Rich Knuckles is back with a retrospective looking at the Serious Sam series since its inception in 1996. Why is he doing that? Because the game is part of this week's Humble Bundle where you can get almost EVERY Serious Sam game ever created including the Indie game series games for a price you name.

We must be reaching the end of the current console generation.  Why do I say this?  Because downloadable games are being offered cheaper than ever before in the hopes that we fill our hard drives with content that will most likely not be transferable.   Microsoft reduced a load of games last week, but Serious Sam 3: BFE also got in on the action receiving a permanent reduction to 800 Microsoft Points.

Xbox Live's "Deals of the Week" can be hit or miss. Next week is a big hit for fans of old school first person shooters. The Serious Sam franchise isn't fancy, but it gets the job done. This is a meat and potatoes shooter for those of us who enjoy our meat bloody and our potatoes mashed. Wait, that doesn't sound right...

Serious Sam 3: BFE publisher, Devolver Digital, is drawing a line in the sand. They're sick of lackluster military shooters. Medal of Honor: Warfighter recently launched to less than stellar reviews, and doing so has earned Devolver's ire. They take offense to the overused tropes of the military shooter genre. "Peeking out from behind a wall" is not something manly men do. Real men circle strafe the crap out of their enemies, like god intended.

I really like Serious Sam, and had an awful lot of chaotic fun with the PC version of Serious Sam 3: BFE, so when an Xbox Live Arcade port was announced, I was more than happy to check it out. As with most good things in life, it comes with a downside, and a potentially... Serious... one.

Serious Sam 3: BFE has a solid release date for the Xbox Live Arcade. It will be hitting the digital storefront on October 17th. As we reported earlier this week, the game will be sold in two parts. Sam is just too damn big for the XBLA file size limit. The single player and cooperative campaign will make up one digital package, the multiplayer modes and new "Jewel of the Nile" DLC will make up the second. Each will cost 1200 MSP ($15). 

Serious Sam 3: BFE will be coming to the XBLA later this month. The old-school first person shooter was a blast on PC and supported four player local co-op and 16 player online co-op. The XBLA version will still feature plenty of co-op, but not on the same scale. According to the game's listing on the XBL Marketplace it will feature two player local co-op and four player online co-op. Not bad. 

Serious Sam 3's massive 16 player co-op campaign has just gotten bigger thanks to the Jewel of the Nile DLC.  The $9.99 priced pack of content features three "huge" single player / co-op missions, new bosses, new weapons, and of course...more Sam.

Serious Sam 3: BFE doesn't have a specific release date , isn't on the Xbox Live Marketplace (yet), and doesn't have a definitive co-op player count. It does have an Achievement list, so that's something, right? There are specific chievos for co-op play. We're still trying to nail down exactly how many player will be able to partake in the old school gib-fest. Below you'll find a guide to imaginary numbers.

To prep for this article I read more about Linux than I ever have before (or at all). I've come to the conclusion that Linux is not Windows and not a Mac. Apparently it involves penguins, and Linux users will be getting their very own port of Serious Sam 3: BFE later this year. Huzzah!?

Serious Sam 3: BFE is getting some new missions via DLC. The new content is titled "Jewel of the Nile," and it will be available this October on the PC. The missions are set during the BFE storyline, and follow the Serious One as he attempts to procure a "powerful artifact" which will aid humanity in their struggle against the alien onslaught.

Some of my fondest co-op memories are from my high school and college days, when some good friends and I fired up Serious Sam and played all night until the crack of dawn. Serious Sam games have always had the ability to make entire nights disappear. The frantic action paired with ridiculous over-the-top enemies is perfect for keeping a group of co-op buddies laughing for hours. This is why we think Serious Sam 3: BFE should make for a perfect co-op night.

Everyone knew that Serious Sam 3: BFE was eventually going to make an appearance on the Xbox 360, but we didn't known it was bringing a friend. That's right, Serious Sam: Double D XXL is coming to Xbox Live this fall, and it will include a two player local co-op mode.

Serious Sam 3: BFE is still coming to the Xbox 360. That's a relief. Playing on the computer is nice and all, but I really want to play from my couch, so I'm all for it. Croteam, the developer of the Sam franchise, recently gave a status update for the console versions in a Facebook post.

Serious Sam 3: BFE is now available for Mac users. 16 players can fill the screen as you battle screaming, headless, kamikaze warriors and other bizarre alien beasts. Yup. That's 16 player online co-op. You can even play locally via four player split screen co-op. The Serious Sam franchise may not be fancy, but it gets the job done. It's a can't miss if you're into old-school first person shooters. I even got it running on my stock laptop, so you know the system requirements won't beat down your machine. It earned a 4 out of 5 in our Co-Op Review.