The SOP38 Pistol is a semi-automatic handgun and the standard-issue sidearm used by Earth Defense Force soldiers. It is the first firearm Sam acquires in the Serious Sam 3: BFE campaign, and is one of the first weapons the player spawns with when starting a new game in Serious Sam 3 VR: BFE, Serious Sam 4, and Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem.
Overview[]
A simple but effective weapon, this model of the Special Operations Pistol from 2038 has proven its combat efficiency on numerous battlefields across the universe since the outbreak of the Mental War.[1][2] Although the SOP38 is no longer in production and has been superseded by newer models, its high reliability and effectiveness in adverse conditions guarantees its ongoing popularity with Earth Defense Force soldiers.[2] With its highly efficient semi-automatic mechanism, the pistol's rate of fire is theoretically limited to the user's trigger-finger.[2] A simple but effective weapon, the pistol uses .45 ACP rounds, which are decent enough for last-resort defense or elimination of weak enemies, but its small magazine capacity and low damage output precludes its use in massive fights or against tougher opponents.[1]
The pistol fires one round every time the fire key is pressed. It is a fairly accurate weapon, but has a noticeable spread when hip-firing. The player can aim with the pistol by pressing the zoom key (right-click by default) to fire more accurate shots from a distance. In the Serious Sam Fusion version of Serious Sam 3, the pistol has been made much more accurate, and the player can fire at an enemy from a significant distance without having to aim with the iron sights.
The pistol's firepower is equal to that of the Schofield .45 and Colt Anaconda, since it takes two shots from the pistol to kill a Beheaded Kamikaze or a Beheaded Rocketeer, while it takes three shots to kill a Cloned Soldier or Octanian Soldier. Like the Schofield and the Anaconda, the pistol has unlimited ammunition. The pistol holds 10 rounds in its magazine and has to be reloaded after its magazine has been expended. The player can choose to reload manually, or the weapon is reloaded automatically once all 10 rounds have been fired. In Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope, Serious Sam 4 and Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem, the pistol can be dual-wielded; this results in twice the firepower, but accuracy is significantly reduced when they are held this way, making the pistols more suited for low to medium-range combat. In the two aforementioned games, the player needs to unlock the "Dual Wield" S.A.M. skill to be able to dual-wield the pistol.
In Serious Sam 4 and Siberian Mayhem, the pistol can deliver up to three times more damage to most enemies if they are shot in their weak spot, which in most cases is their head. Human-sized enemies, such as Octanian soldiers or Processed Anthropolyps, can be killed instantly when shot in the head. For Space Mummies, their weak spot is the glowing ember within their chest; shooting one or two rounds at the creature is enough to dispatch it.
Appearances[]
The pistol is the first firearm the player acquires in its appearances. The weapon becomes a reliable and useful asset for the player in the first two to three levels, but begins to lose its effectiveness as tougher and more challenging enemies begin to appear, especially when playing on higher difficulties. Despite this, the pistol can still serve as a last-resort or emergency weapon in some situtations.
Serious Sam 3: BFE[]
Sam first obtains the pistol in the first level of the game, Summer in Cairo, next to a fallen Team Alpha soldier. Later in the campaign, Sam reacquires the pistol for the second and final time in The Lost Temples of Nubia.
Jewel of the Nile[]
The pistol makes another appearance in the first level of Jewel of the Nile, Gathering of the Gods, where it can be found next to a ticket booth. A second pistol is located inside a portable building.
Serious Sam 3 VR: BFE/Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope[]
The pistol is automatically obtained when the player starts a new game. It is dual-wielded and equipped with laser sights. It also doesn't have to be reloaded, unlike before.
Serious Sam 4/Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem[]
The pistol, along with the combat knife, are the first weapons the player starts when starting a new game in campaign or cooperative mode.
Tactics[]
General[]
- The pistol's low recoil makes it relatively easy to quickly fire the gun while retaining some accuracy past short range, though the bullet spread means that they won't always hit a target. Instead, one or two shots should be fired at a time to hit enemies at medium to long range.
- The pistol is very effective against close-range Beheaded Kamikazes. One shot will stun him, giving the player enough room to get far enough away to shoot and kill him while away from his explosion radius.
- If the player times their shot right, they can set off a large chain reaction by killing a Kamikaze while it is clustered amongst many others.
- The pistol is a useful emergency weapon or as a last resort for dispatching of small to medium groups of weak enemies. This works especially well if the player is running short on ammo for other weapons.
Serious Sam 3: BFE[]
- Iron sights are needed for long-range shots. Otherwise, the bullet(s) will most likely miss. In Serious Sam Fusion, the pistol's spread is drastically improved, allowing for the player to land more accurate shots when hip-firing, and not having to worry so much about using the iron sights.
