Like the previous entries in the series, the game is a simple, arcade-style shooter that throws back many elements to the early days of the genre with games such as Wolfenstein 3D, Doom and Duke Nukem 3D. Various attempts to retake Egypt and reach the Time-Lock have failed, until a new task force is sent in with 'Serious' Sam Stone on board, and despite being separated from his team - Sam plows forward with all the weaponry he can find.
However this discovery catches the attention of a dangerous cosmic entity known as Notorious Mental, who assaults Egypt and seizes the Time-Lock as his own, abusing its powers to create a horde of cloned beasts borrowed from various points and places in the universes history to unleash upon the Earth. Set in the 22nd century, the plot revolves around a device known as the 'Time-Lock ' a discovery made beneath the ruins of ancient Egypt, found to belong to an even older yet technologically advanced civilization known as the Sirians. Running on the new Serious Engine 3.5, Serious Sam 3: BFE serves as a prequel to the original First Encounter a fact referenced in the games title, BFE standing for Before First Encounter. The Serious Sam series is back for its third main (though sixth overall) outing.
