Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack!

Last updated

Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack!
Serious Sam Kamikaze Attack!.jpg
Developer(s) Be-Rad Entertainment
Publisher(s) Devolver Digital
Designer(s) Brad Johnson
Programmer(s) Brad Johnson
Artist(s) Stephan Royer
Series Serious Sam
Engine Unity
Platform(s) Android, iOS, Windows
Release
  • Android, iOS
  • September 15, 2011
  • Windows
  • January 24, 2012
Genre(s) Auto-running
Mode(s) Single-player

Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack! is a 2011 auto-running game developed by Be-Rad Entertainment and published by Devolver Digital. The player controls a Headless Kamikaze that chases after Sam "Serious" Stone, attempting to defeat him. The character moves automatically and can dodge or deflect incoming hazards. Announced in March 2011 and developed over six months, Kamikaze Attack! was created as part of the Serious Sam Indie Series to promote the launch of Serious Sam 3: BFE . It debuted for Android and iOS in September 2011, followed by a release for Windows in January 2012. The game received a mixed reception, with praise for its controls, conflicting opinions about its visuals, and criticism for its repetitiveness and lack of appeal to non-fans of the Serious Sam series.

Contents

Gameplay

The player character (left) chasing after Sam. The objective is to strike Sam with deflected hazards. Serious Sam Kamikaze Attack! screenshot.jpg
The player character (left) chasing after Sam. The objective is to strike Sam with deflected hazards.

Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack! is an auto-running game in a style similar to Canabalt and Robot Unicorn Attack . [1] [2] It puts the player in control of a Headless Kamikaze (or Beheaded Kamikaze), a decapitated humanoid figure wielding bombs that acts as an enemy in other Serious Sam games. [3] [4] There are forty levels, split between a desert and jungle environment. [5] [6] In each, the character traverses a two-dimensional world in continuous motion. [4] [5] [7] Their speed increases progressively. [8]

The primary goal is chasing after and defeating Sam "Serious" Stone (the protagonist of the Serious Sam series) after surmounting a pre-determined distance. [2] [6] In-between, the Headless Kamikaze faces several hazards, including cacti, frogs, rockets, bombs, grenades, gaps, and fences. [4] [8] [9] These may be avoided by jumping over them, and some can be destroyed or deflected using the kick ability, which fills the "rage meter" that can ultimately kill the character. [2] [4] [9] It automatically drains while not in use. [2] [4] The Headless Kamikaze has multiple (initially three) lives; depleting them causes the player to lose. [2] [7] Certain collectibles may add additional lives, others can instantly empty the rage meter, reset the character's speed, or add multipliers to the score. [2] When jumping over obstacles, holding down the button prolongs the leap, and a second one can be initiated while in the air. [2] [4] [7]

Every level includes an optional bonus objective consisting of kicking one type of object a certain number of times. [2] [8] Achieving these unlocks gameplay modifiers, including a higher frequency of collectibles and a faster drainage of the rage meter. [4] [7] Later stages are made more difficult by incorporating more hazards. [4] "Endless" modes have no exit condition, with the player aiming only for the highest possible score through the bonus objective. [4] Highscores could be shared via the OpenFeint and Game Center services. [4]

Development and release

Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack! was developed by Be-Rad Entertainment, an indie game studio founded by programmer Brad Johnson. [10] [11] It was Be-Rad's second, having previously released Lame Castle. [12] After Devolver Digital, the publisher of the Serious Sam series, had come across Lame Castle, the company approached Johnson, asking him to develop a game as part of the Serious Sam Indie Series. A triplet of spin-offs to be created by small studios to promote the impending launch of Serious Sam 3: BFE , the Indie Series also encompasses Serious Sam Double D and Serious Sam: The Random Encounter . He considered this a " no-brainer " and accepted the request. [10] [13] Be-Rad decided to create an auto-running game, given the experience they had gathered with Lame Castle and because Johnson thought that such gameplay would better suit mobile phones. He also ruled out making a first-person shooter, as this genre was already covered by the main entries in the Serious Sam series. [10]

Kamikaze Attack! uses the Unity game engine. [10] Johnson repurposed some code from Lame Castle, which allowed him the time to add further features and apply polish to Kamikaze Attack!. [11] Its art assets were hand-drawn with colored pencils by Stephan Royer. [6] [14] Be-Rad intended to keep players engaged in their game longer than in others in the genre by putting in objectives and boss fights. [11] They also implemented role-playing elements, such as character upgrades, but removed them after playtesting showed that they served no benefit. [15] The studio was given substantial creative control, only receiving feedback on the visual design for Sam. [13] Though production had been planned to last two months, it was finished in six. [11] [15] Kamikaze Attack! was designed to run on the Android and iOS mobile operating systems. A Windows Phone port was not considered because Unity did not support the platform. [10]

