Assuming there are no sudden postponements, avid PC gamers are sure to have a hectic holiday season this year. In the span of a month or two, folks will be bombarded by Rage, Battlefield 3, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Batman: Arkham City, possibly Diablo III's beta, and likely half a dozen other titles we're not recalling offhand. Now you can stack one more title on that pile: Serious Sam 3: BFE.

Slated for October 18, BFE will serve as a prequel to 2001's Serious Sam: The First Encounter. Set in 22nd century Egypt, the latest entry vows to deliver a modernized Serious Sam experience without altering the formula that earned its predecessors a cult following: relentless action and a wanton disregard for digital life forms. That's all you can really demand in an arcade-style first-person shooter, but Serious Sam 3 will also deliver:

  • Fearsome Enemy Creatures - A new battalion of unforgettable minions including the rumbling Scrapjack and towering Khnum join the legendary Headless Kamikaze, Gnaar and Sirian Werebull to create the fiercest opposition you've ever had the pleasure of mowing down.
  • Spectacular Environments - Battle across the expansive battlefields of near-future Egypt bursting at the seams with total chaos. The shattered cities of tomorrow lined with the crumbling temples of an ancient world become your destructible playground.
  • Destructive Arsenal - Unleash Serious Sam's arsenal of weapons including a scoped assault rifle, the double-barreled shotgun, the explosive automatic shotgun, the punishing minigun, and the almighty barrage of flaming cannonballs! Carry all of Sam's weapons at once and switch between each gun on the fly for maximum firepower.
  • Brutal Melee Attacks - When the going get's tough, the tough take matters into their own hands! Rip out the eye of a closing Gnaar, twist off the face of the hideous Scrapjack or snap the neck of an Arachnoid Hatchling for an instant kill.
  • Co-Op Chaos - Go to war against Mental's horde with up to 16 players online and annihilate everything that moves across 12 levels of mayhem. Try to survive wave after wave of enemies in the relentless Survival mode or go on a monstrous safari in Beast Hunt mode!
  • Pure Multiplayer Mayhem - Drop the gauntlet and let the heavy ordinance fly in incredible versus modes like Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Last Team Standing and My Burden. This is the next level of Serious Sam multiplayer and all hell is about to break loose!
  • Split Screen Modes - Huddle up with split screen co-op and multiplayer versus modes with up to four players on one screen. Hey, stop looking at my screen!

Preorders have opened on Steam with pricing set at $35.99 (10% off $39.99). Hoping to entice your purchase, Steam and Croteam are offering a $44.99 "Serious Digital Edition" of the title with slew of bonuses including the classic versions of Serious Sam: First and Second Encounter, a making-of Serious Sam 3: BFE video, the game's official soundtrack and artwork, as well as various exclusive multiplayer characters and weapons.