Firearms Bullfighting
Out of all the colourful and varied enemies that appeared in Serious Sam 3, there is one that has a really special place in my heart. Ladies and gentlemen, my most favourite enemy in video games ever (so far), the Sirian Werebull.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksXlESKGLsY
The Syrian Werebull is pretty much an alien bull. It looks like a bull, sounds like a bull, charges at you like a bull, and dies like how a bull would if you shoot it with a green alien laser gun. However, unlike regular bulls and much like other Serious Sam 3 enemies, its corpse will turn black and then disintegrate, leaving nothing behind for alien burgers.
When I first encountered the Sirian Werebull, I had my shotgun out. I sidestepped its charge, fired a shot into its flank as it passed by. In the arena we danced this bloodstained tango, until it finally succumbed to the gunshots and its body tumbled forward with the momentum from its final charge. That was a really great experience, and from that moment onward I promised myself to only fight the Werebull with shotguns due to how much fun it is.
Since then, I had a few more encounters with Werebulls, and it was always a treat since fighting them. Most of the time, either no other enemy mob spawned or I already killed them off in anticipation of the duel. Sometimes, there are more than one Werebull, up to about three or four if I recall correctly, and I’m fine with that. I just keep track of them all and dance between them. But after a few rounds I kind of wish for more.
At last, the moment came. One of the level’s final stage features an arena which you fight a few wave of the mobs, and after I got rid of the previous wave, there it was. Me, my Double Barrel Coach Gun, and at least thirty Sirian Werebulls. I dodged and weave among the turbulent flow of horns and hooves, slowly picking off the bulls one by one. Sometimes, I got hit and was tossed up into the air, and I used this small lull to rain lead downwards before landing and resuming the dance. It was fun, exhilarating, and abruptly cut short by me running out of shotgun shells. I had to bring out my Minigun. Sorry Werebulls, I kinda have places to go and I really, really do not want to die and repeat that whole segment again from the start. Just to be safe, I did do a save right before that so I can jump back for another round of bullfighting.
The Werebull is designed to be intimidating, and its design makes it very, very clear that you should get out of the way. Large, with big horns, and charging at you with a speed only rivaled by an rhinoceros fired out from a cannon, it really encourages you to move aside or be trampled. It also has very distinctive audio cues in the form of thundering hooves and a very low-pitch and intimidating moo. That last phrase just sounds weird.
As to what I use to fight them, that is easy. Shotguns are the number one choice because of how fun it is. Other than that, all ranged weapons except for the starting pistol are fine. Personally, I recommend the SBC Cannon if you really do not care about ammo conservation. For the first and the last time of their lives, the unlucky alien bovine gets to feel how it’s like getting run over by something.
