Serious Sam 4

This section of the guide covers items, weapons, and the walkthrough for Part 2 of Serious Sam 4.

Items:

• Health: +25 Health Bottle, +50 Health Box, +100 Health Heart, +1 Health Shard
• Armor: +10 Armor, +25 Armor, +50 Armor, +100 Armor, +1 Armor Shard
• Ammunition: Shells, Bullets, Rockets, Grenades, Cells

Weapons:

• Schofield .45 w/TMAR
• Military Knife
• 12 Gauge Pump Action Shotgun
• M1-A2 Thompson Submachine Gun
• XPML21 Rocket Launcher
• Double Barrel Coach Gun
• MKIII Grenade Launcher
• XL2 Lasergun
• XM214-A Minigun
• SBC Cannon

Walkthrough Levels:

1. Hatshepsut Temple - Level 1
2. Sand Canyon - Level 2
3. Tomb Of Ramses - Level 3
4. Valley Of The Kings - Level 4
5. Moon Mountains - Secret Level
6. Oasis - Level 5
7. Dunes - Level 6
8. Suburbs - Level 7
9. Sewers - Level 8
10. Metropolis - Level 9
11. Alley of the Sphinxes - Level 10
12. Karnak - Level 11
13. Luxor - Level 12
14. Sacred Yards - Secret Level
15. The Great Pyramid - Level 13

Alright, let's dive into Part 3 of Serious Sam 4! This section is going to cover a few different things, from the game's backstory to getting the game installed and some general thoughts on the experience. Think of it as getting you fully prepped before you really start blasting through those alien hordes.

The Story:

So, the year is 2104, and things have gone from awesome to absolutely dire. Humanity stumbles upon this ancient, super-advanced civilization, right? Sounds great, but then BAM! Monsters from another dimension show up and start wrecking shop. They're wiping out planet after planet, and Earth is next on the chopping block. Our only hope? An ancient artifact called the 'Time-Lock' that can send someone back in time. And who do they pick? You guessed it: Sam 'Serious' Stone. He's our legendary, never-say-die hero who has to jump back to the past and rewrite history to save us all from total annihilation. Pretty heavy stuff, right?

Installing Serious Sam:

Getting the game up and running is pretty straightforward. Here’s the rundown:

1. First off, make sure you close all other applications. Then, pop the Serious Sam CD into your drive. If you're on Windows 98, you might need to do a CTRL+ALT+DELETE and end all programs except for SYSTRAY and EXPLORER to make sure everything's clear.
2. The installer should pop up automatically. If it doesn't, no worries! Just go to 'My Computer', double-click your CD-ROM drive (it's usually D: or E:), and then double-click 'setup.exe'.
3. Just follow the on-screen instructions – they're pretty clear.
4. Reboot your computer if it tells you to.

Pro Tip for Autoplay: If you want the game to start automatically next time you pop in a CD, you can enable 'Auto insert notification'. Head to Start > Settings > Control Panel, then double-click 'System'. Go to the 'Device Manager' tab, find 'CDROM', expand it, and double-click your CDROM drive. In the Properties box, click the 'Settings' tab and make sure the 'Auto insert notification' box is checked. Click OK and reboot if needed.

Overall Impressions:

The game's sound design is top-notch. You'll definitely hear those Kamikazi guys screaming long before they reach you – it's a great audio cue! And the music? When things get intense, a heavy metal track kicks in, perfectly matching the chaos. It really amps up the action.

Multiplayer is pretty standard with Deathmatch, but the Cooperative mode is where it's at. It's a blast playing with friends, though be warned: friendly fire is definitely a thing! My buddy rocket-launched me into oblivion once, so keep an eye on your teammates.

Honestly, Serious Sam is a fantastic 'kill fest' that'll keep your fingers busy. It's not a game that requires a ton of brainpower, but it's incredibly fun. If this were a formal review, it'd be a solid 9.5/10.

Recommendation:

Seriously, BUY THIS GAME! Especially at around $20, it's an absolute steal for the amount of fun you get.

This section covers the in-game menu options, the differences between single-player difficulty levels, and an in-depth explanation of the NETRICSA system.

Menu Options

• Network: Set up and play multiplayer games.
• Split Screen: Start a 1-4 player game on the same computer.
• Demo: View or record pre-recorded demos.
• Mods: Activate installed modifications.
• High Scores: View the High Score table.
• Options: Configure game settings and computer specifications.

Single Player Difficulty Level Differences

Serious Sam 4 offers five distinct difficulty levels, each affecting enemy behavior, damage, and spawn rates:

• Tourist Mode: For new or occasional FPS players. Enemies are slow, less intelligent, easy to kill, deal less damage, and have few spawns.
• Easy Mode: For those new to FPS games. Enemies are fairly slow, not very bright, easy to kill, deal low damage, and have a few spawns.
• Normal Mode: For experienced FPS players. Enemies have moderate speed, are fairly smart, moderately strong, deal moderate damage, and have a good number of spawns.
• Hard Mode: For long-time FPS players seeking a challenge. Enemies are fast, smart, tough to kill, deal significant damage, and have many spawns.
• Serious Mode: For dedicated FPS players. Enemies are faster than the player, extremely intelligent, difficult to kill, deal tremendous damage, and have near-constant spawns.

NETRICSA (NEuroTRonically Implanted Combat Simulation Analyzer)

NETRICSA is a neuro-computer implanted in Sam's skull, providing combat data and analysis. It interfaces with Sam's brain to offer feedback, translate texts, display a heads-up-display (HUD), track targets, and aid in tactics.

Heads-Up-Display (HUD)

The HUD is active during gameplay and displays crucial information:

• Lower Left: Current ARMOR and HEALTH status.
• Next to Armor/Health: CURRENT WEAPON and AMMUNITION count.
• Far Right: Icons for each ammo type and a bar indicating quantity.
• Upper Left: SCORE, reflecting collected reward money from eliminations and tasks.
• Upper Right: MESSAGE COUNTER, appearing when new NETRICSA messages are available.
• Center: Target detection display with a CROSSHAIR. It changes color based on target state: WHITE (no target), GREEN (new enemy), RED (damaged enemy).

USE BUTTON prompts appear above the crosshair for interacting with objects:

• USE indicator: Appears when targeting an item that can be used or operated (e.g., a switch). Press USE BUTTON to operate.
• ANALYZE indicator: Appears when targeting an item that can be analyzed. Press USE BUTTON to analyze, which provides a message with research results.

Fullscreen NETRICSA Interface

Invoke fullscreen NETRICSA by double-clicking the USE BUTTON. It displays four windows:

• CATEGORY SELECTION (Upper Left): Buttons for Tactical Data, Strategic Data, Weapons, Enemies, and Statistics.
• MESSAGE LIST (Upper Right): Lists messages within the selected category.
• MESSAGE TEXT (Lower Right): Displays the content of the selected message.
• MESSAGE IMAGE (Lower Left): Shows any attached visual information.

Scroll bars are available for the message list and text. Exit fullscreen mode by clicking the EXIT button, pressing ESCAPE, or pressing the RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON.