Makarov pistol and its gaming incarnations

Hello, dear readers of the stopgame website.ru! Today I would like to continue a series of blogs dedicated to small arms in games, which I abandoned a long time ago. The star of today’s story is the famous Soviet and now Russian PM pistol.

Brief FAQ

The pistol was developed in 1948 by Soviet gunsmith Nikolai Fedorovich Makarov and put into service in 1951. This pistol was supposed to replace the Tokarev TT pistol in the Soviet Armed Forces, in the design of which serious flaws were found during the Great Patriotic War. The Walther PP pistol, popular among German police officers and officers, was taken as a basis, the design of which was significantly improved by the Soviet designer in terms of ease of use and reliability. The PM used a new type of ammunition – pistol cartridges of 9×18 MM caliber, which later became standard for the arms industry of the USSR and the Russian Federation.

With rather compact dimensions, allowing for concealed carrying of weapons, the Makarov pistol was not inferior in its performance characteristics to the TT pistol, and soon replaced the latter from the army and police. The pistol was very successful, so soon a large number of its legal and not so legal clones appeared in various armies of the world, in general, exactly the same as it once was with the Kalashnikov assault rifle.

These days there are many modifications to the basic version of the Makarov pistol. One of them is PMM. A modification developed and adopted in the 1990s, chambered for a more powerful cartridge. It also features a different shaped handle and a 12-round double-stack magazine. Non-lethal versions of PM are also very popular, of which there are a great many. There are pneumatics, gas pistols, and traumatic pistols, but talking about all this would be too long and tedious. In addition, many of its variations have a very mediocre relationship to the original pistol.

The Soviet silent pistol PB, developed in the 60s for adoption by special forces, deserves special mention. There is a fairly widespread opinion that this pistol was created on the basis of the Makarov pistol, that is, it is essentially a PM, but has minor modifications. The appearance of the pistol also contributes to this myth, but the design of the PB is strikingly different from the Makarov pistol. By and large, the pistol is similar to the PM only in the magazines that are used with it, the design of the trigger mechanism, and some external parameters, such as the shape of the handle. Otherwise, the PB has a completely different design, created by gunsmith A. A. Deryagin.

If any game should open a list of games in which PM is present, then this is naturally S.T.A.L.K.E.R. In all three parts of this significant series, the Makarov pistol is present and plays an important role as a “starting weapon”. It is given to you at the beginning of each game by default, and with it you will have to go through a relatively large part of the game until suitable alternatives appear. With the exception of “Call of Pripyat”, perhaps, where pistols as a class are completely and completely useless due to the ability to put any weapon in the second slot. Unfortunately, the position of the initial weapon suggests that, according to the characteristics of the PM in Stalker, it is bottom. It has perhaps the worst stats of any weapon in the game. The damage is extremely low, the accuracy and rate of fire are also not great. In essence, the main advantages of PM in these games are reliability and widespread use. That is, this pistol is quite rated as the last chance for survival. It is cheap, takes a long time to wear out, and cartridges for it are widespread. In general, there is nothing more to say about it, a completely classic pistol of the initial stage, which is used for the first few hours of the game, and later replaced with more effective models.

This pistol is also https://pop-casino.co.uk/ present in the “spiritual successor to the series” type “S”.T.A.L.K.E.R."- game Survarium, which is an average multiplayer shooter. To be honest, I don’t like this game, but I can’t help but mention it. In it, the state of things changes a little compared to “Stalker”. Here the role of the starting “weakling” is given to the TT, and the Makarov pistol is the first pistol purchased. This somewhat strengthens his position on the battlefield. He doesn’t start a massive genocide of the server, no matter how much one would like, but he performs quite well in situations where the rifle’s cartridges have run out, or an enemy has jumped out from around the corner while reloading.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 1-2 (2010 – 2012)

Oddly enough, despite the arsenal of weapons increasing with each part of the “witch,” including some very exotic examples, like the Bulldog shotgun, the classic Makarov pistol appeared exclusively in two parts of the subseries Black Ops, where, by the way, there was the largest amount of cranberries, but that’s not the point. In the first part, PM was a rather rare thing. In fact, he once became the main character of a ten-minute segment during the escape from Vorkuta and that’s all. After this point it was quite difficult to find him. Of course, you can pick up captured PM from wounded enemies, but this opportunity is extremely rare, and ammo for it will remain in short supply. At the same time, the gun is not only very beautifully and detailedly drawn, but also very easy to use. It has quite high damage and rate of fire, so shooting from the PM is a pleasure. But while praising the external design of the pistol, I cannot help but mention such a minus as the reload animation. It is no different from reloading other weapons, but the PM itself is different from other weapons. It has a magazine release located at the base of the handle, making it impossible to reload with one hand. Unfortunately, this point is not taken into account in Black Ops.

