E3 2011: Serious Sam 3: BFE - Gun Nut

Serious Sam 3: BFE is all about life's simple pleasures. There's no clunky cover system, no regenerating health. Instead, it's all about you and your friends facing down an endless swarm of monsters as they try to bum-rush you out of existence. At E3 2011 we got the chance to go hands-on with this over-the-top shooter and racked up a kill count reaching the triple digits in no time.

You know it's going to be a good demo when a monster gets its eye ripped out in the first 10 seconds. Nearly every enemy will come with its own special way to be obliterated in hand-to-hand combat. However, we're not sure, given the time it takes to perform this melee kill, how practical it will be in a larger fight. Another way to get intimate with your enemies is with the trusty sledgehammer. This weapon could split a cyclops' head open with a single swing, or dispatch multiple enemies with a 360-degree spin attack. However, you'll need to be careful with that spin attack, since just watching it started to make us dizzy.

In addition to the sledgehammer, Serious Sam 3 is adding a few more new weapons to your arsenal. The first we tried out was the assault rifle. This weapon served two purposes: It cut down lesser enemies with ease at midrange and doubled as a sniper rifle with its mounted scope. Next up was the explosive shotgun. Unlike a normal, nonexplosive, shotgun, this weapon functioned as a lesser rocket launcher. It didn't pack the same punch, but it hit fast and didn't cause painful splash damage. A pistol, two shotguns, a minigun, and the completely outrageous cannonball launcher rounded out the set.

The area of the game we played took place in the Egyptian desert. All of a sudden we were back in 2001, cutting down all our favorites. The headless kamikaze bombers, complete with wailing screams, rushed us from all directions. Charging bulls knocked us all around the battlefield. And dozens of other enemies were scattered in between. Seeking reprieve from all the chaos, we ducked inside a random temple only to watch the walls come crumbling down as one of the bulls blew through it. Environmental destruction will be a big part of Serious Sam 3, and nowhere will be truly safe.

We still picked up ammo and health just like in the classic games, and the only cover we could rely on was the number of bullets between us and the enemy. Built to accommodate 16 cooperative players, all the areas we saw ranged from big to huge. The number of enemies will scale to how many buddies you have in tow, and we can only imagine how insane a full party will be. Serious Sam 3: BFE will be released on the PC this summer and on consoles later this year.