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This subject appears in Serious Sam 3: BFE. This subject appears in Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope.  This subject appears in Serious Sam 4.  This subject is from the Mental War era. 

 
"Come on, just try to hurt me now!"
Sam Stone[src]
 

The M29 Infantry Assault Rifle is a compact, fully automatic weapon used by the Earth Defense Force. It is introduced in Serious Sam 3: BFE, and makes more appearances in Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope and Serious Sam 4. It is absent from the standalone expansion pack, Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem, where it is instead replaced by the AK-74MX.

The assault rifle is equivalent to the M1-A2 Thompson Submachine Gun in Serious Sam 1, the Shofield Uzi Pistol in Serious Sam: Next Encounter, and the Uzi in Serious Sam 2.

Overview[]

Cloned Soldier with M29

A Cloned Rifleman equipped with the M29.

The M29 is a standard-issue assault rifle that is used primarily by the Earth Defense Force. Originally produced in large quantities at the outbreak of the Mental War, the rifle has proven to be very popular with EDF soldiers and resistance fighters due to its stability, accuracy and moderate damage output.[1][2] The assault rifle offers several advantages; the rifle's simple design, fairly compact size and adaptation to mass production are just many of its features. The weapon is described as being a hybrid of previous rifle technology innovations.[1]

The assault rifle features a gas-operated, rotating bolt mechanism, which provides both rapid firing modes and controlled short bursts. The weapon's barrel has been elongated which provides low bullet dispersion.[1] The assault rifle is capable of firing up to 600 rounds per minute, which suits it well for most combat situations. The weapon is fitted with a reflex sight, which allows quick target acquisition and effortless tracking in most combat situations.[2]

The assault rifle fires a single round every time the fire key is pressed. Pressing down the primary fire key allows for continous fire. Firing the weapon without aiming down the sights results in moderate bullet spread, with the weapon becoming only effective at close range when fired this way, as the bullets are too spread out to land at a target from far away. Like the SOP38 Pistol, the player can aim down the sights of the weapon by holding down the secondary fire key. The player's movement speed is greatly reduced when aiming down the sights, but enables much more accurate firing and allows the player to eliminate hostiles at greater distances compared to when hip-firing with the weapon.

The assault rifle is one of the three weapons issued to Cloned Soldiers, the other being the 12 Gauge Pump-Action Shotgun and a sniper rifle. Cloned Soldiers equipped with the assault rifle will fire a few shots at the target from medium to far range, and in shorts bursts when in close range. They fire with somewhat poor accuracy, but many rounds can be delivered to a static, non-moving target.

In the virtual reality games, the assault rifle does not need to be reloaded, and features an ammo count display on top of the weapon.

In Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope, Serious Sam 3 VR: BFE and Serious Sam 4, the assault rifle can be dual-wielded, although this requires the Dual Wield Harder S.A.M skill to be unlocked in the latter game. When dual-wielded, this allows for twice the firepower, but accuracy for the weapon is greatly reduced and the player cannot aim down the weapon's sights when used this way.

Like other weapons that appear in Serious Sam 4, the assault rifle deals triple the damage when firing at an enemy's weak spot (in most cases, the head).

Appearances[]

The assault rifle is a common weapon, but doesn't usually appear until the middle portions of the game it appears in. It can be acquired early in secrets, along with its ammunition.

The M29 serves as a useful weapon for the player in the early levels in each of its appearances, but it begins to lose its effectiveness as tougher and more dangerous enemies begin to appear. It is still useful as an emergency weapon, however, if the player is running low on ammo for other weapons.

Serious Sam 3: BFE[]

Sam first acquires the M29 in the fourth level of the campaign, No Place to Hide, where it is occasionally dropped by Cloned Soldiers, though it can be obtained earlier in Broken Wings as a secret. Its ammo can be found as two secrets in Summer in Cairo.

Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope[]

The player can purchase the M29 from the weapons menu. Ammunition can be purchased using the player's score as currency.

Serious Sam 4[]

The assault rifle is given to Sam by Italian Resistance member Paolo if the player chooses to complete the optional side objective in the second level of the game, Death from Below. It appears as a normal weapon for the first time in The Die Is Cast, a second time in A Breakfast in France near the motorcycle, and for the third and final time in the final level of the game at an EDF outpost.

Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem[]

The assault rifle does not appear in this title, as it is replaced by the AK-74MX. It can, however, be placed into custom maps and, with modifications, be made usable.

Tactics[]

General[]

  • The assault rifle can be used effectively against any medium (e.x. Minor Bio-mechanoids, Hatchling Arachnoids, Kleer Skeletons) and light targets (e.x. Beheaded Kamikazes, Beheaded Rocketeers, Cloned Soldiers, Gnaars, Juvenile Antaresian Spiders, Space Mummies, etc). Because of its good rate of fire, high accuracy (especially when aiming down the sights) and fairly large magazine, this makes it one of the most versatile weapons in the game and a good choice if the player runs out of ammunition or doesn't want to waste ammo for more specialized weapons.
  • It is also handy against some strong enemies, such as Adult Arachnoids and Scrapjacks. A single magazine from the gun can deal 400 damage if all bullets make contact, which is more than half of the Scrapjack and Adult Arachnoid's health. In the Fusion version, one or two full magazines is enough to kill them if most of the bullets make contact.
    • The aforementioned enemies are best dealt with the assault rifle if there are an only a few of them around and if the player has plenty of ammo to spare.
  • When using the M29 at long range, make sure to fire it while using the sights. It has perfect accuracy when looking down the sights, making it ideal for long-range shooting. Otherwise, some rounds will miss. This makes it very powerful against enemies such as the Scythian Witch-Harpy or the Witch-Bride of Achriman, who often appear at long range in the sky. It is useless against the Khnum or Technopolyp due to their high HP and that they both take 50% less damage from bullet-firing weapons.