However, it is taken into account in the second part, where reloading the PM has a different animation. And the gun itself is much more accessible here. Black Ops 2 now has a system for customizing equipment before starting a level. That is, you can independently select any weapon preset before starting the mission, and there will also be boxes with ammunition at the levels, where you can replenish your ammunition. In addition, the number of pistol rounds has increased to 160. This solves the problem with replenishing PM ammunition from the last part, so if you are a fan of this weapon, then you should not have any problems using it.

Far Cry 2 (2008)

PM appeared in several games from Ubisoft, but the most significant, perhaps, is for Far Cry 2. By the way, the French were just not aware of the differences between the PB (aka 6P9) and the PM, so in the second part they called Deryagin’s creation Silent Makarov, or in the Russian version “PM with a 6P9 silencer”. PB itself appeared in the next two parts, but PM was only in the second part. Here, almost like in Stalker, it is essentially a starting pistol, but unlike its Chernobyl version, this does not at all mean the worst characteristics in the game. Although the situation is really similar to PM from the Ukrainian game. Here it is also low-power and not very accurate, however, it has very low recoil and a high rate of fire, which allows you to simply shoot the entire magazine at the enemy in a couple of seconds in a critical situation. Also, unlike Stalker, in Far Cry 2 the problem of weapon breakdown really comes up head on. If in the Zone it is quite easy to repair a weapon at any of the bases, or find an analogue in good condition, or, in the end, just switch to any other barrel, of which there may be several, and any. This won’t work in Far Cry 2. You can exchange weapons for a new one only at one of the warehouses, which you still need to get to. It is categorically not recommended to select weapons, because they are all trashed, and you cannot take a dozen guns with you, only three, and even then they are distributed in specific slots. Because of this, weapon reliability becomes the most important factor. For example, one of the most successful builds of the second Far Cry sounds like: “pistol + sniper rifle + grenade launcher”. It is one of the most effective for most situations in the game, however, it is worth noting that both the rifle and the grenade launcher are rather highly specialized weapons, and only the pistol is more or less universal. Therefore, if you use weapons with low reliability as sidearm, then the game will be very difficult. With the Makarov pistol, such problems never happen, and this is the decisive factor because of which I can with a clear conscience call the PM the best semi-automatic pistol in the game.

Viet Kong 2 (2005)

The Vietnam War is a rather interesting topic from a historical point of view, however, the games that reveal this setting can be counted on one hand. Of the shooters dedicated to this war, I can only remember both parts Shellshock, yes network add-on for Battlefield: Bad Company 2. Well, we can’t ignore the upcoming sequel to the multiplayer add-on (no matter how strange it may sound) for the shooter Red Orchestra — Rising Storm 2, which will be entirely dedicated to battles in the humid and stuffy jungle. However, perhaps the most famous and successful example is the series "Vietcong". Personally, I only played the second part, which, judging by some reviews, the public did not like. I don’t understand this reaction, because even in 2016 the campaign is played quite cheerfully, and the graphics may not be amazing, but at least they’re pleasing to the eye. A big advantage of the game is also the extensive arsenal of small arms. Among tons of different rare trunks you can find legendary Soviet classics. In the game "Viet Cong 2" the PM is the standard pistol of the Viet Cong fighters and is most often found in the game. Here he is an ordinary medium-sized trunk, not shiny at all. It does not have high damage like the M1911 or a silencer like the Nagan. Just a no frills pistol. In fact, the only reason to use it in this game is purely aesthetic. It’s drawn nicely here, but you’re unlikely to use it often. “Viet Cong 2” can be quite difficult to complete in some places, so it is much more logical to use various assault rifles and carbines, and leave the pistol solely for finishing off enemies when there is a lack of ammunition.

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune (2007)

Oddly enough, in the most popular series of games for the Playstation console, the Makarov pistol was not only present, but was, so to speak, the “face of the game”, because Drake was on the cover holding this particular weapon. In general, he was given a rather large role during almost the entire game. There weren’t very many weapons in the first part of the “ancha”, and priority in the form of secondary weapons was given to light semi-automatic pistols, since they provided the ideal balance between stopping power, rate of fire and ammo reserves. Of this class, only the Beretta 92FS and our proud PM are represented in the game, so we had to spend a good half of the game with it before its Italian colleague appeared. Unfortunately, PM did not receive the same important position in subsequent games of the series. And I didn’t receive any at all. For some reason, it’s not in any of the next three parts at all. Although, perhaps I’m wildly failing, and he will be in the 4th “anch” closer to the end, where I haven’t gotten to yet, but that’s not the point.

