The Saggitarian Sidewinder, colloquially referred to as the 'Metal Snake', is an enemy that appears in Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope and Serious Sam 4. It also makes an appearance in Serious Sam 4's expansion pack, Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem.
Overview[]
The Saggitarian Sidewinder is a large mechanical creature that resembles a snake covered with rows of multiple flapping metal spines. On it head are three small, red mechanical eyes located in the center. The Sidewinder's origins are unknown, but they were used as a machine of war during one of Mental's previous attempts to wipe out all civilized life in the galaxy.[1] The last remnants of the Sidewinder was thought to have been destroyed in the Arcadia Minor campaign, but they survived.
Application[]
Originally thought to have been wiped out, many Sidewinders survived and were deployed to Earth along with many other aliens in Mental's army during the Mental War and the Tunguska Offensive. They were used to ravage through towns and cities, destroying anything or anybody in their path. In more rural enviroments, they are used to support masses of troops on the ground.
Appearances[]
Sidewinders are rare enemies in their appearances. When they appear, they are usually encountered as a miniboss. They sometimes appear as regular enemies in the final levels.
Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope[]
The first Sidewinder appears as a miniboss in the first Arcadia Minor level, Sea Breeze, and has much higher health than its regular counterpart. A group of them appear in the third Arcadia Minor stage, prior to the battle with the Spaceship.
Serious Sam 4[]
The Sidewinder first appears in Death from Below where it can be seen bursting out of a building and wandering around aimlessly. The Sidewinder ignores the player and continues to wreck havoc throughout Rome. It cannot be harmed when it is first encountered by the player. Later on, near the end of the level, the same Sidewinder appears again as it emerges from under the ground and attacks the Alien Artifact Acquisition squad. To help defeat the Sidewinder, Jones lends Sam Hellfire's minigun to kill it. Much later on in the game, three more Sidewinders appear by the end of the canyon in From Earth With Love. A loud siren can be heard to announce their arrival.
Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem[]
The Sidewinder is a relatively rare enemy. It first appears in Roadside Picnic during the train fight, and another one appears in Crime And Punishment. They become more common in New Game+ playthroughs.
Behavior and skills[]
The Sidewinder is covered with multiple metal spines, which flap like wings and allow the creature to fly around. Its head is shaped like a drill, which is strong enough to cut through concrete, brick and similar material with ease.[2]
Being made of metal, the Sidewinder has very high endurance and has a lot of health, thus it requires heavy firepower to take one down. It is hard to hit due to its unpredicable patterns as it flies around in the sky. The Sidewinder's attack depends on the game that is being played; in The Last Hope, the Sidewinder will launch a group of drones at the player that will try to crash onto the player. These drones explode upon impact. In Serious Sam 4, the Sidewinder will fire a barrage of rockets at the player. These rockets track the target, but are fairly slow and can be easily dodged by strafing in the opposite direction. These rockets deal moderate damage if they hit the player.
Tactics[]
Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope[]
- The miniboss variant has a large amount of health, as such, explosive arrows like the Bow and the XPML21 Rocket Launcher are recommended to use against it. Power-ups, such as Serious Damage, can help to defeat it quickly.
- The drones can be avoided either by shooting at them or by using a shield.
- Rapid-fire weapons, such as the M29 Infantry Assault Rifle and minigun, are effective against groups of Saggitarian Sidewinders, as their rapid-fire state and damage lets the player quickly kill each Saggitarian Sidewinder. The AS-24 Devastator is also effective against groups of them.
Serious Sam 4[]
Boss[]
- The Sidewinder is a fairly easy enemy, though the rockets fired from it can be dangerous and quickly drain the player's health or even kill them if they don't pay attention during the fight.
- Continuously strafing and sidestepping during the fight makes it much easier to take down the Sidewinder while avoiding its rockets at the same time.
- Strafe sideways to avoid being hit by the Sidewinder's rockets.
- The rockets fired by the Sidewinder have limited range. Moving backwards far enough will make them harmless and easy to take down.
- On Serious difficulty, a few Sidewinders appear at the climax of the quarry fight during One for the Road. If available, the FRPCL is recommended to be used against them; if not, the player should use the A-24 Devastator, Assault Rifle, or RAPTOR Sniper Rifle.
- In From Earth With Love, Sidewinders are a much greater threat as a large amount of enemies support them on the ground. Additionally, the FRPCL won't be available in this level as it is removed from the player's arsenal after Anathema Unto God.
- In groups, Sidewinders can be easily killed with the SBC Cannon or the XL2 Lasergun if the player has the death ray upgrade for the latter.
Serious Sam: Siberiam Mayhem[]
- Heavy weapons like the TCC2 "Perun" Crossbow and XPMR "Burner" Raygun are highly effective against Sidewinders, especially when dual-wielded.
- The minigun also works well if the player has enough ammo to spare.
- If the player is playing a New Game+++ session, the FRPCL and the Lasergun are excellent weapons to use against Sidewinders.
Behind the scenes[]
- Early Serious Sam 4 sketches show several versions of what would eventually become the Sidewinder. There are two designs, which are assumed to be variants; one is shaped like a worm covered in metal spines, while another looks like a machine or spacecraft that had the ability to transform at will. The worm design can be shown firing what appears to be a pink laser beam from its 'mouth'.
Trivia[]
- The Sidewinder's name is derived from the sidewinder, a venomous rattlesnake native to North America.
- The rockets fired by the Sidewinder in Serious Sam 4 use the same model as the Serious Sam 3: BFE version of the Major Bio-mechanoid.
- The name of the second level in Serious Sam 4, 'Death from Above', is a reference to this enemy and that it bursts out of the ground before the boss fight begins.
Gallery[]
Artwork[]
Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope[]
Serious Sam 4[]
List of appearances[]
- Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope (First appearance)
- Serious Sam 4
- Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem