Gunstacker Upgrades Explained

I love the Gunstacker feature in the current release of Serious Sam Double D on Steam, but we can push it further. There's definitely some neat strategy you can get out of the current version, but obviously with more weapon variety the player has even more options on how to tackle a tough fight.

That's where the XXL comes in, for the new version of the game coming to XBLA later this summer. The new game has an extra suffix (Serious Sam Double D XXL) denoting new content, and one big aspect is Gunstacker upgrades! There will be two types of modifications "Ammo" and "Upgrades".

For each of the 8 gun types (Tommy Gun, Rocket Launcher, etc), there is the ability to increase the amount of ammo the guns can carry. This general modification is applied to an entire 'gun type' (like all variations of Tommy Guns). As you buy Ammo+1, you get an extra clip which gives you about 20% more ammo for that gun type. Any Tommy Guns for which you buy Ammo+1 can now carry more ammo. That opens up Ammo+2, and then Ammo+3, each costing more, but letting you carry a lot more bullets in the end.

Buy gun-changing upgrades for particular guns.

The second, and biggest area are the specialty "Upgrades". These are applied to one specific gun which you'll select while buying things in the new store (the first Tommy Gun, your third Shotgun, etc). That's right, you pick one specific Shotgun, and then buy an expensive upgrade for it. But why? Because the specialty Upgrades basically turn that particular gun into a whole new weapon!

These range in complexity, from an upgrade to the Machine Pistol that increases the damage dealt by all guns in your current stack, all the way up to entirely new weapons like an upgrade to the Shotgun... that turns it into the legendary Serious Sam Cannon!

You'll also be able to revert a specialty gun back to it's original form, and get a little bit of money back in the process.

Stay tuned, as over the summer I'll be detailing some of the various new guns you can get in XXL.