Serious Sam 3: BFE griefs pirates

Serious Sam's sabbatical ended late last month with the release of Serious Sam 3: BFE. The game brought back the series' familiarly frantic shooting gameplay, but it also delivered something not quite so expected: scorpion-based digital rights management.

Instead of rendering the game unplayable, pirated copies of Serious Sam 3: BFE spawn an immortal giant pink scorpion near the opening of the game. As reported by The Dark Side Of Gaming, the deadly enemy will appear and endlessly pursue all who load up nefariously copied versions of the game. Because it can't be killed, the level can't be cleared, effectively bringing the game to a halt.

A Croteam representative confirmed the scorpion creature's purpose for GameSpot, saying, "Yes. It follows you around until you're dead."

Delivering DRM in a more playful package is not unique to Serious Sam 3. The recently released Take On Helicopters by Bohemia Interactive also employed a game-altering scheme that caused extreme blurring of game visuals on pirated copies of the game.

Serious Sam 3: BFE brings the straightforward action of the first games back in a modernized package. Sam's latest encounter sees the return of the series' signature adversaries like the Headless Kamikaze and Gnaar, as well as new opponents going by names like Scrapjack and Khnum.

For more on Croteam's latest shooter, check out GameSpot's review of Serious Sam 3: BFE.