Serious Sam 3 Has Awesome DRM

We can all admit that DRM is outright horrible and does more to punish legitimate buyers than those who would pirate. It’s draconian, outdated and unwelcome. Serious Sam 3: BFE developer Croteam, however, has once again proven that there is a way to meet the demands of players in today’s market. As revealed by Dark Side Of Gaming, pirates will find a new enemy waiting for them when they fire up their copies.

In what I can only describe as a brilliantly devious step, a giant invincible armored scorpion capable of a Usain Bolt level of speed will relentlessly hunt the player, doing a fair chunk of damage with every attack. The player’s only recourse is to sprint away for the entire game and hope they can outrun it (spoiler: they can’t) or purchase a legitimate copy.

While this will undoubtedly be cracked sooner rather than later, it should still be applauded as a company doing the right thing. It in no way harms the legitimate customer and leads to comedy for those of us fortunate enough to watch. Frankly, the only downside I see is that I’m now tempted to pirate it myself just to see the shenanigans first-hand.