The Serious Sam Indie Series was announced by Devolver Digital in March 2011. [16] [17] An early version of Kamikaze Attack! was exhibited at the PAX East trade show later that month. [18] [19] A free demo was playable on the promotional website for Serious Sam 3: BFE, starting in July 2011. [20] Two trailers were published: one in July 2011 to demonstrate the gameplay, and another in September to coincide with the launch. [21] [22] The game launched for Android and iOS on September 15, 2011. [23] The iOS version, a "universal" app compatible with both iPhone and iPad devices, was distributed through the App Store, arriving first in New Zealand. [5] [24] It became available on the Android Market and was additionally made compatible with Xperia Play devices. [1] [25] To commemorate the release, Be-Rad temporarily supplied Lame Castle for iPad devices at no cost. [12] Shortly after the game's release, Johnson stated that most players of Kamikaze Attack! had pirated the game. [26]

Kamikaze Attack! was offered as freeware on Android through the Amazon Appstore on November 29, 2011, becoming the storefront's most downloaded free app of that day. At this time, this version requested the Android-specific "GET_TASKS" permission that Johnson stated was required to use the mobile advertising component Mobclix. The use of this permission caused concern with some users, who left one-star reviews (the lowest possible rating) on the game's Amazon Appstore site, claiming it to be spyware. Be-Rad consequently created a build without this permission that was quickly approved. [27] A Windows port of Kamikaze Attack! debuted on January 24, 2012, as part of the "Serious Sam Lightning Pack", a collection of games offered at a reduced price on the website Indie Royale. In this collection, Kamikaze Attack! was delivered with no digital rights management and through the Desura service. [28] [29] By 2020, Kamikaze Attack! had been withdrawn from sale on mobile storefronts, while Desura had become defunct. [30] The game was re-released for Windows via Steam on July 27, 2021. The new version removed all microtransactions, updated the graphics, added features like achievements, and fixed several bugs. [31] [32] Further improvements and bug fixes came with a patch later that month. [32]

Reception

Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack! received "mixed or average reviews", according to the review aggregator website Metacritic, which calculated a weighted average rating of 67/100 based on six critic reviews. [33] It was GameFly's "app of the day" of June 12, 2012. [35] Some critics found that the hand-drawn graphics were appealing and fit its overall esthetic, with Gamezebo writer Kevin Alexander stating that they "come to life in a simple but effective manner". [2] [4] [7] Andrew Nesvadba (AppSpy) called the visuals "stunning" but noted that they could cause some "confusion". [34] Jason D'Aprile (Slide to Play) described the graphics as an "odd mix of primitive and quaint". [9]

Commenting on the controls, Alexander thought them to be "responsive", while Chris Schilling ( Pocket Gamer ) opined that they were "immaculate". [2] [4] Schilling, who considered Kamikaze Attack! to be one of the better games in the auto-running genre, also lauded it for its "authentic" audio design. [4] Conversely, Andrew Hayward ( GamesRadar ) criticized the use of merely one music track. [5] Hayward and D'Aprile also faulted the shortage of art assets. [5] [9] Further criticism highlighted the repetitiveness of the game, as Schilling and Thorin Klosowski ( TouchArcade ) each saw a lack of variety between the individual levels, including the endless modes. [4] [7] D'Aprile observed this as its biggest problem. [9] Many agreed that Kamikaze Attack! was a good fit for the Serious Sam franchise, although they believed it would have limited appeal to players with no background knowledge of the series. [2] [4] [5] [9]

Related Research Articles

<i>Serious Sam: The First Encounter</i> 2001 video game

Serious Sam: The First Encounter is a 2001 first-person shooter game developed by Croteam and published by Gathering of Developers. It is the first in the Serious Sam series. The game follows the soldier Sam "Serious" Stone, who is sent back in time to ancient Egypt in 1378 BCE to uncover information about the technologically advanced civilisation of the Sirians that could help humanity survive the attacks of extraterrestrial forces in the 22nd century. As Sam, the player traverses linear levels, either enclosed or set on open plains, and battles increasingly large waves of enemies with an expanding arsenal. During gameplay, the player can pick up new weapons and replenishment for ammunition and health, as well as review strategic information. In multiplayer, the game has two deathmatch modes and cooperative play for the single-player campaign.