Serious Sam 3/Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope[]

  • While the weapon can deal rapid damage to Adult Arachnoids, it is not recommended for eliminating them, as it takes roughly two entire magazine clips to kill one, which can waste ammunition.
  • The weapon deals much less damage when used by Cloned Soldiers, unless playing on higher difficulties. However, as they usually fire rounds in quick bursts, it is best to sidestep to avoid their bullets.
  • Make sure to reload whenever there's a chance. If the player has to reload in the middle of a fight, they should hide or take cover behind something to make sure that they'll be safe when reloading. Situations like running out of ammo when facing enemies at close range can be dangerous. This also makes this a less effective choice against a huge horde of weaker enemies that like to move in close for melee range attacks, such as Gnaars and Beheaded Kamikazes, making it less useful in this regard than the Thompson submachine gun or Uzi in the previous installments.

Serious Sam 4[]

  • Much like its Serious Sam 3 incarnation, the assault rifle is a versatile weapon and is useful for gunning down weak targets like Hatchling Arachnoids, Gnaars, Octanian Gamma Troopers, Space Mummies and Zubenhakrabian Spider Nymphs.
  • The assault rifle can be a useful weapon against medium targets, such as Aludran Reptiloids or Sirian Werebulls. The player should fire the weapon at their head whenever possible, as this deals three times as much damage and can finish groups of these enemies off easily.
  • When dual-wielded, the assault rifle becomes even more effective and can take groups of tough enemies at once, such as Kleer Skeletons and Scythian Witch-Harpies.
  • It is particulary effective at gunning down fast or dangerous enemies such as Emetic Anthropolyps or Processed Anthropolyps from a distance.
  • If the player has the "The Quick and the Dead" and the "Full Speed Ahead" S.A.M. skills unlocked, this makes the assault rifle a much more effective and versatile weapon that can easily mow down hordes of weak enemies when they are clustered together, and can also finish off tough enemies more quickly if most bullets hit their head. This does, however, drain ammunition quickly, so it is best reserved for fights where assault rifle ammo is plentiful.

Behind the scenes[]

  • During Serious Sam 3: BFE's development, the assault rifle had a non-functioning laser sight attachment. The laser sight reappears in Serious Sam 3 VR: BFE and Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope.
  • The assault rifle shown in pre-Alpha footage of Serious Sam 4 had iron sights and no holographic sight compared to the final version.[3]
  • The Serious Sam 3 version of the assault rifle features a dust cover, but it serves no purpose. It is supposed to cover the ejection port on the right but appears on the left of the weapon.

Trivia[]

General[]

Serious Sam 3: BFE[]

  • The M29 resembles the HK416 with a foregrip and EOTech sight.
    • The M29 is also similar to the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle, which is almost identical in name and appearance to the M29. The real M27 is a version of the HK416 with a longer barrel.
      • Additionally, at the time of Serious Sam 3: BFE's release, it was rumored that the real M27 would have a lower fire rate equivalent to the in-game M29's to aid in controlling the heat from suppressive fire, though the M27 ended up sharing the HK416's 850 to 900 rounds per minute.
  • The M29's model has visible a flashlight attachment, but it serves no purpose, as Sam is equipped with a utility belt that contains a flashlight which automatically switches on whenever the player is in a dark enviroment.
  • The weapon has three firing modes to choose from, but it does not affect the gun's rate of fire. Also, the player cannot manually change the fire rate of the weapon, as it is dependant on how fast the player presses the fire key.

Serious Sam 4[]

  • The M29 resembles the XM7 rifle, a U.S. Army variant of the SIG MCX Spear, with an added foregrip, EOTech sight and an extended magazine clip.
    • Another similar weapon is the Smith & Wesson MP15-22, a variant of the M&P15 chambered to fire .22 LR rounds. Unlike the MP15-22, though, the M29 has a shorter magazine and uses a different stock.
  • If the player purchases the Digital Deluxe version of Serious Sam 4, they can select the Thompson submachine gun to replace the assault rifle as a weapon skin. Switching to the Thompson has no effect on accuracy or range, and is purely cosmetic. It does, however, offer slightly more peripheral vision due to the latter's iron sights.

Gallery[]

Artwork[]

Serious Sam 3: BFE[]

Pre-release[]

Retail[]

Serious Sam 3 VR: BFE[]

Serious Sam 4[]

List of appearances[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Serious Sam 3: BFE NETRICSA description
  2. 2.0 2.1 Serious Sam 4 NETRICSA description
  3. YouTube favicon Serious Sam 4 BFE pre-Alpha footage on YouTube
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