In the game itself, as I already said, the PM is one of the two most pleasant options for a weapon in the first slot, since the Uzi has a scythe and eats up ammo instantly, the Desert Eagle may be powerful, but there is almost always no ammo. Therefore, nine-millimeter pistols are most preferable. Purely in terms of sensations, the PM is no different from the 92FS except for the magazine volume, so, of course, you can give preference to it, but it’s not at all necessary. Besides, you are unlikely to succeed. In the second half of the game, tougher mercenaries with more modern weapons appear, so most likely you will not be able to find ammunition for the Makarov pistol.

Resident Evil: Revelations 2 (2015)

The PM has a very strange karma: in many games, from those that I remembered today, it is assigned the role of a starting weapon. This does not always have a deplorable effect on its characteristics, but the fact remains a fact. It is this position in the balance that this pistol occupied in the latest spin-off to the famous Resident Evil series. Before it, PM had not appeared in the series of games, but this part has a pronounced Slavic flavor, which was also reflected in the arsenal used by the heroes. At a minimum, in addition to the Makarov, there are also Mosin and Dragunov rifles, as well as the classic AK. In fact, in the second “Revelations” PM repeats himself from Uncharted. A very good pistol at all stages of the game, but! In addition to it, the game contains the German HK USP, which appears in the second half of the passage and is better than the Soviet pistol in everything. However, you can accidentally miss it, and then the PM will become your main “hope for victory” for the second half of the game too. And, overall, quite successfully. Again, it’s worth saying again that, despite its name and legendary status, the PM is just a pistol, which in games, as a rule, does not make it indispensable. Actually, the same situation is here. In addition to a pistol, Claire Redfield will always have a shotgun, a rifle and a submachine gun at her disposal. Therefore, if you forget to find the USP, then the PM will help you out in a situation where there is a shortage of ammunition for other weapons, or when reloading, or against weak opponents. It’s a different matter if you don’t change the double-barreled shotgun to a pump-action shotgun. It doesn’t matter what kind of pistol you have, the difficulties will be specific.

Rainbow Six: Siege (2015)

The last time I personally saw a Makarov pistol in games, I was playing the new competitive shooter from Ubisoft. The Makarov pistol is available to all operatives of the Spetsnaz unit. In addition to it, the game features a modern and, in a sense, innovative Russian pistol GSh-18. Which one is better is a philosophical question. On the one hand, the main gun has a large magazine and a high rate of fire, but has a huge spread and low damage. With PM it’s exactly the opposite. Also difficult is the question of the effectiveness of these pistols when using a shield, which is available to the Fuse operative. Let’s forget that with a shield this character will be less effective than with a machine gun and just assume this scenario. On the one hand, the main gun can be more effective, because it can spam the enemy in close combat without getting out from behind the shield. This is what the magazine and rate of fire have to offer. However, for some reason, apparently solely for the sake of balance, it is impossible to attach a laser target to it, without which gameplay with a shield is practically impossible, despite the fact that the combat main gun has rails for under-barrel equipment. And at a seventy-year-old PM, suddenly there is such an opportunity. Therefore, if we ignore realism, then when playing with a shield there is not much difference between these two pistols. With one you have a greater chance of accidentally hitting the head, landing a large number of bullets towards the enemy, with the other you have a more accurate aim even from behind a shield, but at the same time you have very few cartridges in the magazine. By the way, the gun in the game is called PMM, but that’s not it. The game features a classic PM with a reddish bakelite handle and an eight-round magazine. The PMM, let me remind you, has a more ergonomic handle made of black impact-resistant plastic and a 12-round magazine. “Siege” is not the first game where the regular version of the Makarov pistol is for some reason named after his younger brother, and for the life of me I don’t see the point in this. This is usually done to avoid liability for copyright, for example, the German MP5K in Battlefield 3 was called M5K. This method slightly changes the name so that it remains recognizable, while developers can use an in-game weapon model that copies the combat original. However, weapons with the name M5K do not exist in life, unlike weapons with the name PMM. So there seems to be no point in this. If you know anything about the reasons for renaming PM, I would be grateful if you could tell me them.

That’s probably all. Thank you for devoting some of your time to this post, and since I don’t know how to write epic introductions and conclusions to texts, and no one reads them anyway, just good luck to everyone!