyboard	O
and	O
mouse	O
setup	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Xbox	B-Application
Serious	B-Device
Sam	I-Device
was	O
nominated	O
for	O
GameSpots	O
2002	O
"	O
Best	O
Shooter	O
on	O
Xbox	B-Application
"	O
award	O
,	O
which	O
went	O
to	O
MechAssault	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kevin	O
Rice	O
reviewed	O
the	O
PC	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
for	O
Next	O
Generation	O
,	O
rating	O
it	O
four	O
stars	O
out	O
of	O
five	O
,	O
and	O
stated	O
that	O
"	O
Hmmm	O
,	O
should	O
you	O
get	O
Deer	B-Application
Hunter	I-Application
XXII	I-Application
Extreme	I-Application
Plus	I-Application
 [ ... ] 	O
or	O
Serious	B-Device
Sam	I-Device
for	O
the	O
same	O
price	O
?	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
,	O
Serious	B-Application
Sam	I-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
First	I-Application
Encounter	I-Application
sold	O
83,000	O
copies	O
by	O
October	O
2001.The	O
First	O
Encounter	O
was	O
the	O
recipient	O
of	O
various	O
editorial	O
and	O
consumer	O
praise	O
,	O
with	O
an	O
overall	O
review	O
ratio	O
of	O
87/100	O
on	O
Metacritic	O
.	O
</s>