<i>Serious Sam: The Second Encounter</i> 2002 video game

Serious Sam: The Second Encounter is a 2002 first-person shooter game developed by Croteam and published by Gathering of Developers. It is the successor to Serious Sam: The First Encounter and the second game in the Serious Sam series. Taking place immediately after The First Encounter, it follows the soldier Sam "Serious" Stone, whose spaceship crashes back to Earth on his way from ancient Egypt to Sirius, requiring him to seek the Holy Grail to continue his journey. As Sam, the player traverses linear levels, either enclosed or set on open plains, and battles increasingly large waves of enemies with an expanding arsenal. The gameplay builds on that of The First Encounter while adding additional weapons, more enemy types, and platforming elements, and additionally contains the Seriously Warped Deathmatch mod by A Few Screws Loose.

Croteam is a Croatian video game developer based in Zagreb. The company was established by Davor Hunski, Damir Perović, Roman Ribarić and Dean Sekulić, four former classmates, in late August 1992. Croteam is best known for Serious Sam, a series of first-person shooters introduced with Serious Sam: The First Encounter in 2001. The company also developed the 2014 puzzle game The Talos Principle and its 2023 sequel The Talos Principle 2. Croteam employed approximately 40 people in 2020 and was acquired by its long-time publishing partner Devolver Digital in October that year.

Linux-based operating systems can be used for playing video games. Because many games are not natively supported for the Linux kernel, various software has been made to run Windows games, software, and programs, such as Wine, Cedega, DXVK, and Proton, and managers such as Lutris and PlayOnLinux. The Linux gaming community has a presence on the internet with users who attempt to run games that are not officially supported on Linux.

Android is a mobile operating system based on a modified version of the Linux kernel and other open-source software, designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Android is developed by a consortium of developers known as the Open Handset Alliance, though its most widely used version is primarily developed by Google. It was unveiled in November 2007, with the first commercial Android device, the HTC Dream, being launched in September 2008.

indiePub American video game publisher

indiePub Entertainment, Inc. was a publisher of video games based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States.

Humble Bundle, Inc. is a digital storefront for video games, which grew out of its original offering of Humble Bundles, collections of games sold at a price determined by the purchaser and with a portion of the price going towards charity and the rest split between the game developers. Humble Bundle continues to offer these limited-time bundles, but have expanded to include a greater and more persistent storefront. The Humble Bundle concept was initially run by Wolfire Games in 2010, but by its second bundle, the Humble Bundle company was spun out to manage the promotion, payments, and distribution of the bundles. In October 2017, the company was acquired by Ziff Davis through its IGN Entertainment subsidiary.

The Galaxy Store is an app store offering apps, games and exclusive themes and other customizations for mobile devices manufactured by Samsung Electronics. The service is primarily supplied pre-installed on Samsung Galaxy smartphones and tablets, and Galaxy Watch wearables. It requires a Samsung account to be used.

The version history of the Android mobile operating system began with the public release of its first beta on November 5, 2007. The first commercial version, Android 1.0, was released on September 23, 2008.
The operating system is developed by Google on a yearly cadence since at least 2011. New major releases are announced at Google I/O in May while still in beta testing with the stable version usually released to the public between August and October.

<i>Serious Sam 3: BFE</i> 2011 video game

Serious Sam 3: BFE is a first-person shooter video game developed by Croatia-based indie development studio Croteam and published by Devolver Digital. It is part of the Serious Sam series and the prequel to the 2001 video game, Serious Sam. The game takes place in 22nd-century Egypt, during Mental's invasion of Earth, as implied in The First Encounter. The game features a 16-player online, as well as a 4-player splitscreen co-op campaign mode. The game was first released for Microsoft Windows on 22 November 2011. The OS X support for the game followed shortly after and was released on 23 April 2012. The Linux version of the game started being worked on after a high number of requests, where the first Linux-related update was the porting of the game's dedicated server. The game itself, however, was released one day after Valve opened the beta branch for "Steam for Linux", namely on 20 December 2012.