- The pistol is only effective against very weak enemies such as Beheaded Kamikazes, Beheaded Rocketeers, Cloned Soldiers, and Hatchling Antaresian Spiders. It is also effective on Gnaars and Hatchling Arachnoids, but it takes almost an entire magazine (approximately 14 rounds for a Hatchling) to kill one, making it ineffective against groups unless as a last resort.
- The pistol becomes useful in the early levels right up until around No Place to Hide or Under the Iron Cloud, since tougher enemies like Adult Arachnoids and Juvenile Antaresian Spiders become frequent enough that the pistol starts to become obsolete. Nonetheless, it is still useful as a last-resort elimination of individuals or small groups of weak enemies.
- Its infinite ammo makes it useful for when the player is either out of ammo or wants to conserve ammo in levels where ammo is scarce.
- On Tourist difficulty, it kills Kamikazes, Hatchling Spiders and Rocketeers with one shot, and Cloned Soldiers with two shots.
- Keeping track of how many shots are necessary to kill an enemy can be very helpful on Serious difficulty. This can allow the player to use the pistol to quickly dispatch an enemy when they are a reasonable distance away, before they become a real threat, and before the player needs to use finite ammo to kill them.
Serious Sam 4/Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem[]
- The pistol is very useful against weak enemies like Beheaded Bombers, Beheaded Firecrackers, Beheaded Kamikazes, Beheaded Rocketeers, Octanian Gamma Troopers, Octanian Snipers, Space Mummies, or as a last-resort weapon.
- It also works well on other weak targets such as Aludran Microhoppers, male Gnaars, Processed Anthropolyps and Zubenhakrabian Spider Nymphs. Shooting Gamma Troopers and Processed in the head with this weapon results in a instant kill. If the player is accurate enough, they can take out small to even medium groups of these enemies out with the pistol.
- It is not very effective against Octanian Commanders, due to the fact that they always come equipped with a shield. If the player wishes to use the pistol on a Commander, they should circle around him before he can turn to face them, then finish him off with the weapon.
- It is best to use the pistol's iron sights to fire as accurately as possible.
- When dual-wielded, the pistols become a useful asset and can deal rapid damage to even medium or tough enemies like Common Aludran Reptiloids, female Gnaars, Kleer Skeletons, Scrapjacks, and even Sirian Werebulls. The only downside is their accuracy is greatly reduced, so the player should really use it against enemies from close to medium range.
- Also, when using the pistols against tough enemies, the player should always fire at their head to quickly deplete their health and eliminate them quickly.
- The pistol is quite effective against Emetic Anthropolyps, but it takes more than an entire magazine to kill one. It is best to use dual-wielded pistols against these enemies or a stronger weapon such as the 12 Gauge Pump-Action Shotgun.
Behind the scenes[]
- The Serious Sam 3 version of the pistol had a different model in the demo on the GC.
- During the pre-alpha phase of Serious Sam 4, the pistol resembled its Serious Sam 3 counterpart more than the final version.[3] It also used a similar reloading animation.
Related achievements[]
Serious Sam 4[]
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| Kill an Aludran Reptiloid using nothing but a pistol. |
Trivia[]
- The pistol appears to be modeled after the Desert Eagle, though it has a larger magazine size than any real-life variation of the Desert Eagle (or most pistols for that matter) and is chambered to fire .45 ACP rounds. The magazine however, is modeled with what appears to be .44 Magnum cartridges. This is visible in the pistol's reload animation.
- Another similar-looking weapon is the IWI Jericho 941, which also fires .45 ACP rounds.
- The pistol's grip has the Serious Sam logo on it.
- Even though Sam refers to the pistol as 'Smith & Wesson', an American company that mostly produces revolver-type handguns, the Desert Eagle was not designed by Smith & Wesson, but instead by Israel Military Industries and Magnum Research.
- Also, 'Earth Military Industries', the manufacturer of the pistol, is a reference to Israel Military Industries.
- Despite NETRICSA and the weapon's official description stating that the pistol's rate of fire is limited to the user's trigger-finger, it can actually fire up to 300 rounds per minute.
- Since the SOP38 has an infinite ammo supply, it can be assumed that it uses TMAR technology just like the Schofields from Serious Sam 1, although there's no evidence of that in any documented materials in Serious Sam 3 and Serious Sam 4. This was likely an intentional feature by the developers to remain consistent with similar weapons in the Serious Sam franchise.
- In the virtual reality games, the pistol's model has a slightly elongated barrel. It's not very easy to see this in-game, but is more noticeable in the Serious Editor.
Gallery[]
Artwork[]
Serious Sam 3: BFE/Serious Sam 3 VR: BFE[]
Serious Sam 4/Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem[]
List of appearances[]
- Serious Sam 3: BFE (First appearance)
- Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope
- Serious Sam 3 VR: BFE (non-canonical appearance)
- Serious Sam 4
- Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem
