Homefront vs Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter
Homefront is an FPS open-world game from Kaos Studios (2011) while Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter is an FPS game from Croteam (2009).
Quick answer: Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter rates higher, 7.5 to 6.1 on the GamingPickz Score, and Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter is the cheaper at $14.99.
What each one is
Homefront is filed under FPS and Open-World. In contrast, Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter under FPS.
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Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter is a visually upgraded and fully Steam supported remake version of the original high-adrenaline single-play and 16-player co-operative arcade-action FPS which was Gamespot's Game of the Year 2001 and which scored overall of 87% on Metacritic!
Story, characters and reception
No Wikipedia detail on file.
Plot
Serious Sam: The First Encounter begins with recounting how humans in the early 21st century found buried artefacts of the Sirians , an ancient but technologically advanced alien civilisation, which enabled them to explore the universe at large. However, in 2104, they were attacked by forces commanded by the alien overlord Mental. Humanity was pushed back from Alpha Centauri to the Solar System and eventually Earth , where it faced its eradication. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Serious Sam: The First Encounter received "generally favorable reviews", according to the review aggregator website Metacritic , which calculated a weighted average rating of 87/100 based on thirty-one critic reviews. Several critics described the game as a return to older first-person shooters like Doom and Duke Nukem 3D as the genre had since become more story-focused, as in Half-Life . John Bye ( Eurogamer ), Dave Woods ( PC Zone ), and… (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Homefront | Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 6.1/10 | 7.5/10 |
| Steam rating | Mixed (62%, 13,410) | Very Positive (93%, 8,940) |
| Critic aggregate | 70/100 | 68/100 |
| Price | $19.99 | $14.99 |
| Install size | — | — |
| Steam Deck | playable | playable |
| Released | 2011 | 2009 |
| Developer | Kaos Studios | Croteam |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Homefront vs Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
HomefrontFPS open-world gameSerious Sam HD: The First EncounterFPS gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
HomefrontAction, FPS, ShooterSerious Sam HD: The First EncounterFPS, Action, ShooterThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
HomefrontScore 6.1 · 62% on Steam · 70 criticSerious Sam HD: The First Encounter ✓Score 7.5 · 93% on Steam · 68 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Homefront13,410 reviews · 3 add-onsSerious Sam HD: The First Encounter8,940 reviewsReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Homefront$19.99Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter ✓$14.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
HomefrontPlayableSerious Sam HD: The First EncounterPlayableValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter takes 2 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueHomefront and Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter (GamingPickz Score 7.5)
- The cheaper right now: Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter ($14.99)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
ActionFPSShooterMultiplayerSingleplayerFirst-PersonGoreCo-op
Where they differ
MilitaryWarAtmosphericShortOpen WorldViolent
ComedyOnline Co-OpClassicOld SchoolIndieAliens
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Homefront is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter is demanding, for players who want a challenge.
System requirements, side by side
| Homefront | Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | — | nVidia GeForce 7600 |
| Minimum CPU | — | Intel Pentium 4 3+ Ghz |
| Minimum RAM | — | 1 GB |
| Install size | — | — |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Homefront · Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for Homefront and 1 for Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Homefront and Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter in scope?
Homefront has drawn 13,410 Steam reviews and ships 3 add-ons. Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter has drawn 8,940 Steam reviews.
Is Homefront or Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter rates higher (7.5 to 6.1). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Homefront or Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter?
Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter is cheaper right now at $14.99, against $19.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Should I get Homefront or Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter?
Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter rates higher, 7.5 to 6.1 on the GamingPickz Score, and Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter is the cheaper at $14.99. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.