<i>Serious Sam</i> Video game series

Serious Sam is a video game series created and primarily developed by Croteam. It consists predominantly of first-person shooters. The series follows the advances of mercenary Sam "Serious" Stone against Mental, an extraterrestrial overlord who attempts to destroy humanity at various points in time. The first game, Serious Sam: The First Encounter, was released for Microsoft Windows in March 2001. Several spin-offs were developed by other developers, such as a Palm OS conversion of The First Encounter by InterActive Vision, Serious Sam: Next Encounter by Climax Solent, and Serious Sam Advance by Climax London. All three were published by Global Star Software.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BlueStacks</span> American technology company

BlueStacks is a chain of cloud-based cross-platform products developed by the San Francisco-based company of the same name. The BlueStacks App Player enables the execution of Android applications on computers running Microsoft Windows or macOS.

<i>Temple Run</i> 2011 3D endless runner video game

Temple Run is an endless runner video game developed and published by Imangi Studios. The player controls an explorer who has obtained an ancient relic and runs from demonic monkey-like creatures chasing him. The game was initially released for iOS devices on August 4, 2011, and later ported to Android systems and Windows Phone 8.

<i>Serious Sam: The Random Encounter</i> 2011 video game

Serious Sam: The Random Encounter is a 2011 role-playing and bullet hell game developed by Vlambeer and published by Devolver Digital. It follows Sam "Serious" Stone travelling to the future in search of his nemesis, Mental, teaming up with mercenaries on the way. The player controls Sam and his accomplices through confined levels, engaging in battles through random encounters. These pit the player characters against large waves of enemies, and the player controls the weapons and items each character uses against them in five-second turns.

<i>Serious Sam Double D</i> 2011 video game

Serious Sam Double D is a 2011 side-scrolling shooter game developed by Mommy's Best Games and published by Devolver Digital. The game follows Sam "Serious" Stone traveling through various historical settings to destroy the horde of his nemesis, Mental, and its teleportation beacons. As Sam, the player navigates 2D levels and can use the "gun stacker" to create vertical stacks of up to six weapons that are fired simultaneously. Enemies appear from all sides and their corpses can be used as platforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devolver Digital</span> American video game publisher and film distributor

Devolver Digital, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Austin, Texas, specializing in the publishing of indie games. The company was founded in June 2009 by Nigel Lowrie, Harry Miller, Graeme Struthers, Rick Stults, and Mike Wilson, five executives who had been involved with Gathering of Developers and Gamecock Media Group, which published games on developer-friendly terms, but due to the high cost associated with releasing retail games saw themselves acquired and dissolved by larger companies. To avoid this, Devolver Digital instead turned to digital distribution channels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Google Play</span> Digital distribution service by Google

Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store or Play Store and formerly known as Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android operating system and its derivatives, as well as ChromeOS, allowing users to browse and download applications developed with the Android software development kit and published through Google. Google Play has also served as a digital media store, offering games, music, books, movies, and television programs. Content that has been purchased on Google Play Movies & TV and Google Play Books can be accessed on a web browser and through the Android and iOS apps.

<i>Shadowgun</i> 2011 video game

Shadowgun is a 2011 third-person shooter video game developed and published by Madfinger Games for iOS, BlackBerry PlayBook and Android. The game was followed by successful sequels Shadowgun: DeadZone (2012) and Shadowgun Legends (2018). The company is also preparing Shadowgun War Games focused on team based PvP gameplay and esports. In 2013, the game was ported to Ouya and BlackBerry 10, and was also released as a pre-installed app on PlayJam's GameStick for anyone who supported the GameStick Kickstarter campaign.

