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[]
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. NETRICSA can mark these positions 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.
A C-4 charge attached to a wall.
A single block of C-4 is thrown when the player presses the fire key. Thrown charges are detonated with the secondary fire key (Right-click by default). Where the C-4 will land is dependant on the player's range; if the player is right next to a wall or an enemy, Sam will simply toss a C-4 charge onto it. If the target is further away, the charge is thrown and attaches to whatever comes into contact with it (if it lands on the ground or bounces off something, however, it will not stick and can be picked up again). Thrown C-4 charges can travel some distance, which can be useful for eliminating groups of hostiles or tough opponents from medium or far range.
C-4 charges are one of 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.
Serious Sam 3: BFE[]
C-4 charges are perhaps the most powerful weapon in the game, aside from the SBC Cannon. They can prove very useful to the player where they are forced to go through places that have many obstacles, such as inside tombs or ancient Egyptian temples complexes.
Serious Sam 4[]
C-4 charges are much less damaging to the player than in the previous game, 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[]
Being a very powerful weapon, C-4 is not usually acquired until halfway through the games it appears in. Unlike other weapons, C-4 charges 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 several C-4 charges in the level "Under the Iron Cloud" after a cutscene plays showing Sam using said explosives to destroy a portion of an overpass to gain access to another part of the city. The weapon can, however, be acquired earlier as secrets in the levels "Broken Wings" and "No Place to Hide".
In "The Silent Riddler", C-4 is needed to destroy the Great Sphinx in order 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".
Occasionally, a block of C-4 is required to access a secret area, which is otherwise rendered inaccessbile. Examples of this are found on the levels are "Broken Wings" and "No Place to Hide".
Jewel of the Nile[]
A crate of C-4 can be found in the abandoned military base in the level "Together Forever", after Quinn suggests to Sam to find a way to gain access to the metal fence 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 the final boss, 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 areas except for "The City of the Gods" in "Siberiade".
Unlike the previous games, no C-4 crates appear in the expansion pack, but they can be added into custom levels with the Serious Editor.
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[]
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| Blow a Major Biomechanoid into pieces. |
Serious Sam 3 VR: BFE[]
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| Blow a Major Biomechanoid into pieces. |
Serious Sam Fusion[]
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| Blow a Major Biomechanoid into pieces. |
Serious Sam 4[]
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| 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.
- The behavior of this weapon is like the Pipebomb, a weapon cut from Serious Sam: The First Encounter.
Trivia[]
- C-4 is similar to the pipe bomb from Duke Nukem 3D.
- It is possible to place an infinite amount of C-4, so long as there is an ammo crate nearby.
- Planted C-4 charges emit an audible beeping sound in Serious Sam 4 and Siberian Mayhem.
Gallery[]
Serious Sam 3: BFE[]
Serious Sam 4/Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem[]
List of appearances[]
- Serious Sam 3: BFE (First appearance)
- Serious Sam 3 VR: BFE (non-canonical appearance)
- Serious Sam 4
- Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem
References[]
- ↑ Serious Sam 3: BFE NETRICSA description
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Serious Sam 4 NETRICSA description