No More Room in Hell – Scopes, keeping your distance.

In any Zombie game you prefer to keep your distance away from the zombies. Sometimes it’s because of their bites and scratches, other times it’s because they are simply that ugly. Ordinary firearms do the trick just fine, but when you want to keep zombies as far away as possible you start looking for weapons with scopes. In No More Room in Hell (v. 1.04) there are currently only two scoped weapons. The Sako 85 and the M16A4. One is a highly accurate Rifle, the other is the iconic weapon of the US Army. What can we say about them?

This article is a part of our series of No More Room in Hell guides.

Also, take a look at a supplement to this guide, which includes statistics for all the guns mentioned in this article.

It is up to you to decide.

The Sako 85

When I first heard the name “Sako” I thought of some Japanese, little known firearms designer. I half expected it to have a “Yamaha” scope, with a built-in Gameboy in the rifle’s stock. Surprisingly enough, I was wrong. The Sako 85 “series” is of Finnish design and make. Very elegant rifles, which make any upstart Rifleman look like a “Pro”… In No More Room in Hell, that is.

The Sako 85 is, for all ends and purposes, a Sniper Rifle. Its scope provides the player with an incredible zoom, allowing for accurate headshots from one end of the map to the other. Like any Sniper Rifle, it calls for a bottle of beer, plenty of bullets, chair and appropriate background music. The Sako 85 is the sort of weapon you would sit on the roof with, and take down zombies before they reach the house. This dream has a number of clear downsides.

This rifle has only a bullet capacity of 5+1 (Five in the clip, one chambered). Due to its low rate of fire and scope it is not well suited for close encounters. If you forgot to bring a sidearm or melee weapon Runners will eat you for lunch. You can carry only a limited supply of ammo for this rifle (about 30 rounds total, I believe), on the other hand no other weapon uses .308 rounds.

Sako 85 Ammo Box. Note the distinct blue colour and shell on the cover.

The tactical problem with the Sako 85, is that there is way more zombies than you will find bullets. This rifle might be good for early waves, or when covering your team which went out to grab supplies, but past wave four-five it becomes inadequate. It will be impossible to stop a big horde from reaching the house, forcing you to abandon your post and take them up close. Once you are cornered you will have no way of quickly killing even five zombies. It is a weapon perfect for the out-doors, but horrible for anything else.

Still, one cannot ignore the Sako 85. It is capable of accurate, long-distance fire, which allows you to take out Runners at the start of the round. If you are a good and quick shot then this is the weapon for you.

The M16A4

If you did not use an M16A4 in any other game, then you must had played everything but the popular FPS titles. I will save you the history lesson, and jump straight to the NMRiH facts.

The M16A4 is an extremely good weapon, for a number of reasons. Its scope allows for Medium to Long distance accurate firing. It has a total ammo capacity of 30+1 (30 in magazine, 1 in chamber). Due to the distinct look of its ammo (M16 Clips) it will be easy for you to identify it. In an emergency you can quickly spray bullets at zombies.

Just like the Sako 85, the M16A4 suffers from an inability to cope with close-up situations. You have to keep at least a short distance to a zombie in order to view it in the scope. Although you can quick-fire I do not recommend it for the sole reason of wasting bullets due to inaccurate fire. Compared to other weapons the M4A1 is often sought out by all the other players. It is an elegant weapon, very good at dispatching zombies quickly, and accurate.

M16A4 Ammo. Yes, it does look like a clip. Very easy to recognise.

Despite its strengths, you need a sidearm or a melee weapon for backup. It takes very little to waste shots in NMRiH, and if you are facing the last zombie you might as well kill it with a wrench.

Short Summary

Both the Sako 85 and the M16A4 are excellent scoped weapons. They suffer from their own strengths and weaknesses, but each one is good. The M16A4 is an Assault Rifle, capable of quick fire up-close and accurate medium to long distance single shots. The Sako 85 is extremely accurate at long distances, making it the primary choice for any Sniper. Both weapons have the joint strength of high reload speeds (they use clips). Both weapons are also unique in their ammo demands. As such, when all the shotguns are gone, and pistols plundered, grab an M16A4 or a Sako 85. You are guaranteed to find some ammo for them (unless you joined late).