<i>Serious Sam 4</i> 2020 video game

Serious Sam 4 is a 2020 first-person shooter developed by Croatian studio Croteam and published by Devolver Digital. It is part of the Serious Sam series and a prequel to Serious Sam 3: BFE. The game was announced in April 2018, originally as Serious Sam 4: Planet Badass, was released in September 2020 for Microsoft Windows and Stadia, followed by PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S ports in December 2021. A standalone expansion, Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem, was released in January 2022.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Caldwell, Brendan (October 26, 2011). "Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack!". Pocket Gamer . Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Alexander, Kevin (September 18, 2011). "Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack! Review". Gamezebo . Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  3. Mitchell, Richard (July 13, 2011). "Play as Serious Sam's worst enemy in Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack". Engadget . Archived from the original on February 9, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Schilling, Chris (September 19, 2011). "Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack!". Pocket Gamer . Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hayward, Andrew (September 17, 2011). "iPad reviews of the week: VidRhythm, Radballs, DrawRace 2, Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack!". GamesRadar+ . Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 Usher, Anthony (July 14, 2011). "Sam 'Serious' Stone coming to the App Store and Android Market in Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack 'soon'". Pocket Gamer . Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Klosowski, Thorin (September 19, 2011). "'Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack!' Review – Headless Runner". TouchArcade . Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 Fletcher, JC (September 21, 2011). "Portabliss: Serious Sam Kamikaze Attack (iOS/Android)". Engadget . Archived from the original on February 9, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 D'Aprile, Jason (September 22, 2011). "Serious Sam: Kamakazi Attack! Review". Slide to Play. Archived from the original on September 24, 2011.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Usher, Anthony (July 26, 2011). "Interview: Be-Rad Entertainment developer Brad Johnson talks motivation behind Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack, future updates, and Windows Phone port". Pocket Gamer . Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Conditt, Jessica (September 18, 2011). "The Joystiq Indie Pitch: Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack". Engadget . Archived from the original on February 9, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  12. 1 2 Usher, Anthony (September 15, 2011). "Be-Rad's Lame Castle HD for iPad goes free to celebrate Serious Sam release". Pocket Gamer . Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  13. 1 2 Garcia, Louis (April 28, 2011). "Interview Roundup: Croteam and indie developers discuss new titles in the Serious Sam universe". VentureBeat . Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  14. "Be-Rad Entertainment press kit – Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack!". Be-Rad Entertainment. July 21, 2021. Archived from the original on July 25, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  15. 1 2 Johnson, Brad (September 13, 2011). "Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack! Available Sept. 15th". Be-Rad Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 25, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  16. Orland, Kyle (March 9, 2011). "Three Indie Developers To Get A Bite At Serious Sam License". Gamasutra . Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  17. Dutton, Fred (March 9, 2011). "Indie devs hijack Serious Sam franchise". Eurogamer . Archived from the original on January 7, 2014. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  18. Fletcher, JC (March 3, 2011). "Serious Sam gets serious indie cred with new Indie Series". Engadget . Archived from the original on July 10, 2017. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  19. O'Connor, Alice (March 9, 2011). "Serious Sam indie spin-offs announced". Shacknews . Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  20. "Mental's Horde Recruiting Ahead of Serious Sam 3: BFE" (Press release). Devolver Digital. July 12, 2011. Archived from the original on April 10, 2020. Retrieved April 10, 2020 via IGN.
  21. Phillips, Tom (July 26, 2011). "Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack! trailer". Eurogamer . Archived from the original on April 10, 2020. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  22. Wragg, James (September 15, 2011). "Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack! trailer". Eurogamer . Archived from the original on April 10, 2020. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  23. O'Connor, Alice (September 15, 2011). "Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack hits today". Shacknews . Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  24. Taylor, Alex (September 14, 2011). "Hilarious platformer Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack blows up on New Zealand App Store". Pocket Gamer . Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  25. Johnson, Brad (September 15, 2011). "It's out, Exclamation Point!". Be-Rad Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 25, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  26. Johnson, Brad [@BeRad_Ent] (September 16, 2011). "Thanks to everyone who's supported Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack! by paying for it, unfortunately most players haven't" (Tweet). Archived from the original on October 10, 2019. Retrieved December 23, 2020 via Twitter.
  27. Johnson, Brad (November 29, 2011). "Amazon App Store Permissions". Be-Rad Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 25, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  28. "Indie Royale debuts 'Lightning Packs' with Serious Sam indies". Gamasutra . January 24, 2012. Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  29. Conditt, Jessica (January 24, 2012). "Indie Royale presents the Serious Sam lightning deal". Engadget . Archived from the original on February 9, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  30. Kaharl, Jonathan (August 23, 2020). "Serious Sam Spin-Offs (Part 1)". Hardcore Gaming 101 . Archived from the original on June 21, 2023. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  31. Johnson, Brad (July 27, 2021). "Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack! Launched On Steam". Be-Rad Entertainment. Archived from the original on August 2, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  32. 1 2 Capel, Chris J (July 31, 2021). "Decade-old Serious Sam spin-off starring the bomb guy finally hits Steam". PCGamesN . Archived from the original on August 2, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  33. 1 2 "Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack!". Metacritic . Archived from the original on September 14, 2023. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  34. 1 2 Nesvadba, Andrew (September 15, 2011). "Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack! Review". AppSpy. Archived from the original on April 10, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  35. Johnson, Brad (June 12, 2012). "Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack! Is GameFly's App Of The Day". Be-Rad Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 25, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2020.