Top Ten Best Levels in Serious Sam: The First Encounter or The Second Encounter

The Grand Cathedral is the culmination of all the amazing combat you saw throughout The Second Encounter up until this final level. The cathedral music drones throughout as you go through the so-called "Corridor of Death," which includes a weird jumping pad segment.

The finale has you fighting enemies as meteors rain down, which is amazingly epic. The final boss summons enemies into the level to really tighten the time it takes to beat him. There's no denying this is, and always has been, my favorite level in all of the Serious Sam games thus far.

The end of the Babylon episode of the game involves the fabled Tower of Babel. It first starts with a few corridors with very interesting combat, and then you finally get outside. Three key items need to be collected in the courtyards around the tower before you can head inside.

The level also has secrets galore. You can even go for a secret "Round Two," which is a certified challenge. Inside the tower, the Exotech Larva boss is fought.

To quote Anakin from Revenge of the Sith, "This is where the fun begins." That's true. Although the suburb-like area can be problematic, much of the rest of Metropolis is loaded with fun once you reach the roadways.

This level has the first true large wave of the game with the large number of Kleer Skeletons running all the way down the road. The arena fight is also quite memorable due to its overall length.

The last level of The First Encounter starts as a glorified arena, with waves of enemies coming from the sides. These include Kleer Skeletons, Sirian Werebulls, and Bio-mechanoids. This level takes a while and is quite challenging, but the premise is wonderful.

The music, much like in Grand Cathedral, stays with you throughout, but it actually gets faster after each wave, making this one unique. Then, you fight the true big bad of this game, Ugh-Zan III, or rather, run from him first all the way to the pyramid.

Eventually, we finally fight the big guy in the large spaceship. The tension in this level is, and always will be, high, making this final level truly worthy.

I wouldn't call this level the culmination of First Encounter levels, since it's obviously not the last level of the game. But Karnak is the largest level in The First Encounter and, by extension, the most atmospheric, since it's the only one that takes place at nighttime. (Alley of the Sphinxes also takes place at nighttime, but only in the HD version).

There are a ton of challenges awaiting players as they go along this semi-corridor shooter-style level, with the Ankh Pool being a major highlight, as well as the final courtyard.

There are a ton of nasty parts in Courtyards of Gilgamesh, whether on the interior parts or the exterior parts of the level. The beginnings aren't so bad, apart from the swimming exercise.

The inside palace has many simple yet devious traps, plus a great hall that crumbles every few seconds. The last few courtyards, though, will have memorable waves stopping you each and every time, in an epic conclusion to a fantastic level.

The name could be more unique (could've called it Xibalba, since that's what it's called!), but this is a level full of traps and weird rooms that will make everything spin. It's utterly crazy and, in some ways, actually annoying.

It's quite claustrophobic until you reach the outside part, with several Bio-mechanoids raining down. The boss here is also not to be taken lightly, as enemies are everywhere, and so are the danger levels.

Oh, what the heck, this belongs here. It's a fun level, even if it starves you of resources at the beginning. It culminates into a road walk, then another arena, not to mention the introduction to the cannon here, plus a humongous lava golem to fight.

It's something truly intense for a boss at this point in the game.

While it becomes daytime after Karnak, what's seen here is some pretty warlike combat going on throughout Luxor. Having to solve a riddle is as simple as collecting two items, but it's made hard due to who you end up fighting as you go through.

The cutscene to call a huge spaceship is pretty epic, though the four Ankh scavenger hunt is pretty bad. Fighting the enemies here ensures the level isn't boring.