Mental's Pet Hamster

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Mental's Pet Hamster
General information
Type	Wildlife
Affiliation	Mental's Horde
Individual information
Attacks / weapons	Orbs Spikes Tongue Wheel Spawning Marsh Hoppers

 

"Fork Parker, that was a big hamster!"

―Sam after he kills the Hamster.

Mental's Pet Hamster is a boss that appears in Serious Sam: Double D and Serious Sam: Double D: XXL.

Overview

Mental's Pet Hamster is a very large hamster-like creature with multiple eyes. It has three pairs of legs and a segmented body which resembles that of a caterpillar. It apparently uses the tubes found throughout the previous level to run around and play. It is then encountered in the level of the same name.

Behavior and skills

The Hamster attacks in two phases. First, it will try to run over the target with its ball. After some damage has been taken, the ball will be destroyed and the next phase will start.

After the ball has been destroyed, the Hamster will retreat to one of the tubes above it. While it is in the tube, it will begin firing shiny orbs through them, which will track the target to an extent. After a certain amount of orbs have been fired, the Hamster will pop out of the tube and run around for a while. It can be jumped on and ridden while it is on the ground, but it will eventually extend spikes from its body in order to harm whomever is on it. If the player is front of the Hamster, it will attempt to attack them with its long, spiny tongue.

When the Hamster's ball has been destroyed, enemies will start appearing in the level. At first, there will only be a Kleer Skeleton in the underground portion. However, as more damage is taken, more Kleers start appearing in the underground portion, and Chimputees will start appearing above ground to stop the player. The Hamster also frequently spawns Marsh Hoppers from its mouth, which can be problematic if they manage to enter the underground.

Tactics

• The Hamster's rolling phase can be dodged by going underground. It will be completely unable to attack the player while they are underground. After it rolls away from the player, it gives the player a perfect chance to attack it.
• The orbs fired by the Hamster can be avoided by going underground and running away from the pipes the player. They can also be destroyed with explosives like grenades or rockets.
• The orbs can't track the player very well while the player is underground and running away from it will make it harder for the balls to track the player because of the length they have to travel. They'll always disappear on their own before they can reach the player because of the amount of space they need to travel over before they can get close to the player.
• Alternatively, the orbs can be jumped over, but this is a bit riskier because of the amount of orbs fired by the Hamster and, later, the banana grenades fired by the Chimputees that spawn in, along with the occasional rogue Marsh Hopper that manages to get to the upper part of the level.
• A powerful gunstack, filled with weapons such as the LM32 Rocket Launcher and MadDog Grenade Launcher, works best against the Hamster. The player needs to quickly damage the Hamster as much as possible, and weapons like those in a gunstack can do so very well.
• Instead of jumping on its back and shooting at it, shoot it while chasing it. Chasing it will prevent the player from being harmed by its back spikes and still let the player dodge the banana grenades fired by the Chimputees.
• Other enemies are actually more dangerous than the actual Hamster. The Kleer Skeletons found underground and the Marsh Hoppers spawned by the Hamster while running away from the its orbs can inflict a serious amount of damage, depending on how many there are. Holding down fire while using rapid-fire weapons with a 12 Gauge Shotgun or Thompson submachine gun can clear out enemies in the underground area, but if there's enough enemies, the player will most likely be damaged once or twice. However, a Kleer jump or an exploding Marsh Hopper is less damaging that being hit by an orb or two.

Trivia

• According to the tag on the hamster's collar, its name is "Snuggle Bear".

Related achievements

	You Bet Jurassic 10
	Defeat the boss of Prehistoric Nova Scotia

List of appearances

• Serious Sam: Double D (First appearance) (non-canonical appearance)
• Serious Sam: Double D: XXL (non-canonical appearance)