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This subject appears in Serious Sam 3: BFE. This subject appears in Serious Sam 4.  This subject appears in Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem.  This subject is from the Mental War era. 

 
"Nothing says "honey I'm home" like a stick of dynamite."
Sam Stone[src]
 

The C-4 Demolition Charge is a throwable explosive introduced in Serious Sam 3: BFE. It reappears in Serious Sam 3 VR: BFE, Serious Sam 4, and the standalone expansion pack, Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem.

Overview[]

C-4 charge wall SS3

A C-4 charge attached to a wall.

The C-4 demolition charge is a plastic explosive that can deliver a powerful detonation capable of causing severe damage to groups of hostiles or particularly large individual enemies. It can also be used to demolish structures or to blow holes in architectural obstacles.[1][2] As a metastable explosive, it can only be triggered via remote control. The explosive charges come equipped with a universal hook system that enable the C-4 to stick to designated positions. These positions are marked by NETRICSA as a red holographic icon to make placing charges easier.[2] The designated positions also include enemy torsos if the player is daring enough to get up close.

The primary fire key will have the player toss a C-4 charge at the designated target. Where the C-4 will land is dependent on the user's distance; if the player is right next to a wall or an enemy, Sam will toss a C-4 charge onto it. If the target is further away, Sam will throw the explosive. Thrown C-4 charges can travel quite some distance.

The demolition charge is one of only two items that can be supplied by resupply crates (which appear as red when containing C-4). The player can carry up to 10 blocks of C-4 on normal and higher difficulties, but after placing C-4 the player can collect more before they detonate it. Therefore it is possible to place an infinite amount of C-4.

In Serious Sam 4, C-4 charges are much less damaging to the player than before, inflicting only up to 25 points of damage if detonated too close (8.33% of the usual 300 splash damage). This is due to the implementation of a new flag that controls how much damage a projectile will inflict to its owner, replacing the previous "Apply damage to owner" flag that can only be toggled on or off.

Appearances[]

C-4 doesn't usually appear until the early to middle portions of the game it appears in. C-4 charges, unlike other weapons, are always found in ammo crates, which can provide an infinite supply of them. Throughout the series, C-4 is required to traverse through obstacles or structures that are otherwise preventing the player from progressing through the level. Sometimes, they are needed to access secret areas that are blocked by a wall or similar obstacle.

Occasionally, C-4 is required to be used against bosses, whose health is usually too high for them to be defeated by weaker weapons, such as the Khnum that appears as a boss in Serious Sam 3: BFE, and the final boss fought in Jewel of the Nile.

Serious Sam 3: BFE[]

The player automatically acquires C-4 in Under the Iron Cloud after the cutscene in which Sam uses said explosives to destroy a portion of an overpass to gain access to another part of Cairo. In The Silent Riddler, C-4 is required to destroy the Great Sphinx to gain access to the secret chamber underneath the Great Pyramid of Giza. Later in the game, crates containing C-4 are scattered here and there, and become more common in The Last Man on Earth and The Guardian of Time.

Jewel of the Nile[]

C-4 is obtained in the abandoned military base in Together Forever. The player is required to use the explosives to blast a hole through a metal fence that is barring entry to the Abu Simbel temples. Several crates can be found in the same level, as well as in the final level, Born Again, for which they are needed to defeat Raahloom.

Serious Sam 4[]

C-4 is first obtained from an ammo crate in Gates of Hell, and then later it appears again from crates in later portions of the game. A few crates appear in the final level, From Earth With Love, which are needed to destroy the 10 metal rods on Ugh-Zan VI's body.

Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem[]

C-4 charges are quite rare, and are usually found in secrets or in the later levels. C-4 is required to access any of the classic secret arenas except for The City of the Gods in Siberiade.

Tactics[]

General[]

  • C-4 does more damage if it is attached to a target rather than if it was simply detonated on the ground at close proximity to an enemy. It's important to remember this when engaging stronger enemies like Khnums or Scrapjacks, as even detonating a mass of C-4 near them is not guaranteed to do significant damage. This can be disregarded when engaging weaker enemies like Beheaded Rocketeers, Cloned Soldiers, Kleer Skeletons, Octanian Commanders, Octanian Gamma Troopers and Processed Anthropolyps, as the explosive power is enough to decimate weaker enemies in droves.
  • Keep in mind that if an enemy with C-4 attached to it is killed without being detonated, the dropped block of C-4 cannot be picked up and will stay on the ground until detonation.
  • C-4 charges attached to enemies will detonate if they're gibbed.

Serious Sam 3: BFE[]

  • C-4 is useful for destroying walls and other obstacles or for flushing out enemies concealed behind buildings, especially pillars used by Aurigan Cave Demons.

Serious Sam 4/Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem[]

  • C-4 is an effective weapon against Witch-Brides of Achriman, especially when more than one of them appear at a time. It is quite risky, however, as the player has to get within close to medium range to throw C-4 on her. It is also best to do this when there are no other enemies present to distract the player.
  • It is very useful against large hordes of enemies or if the player is being swarmed by them.

Related achievements[]

Serious Sam 3: BFE[]

Achievement Maintenance time
Maintenance time 5 Gscore Ps 3 bronze
Blow a Major Biomechanoid into pieces.

Serious Sam 3 VR: BFE[]

Achievement Maintenance Time SS3VRBFE
Maintenance Time
Blow a Major Biomechanoid into pieces.

Serious Sam Fusion[]

Achievement Maintenance time SSF
Maintenance time
Blow a Major Biomechanoid into pieces.

Serious Sam 4[]

Achievement Veni Vidi Witchy
Veni Vidi Witchy 20 Gscore Ps 3 bronze
Kill a Witchbride using C4.

Bugs/glitches[]

  • In Serious Sam 3, if the player places C-4 in multiple circumstances at the same time, such as placing C-4 on a designated point and then placing some randomly on the ground, and then detonates it, not all the C-4 will detonate at the same time (usually the C-4 placed in designated positions will not explode), requiring the detonator to be pressed a second time.

Trivia[]

Gallery[]

Serious Sam 3: BFE[]

Serious Sam 4/Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem[]

List of appearances[]

References[]

  1. Serious Sam 3: BFE NETRICSA description
  2. 2.0 2.1 Serious Sam 4 NETRICSA description
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