Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter vs Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands
Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter is an FPS game from Croteam (2009) while Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands is an FPS open-world game from Ubisoft Paris (2017).
Quick answer: Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter rates higher, 7.5 to 7.3 on the GamingPickz Score, and Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter is the cheaper at $14.99.
What each one is
Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter is filed under FPS. In contrast, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands under FPS and Open-World.
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!
Lead your elite team of Ghosts in this tactical third-person shooter. Explore a massive open world, infiltrate and destroy the deadly Santa Blanca cartel, and save Bolivia and its people.
Story, characters and reception
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)
Plot
Setting The game takes place in Bolivia in July 2019. The country has become increasingly unstable as a Mexican drug cartel known as the Santa Blanca Cartel gains control of several regions throughout the country. Led by the brutal and religious cartel boss El Sueño, the cartel gains more power and influence within and outside the country, turning Bolivia into the world's largest producer of cocaine. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Pre-release As the game was revealed at E3 2015, some critics called the announcement one of the most surprising reveals during E3. Wildlands was nominated for IGN 's E3 2015 Game of the Show, Best PlayStation 4 Game, Best Xbox One Game and Best PC Game awards, and received one of GameSpot s Best of E3 2015 awards. It was also named the best co-operative and the best shooter by Game Informer in their Best of E3 2015 Awards. (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter | Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.5/10 | 7.3/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (93%, 8,940) | Mostly Positive (78%, 113,815) |
| Critic aggregate | 68/100 | 69/100 |
| Price | $14.99 | $49.99 |
| Install size | — | 50 GB |
| Steam Deck | playable | playable |
| Released | 2009 | 2017 |
| Developer | Croteam | Ubisoft Paris |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter vs Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands, 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
Serious Sam HD: The First EncounterFPS gameTom Clancy's Ghost Recon WildlandsFPS open-world gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Serious Sam HD: The First EncounterFPS, Action, ShooterTom Clancy's Ghost Recon WildlandsOpen World, Shooter, Co-opThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter ✓Score 7.5 · 93% on Steam · 68 criticTom Clancy's Ghost Recon WildlandsScore 7.3 · 78% on Steam · 69 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter8,940 reviewsTom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands113,815 reviews · 8 add-ons · 50 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter ✓$14.99Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands$49.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Serious Sam HD: The First EncounterPlayableTom Clancy's Ghost Recon WildlandsPlayableValve'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 catalogueSerious Sam HD: The First Encounter and Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands 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)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands (113,815 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
FPSActionShooterCo-opMultiplayerOnline Co-OpFirst-PersonSingleplayer
Where they differ
GoreComedyClassicOld SchoolIndieAliens
Open WorldStealthTacticalMilitaryThird-Person ShooterThird Person
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter is demanding, for players who want a challenge. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter | Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | nVidia GeForce 7600 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX660 / AMD R9 270X (2GB |
| Minimum CPU | Intel Pentium 4 3+ Ghz | Intel Core i5-2400S @ 2.5 GHz |
| Minimum RAM | 1 GB | 6 GB |
| Install size | — | 50 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter · Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter and 1 for Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter and Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands in scope?
Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter has drawn 8,940 Steam reviews. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands has drawn 113,815 Steam reviews, ships 8 add-ons and installs in 50 GB.
Is Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter or Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter rates higher (7.5 to 7.3). 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, Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter or Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands?
Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter is cheaper right now at $14.99, against $49.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Should I get Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter or Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands?
Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter rates higher, 7.5 to 7.3 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.