The H.E.A.R.T. (Hypovolemic Emergency Automated Revival Technology) is a gadget featured in Serious Sam 4 and its expansion pack Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem. It is one of the rarest gadgets in both titles.
Overview[]
The H.E.A.R.T. is a portable automated external defibrillator that can instantly revive an incapacitated soldier in combat. When a soldier is near death, the H.E.A.R.T. activates and restarts the heart, allowing the soldier to keep on fighting.[1]
Unlike other gadgets, the H.E.A.R.T cannot be used manually; it only activates when the player runs out of health. When this occurs, the player is given 10 seconds to choose whether to activate the H.E.A.R.T. or reload from the last save point. If they choose to use the H.E.A.R.T., the player's character slowly reaches towards one of the buttons on the gadget which activates it. The player's health is then restored to 100 and they can get back into the action. In rare cases, the player's armor may also be restored to only 25.
This gadget will be blocked from being used if any of the following occurs:
- The player's character is gibbed (i.e. with excessive self-damage from rockets with an active Rage Serum, by getting crushed by containers or the crushing blocks in the "Sierra de Chiapas" secret, or dying to any custom enemy that does Piercing damage).
- The player falls into the abyss or the spike pits in the "Sierra de Chiapas" and "The City of the Gods" secrets.
In either case, the player has the only option to reload from the last saved game.
Appearances[]
Serious Sam 4[]
H.E.A.R.T. is one of the rarest gadgets in the game, and appears exclusively as a side quest and in secrets. It first appears in a side quest in "One for the Road", and then is found occasionally in secrets and side quests in the later levels.
Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem[]
Like in Serious Sam 4, H.E.A.R.T. remains a rare gadget, though the player can acquire many of them provided they find as many as they can in secrets or from completing side quests. An example of a the gadget being found as a secret is in the level "Roadside Picnic".
Tactics[]
- As the H.E.A.R.T. is a rare gadget, it should be used very sparingly. If the player dies due to a mistake on their part, it is best to reload to the last save instead of wasting the gadget unless absolutely necessary.
- The gadget is very useful during boss fights, especially when fighting against Ugh-Zan IV or Howard Brand, espeically if the player wants to earn the "Veni, Vidi, Vici" achievement for defeating the latter on Serious difficulty without any mid-battle saves. It is best to find as many of these gadgets as possible before a boss fight begins.
Trivia[]
- This gadget is similar to Extra Life, an item that appears in cooperative modes.
- Its entity name is called "extralife" in the game files and is also called extra life on the title screen when the player is given the option to use the gadget.
- The shock the H.E.A.R.T. does to restart the heart is said to be "painful, but pain is better than death".
- The fact the player can choose whether to activate the gadget or not when already dead is most likely a gameplay decision, and its assumed other EDF soldiers' H.E.A.R.T.s activate automatically when near death.
Behind the scenes[]
- If the player died while using the chainsaw alternate fire for the FRPCL, the FRPCL would remain stuck on screen and block any usage of the H.E.A.R.T. gadget. This would leave the player with no choice but to reload the last saved game. This has been fixed as of the Anniversary Update 1.07.[2]
Trivia[]
- The H.E.A.R.T. is the only gadget in Serious Sam 4 that doesn't have its own concept art.
Gallery[]
List of appearances[]
- Serious Sam 4 (First appearance)
- Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem
References[]
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