Current Events > Mr.X /Stalkers... Good mechanic or nah?

(+) Yeah! (+)

A invincible or powerful entity that must be avoided as it hunts you down or lurks in the area

if done well, then yea.

like, Jack from RE7 was a great stalker enemy, IMO.

does not spark joy, but RE Revelations did it best where you can actually beat her and she'll drop a goodie and go away

Depends. He gon give it to ya?

Smiffwilm posted...

Depends. He gon give it to ya?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh9AfN78-mI

Anyway, I absolutely loved it in original RE3. Nemesis had several different spots where he might appear, but you never knew when it might happen, and that always kept me on edge on replays.

I generally don't think they work because in Theory they are scary but in practice they just become more annoying than anything. Alien isolation is probably the only game that really got it right but they went all in on that as the core concept.

How does Alien Isolation do it?

Smiffwilm posted...

Depends. He gon give it to ya?

It should be canon that that song plays whenever he shows up.

You just hear a faint "-on deliver to ya," then the wall explodes out and all you hear is "KNOCK KNOCK OPEN UP THE DOOR IT'S REAL" loud enough to blow your hair back.

Alien Isolation drags a bit so the stalking turns into ".... again?" type of reaction at some point

I've always liked the idea of an open world game that has an enemy like this. The thought of having a huge world to explore but there's an entity that knows where you are at all times, and is always making its way toward you, would be a neat way to make tension.

Fun at times but can kill the sense of exploration/discovery too if too much

They're mostly on the better end.

OG Mr. X was a solid blueprint, but definitely an unrealized gimmick.
OG Nemesis is arguably the best stalker they've had, the fact that he can pop up most anywhere at any time is perfect.
The one they had in 6 that I don't even remember the name of was unremarkable.
Jack is funny as hell, making him entertaining, but still nerve wracking when you do run into him.
Remake X is incredible and is the only one that's on Nemesis's level.
Remake Nemesis is... God... what the fuck happened here? He's easily the least threatening chaser enemy. As much as I enjoy 3Make, they did Nemesis dirty. Which is a huge shame because they did X so well.
Lady D is hot. But she's a bit nerve wracking when you see her from afar.

I think I'd rank them:
OG Nemesis= Remake X > Jack > Mommy > OG X > the one from 6 > Remake Nemesis

Turbam posted...

The one they had in 6 that I don't even remember the name of was unremarkable.

Ustanak.

I have absolutely no fucking idea why I know that.

DrizztLink posted...

Ustanak.

I have absolutely no fucking idea why I know that.

That's it!
For some reason I wanted to keep calling it Hoobastank... >_>

I feel like I never really cared for them in concept but every one gets mt ass good in practice. But a lot of them fall apart after a while because you notice their patterns and you start seeing the game again.

Turbam posted...

That's it!
For some reason I wanted to keep calling it Hoobastank... >_>

I'VE FOUND A REASON FOR MEEEEEE
TO FOLLOW JAKE AND SHERRYYYYYYY

DrizztLink posted...

I'VE FOUND A REASON FOR MEEEEEE
TO FOLLOW JAKE AND SHERRYYYYYYY

LMAO

Turbam posted...

That's it!
For some reason I wanted to keep calling it Hoobastank... >_>

This is canon now

I kinda like them because they are really tense at first, but as you get familiar with the game, they aren't a threat. Makes you feel like you've actually learned and overcome something. And then if you decide to replay it makes them even more of a joke.

SSJGrimReaper posted...

Alien Isolation drags a bit so the stalking turns into ".... again?" type of reaction at some point

If you are mindful of your actions/noise level, you can generally limit your interactions to about 5-6 places, though.

the only time it was ever done well was Jack Baker

the worst time i can think of was Prey reboot

Imagine you're chilling, walking down a hallway, when suddenly Nemesis crashes through a wall or window, you have no ammo, so you run.

You make it to the door, you're safe in the next room. But, strangely the music is still playing. "That's odd" you think to yourself.

Then the door opens.

S.T.A.R.S.!!!!!!

He's chasing you, again, he follows you, then you walk into another room, the music stops.

You're safe.

For now

i would just tell him i'm not a STARS cop or whatever

Turbam posted...

Remake Nemesis is... God... what the fuck happened here? He's easily the least threatening chaser enemy. As much as I enjoy 3Make, they did Nemesis dirty. Which is a huge shame because they did X so well.

I think the irony is that Nemesis is the most threatening. He moves so quickly that he can very easily catch you whereas every other RE stalker (at least in the remake era) is just slightly slower than you can run. The issue is that this makes extended sequences of him stalking you really annoying, so they just didn't really put them in the game.

And in general, I think RE doesn't actually do stalker enemies very well. I enjoyed Jack, but in hindsight, I think that's because he's just the first one I met. And Nemesis aside, I think the problem is what I mentioned above: they are slower than you are. Once you realize this, they just become an annoyance instead of a threat.

Hearing Mr. X's booming footsteps and that admittedly sick musical riff didn't scare me. It made me roll my eyes because now instead of going directly to my asshole, I had to go around my elbow so he couldn't get me. Alcina didn't even have that going for her, the level design really failed her. At least Mr. X can grab you in a cramped RCPD hallway, Castle Dimitrescu just has too many open areas to avoid her.

PowerOats posted...

How does Alien Isolation do it?

The biggest thing it has going for it is that stalking is the central mechanic of the game, so it gets a lot more depth than something like RE. The Xenomorph and other enemies just don't show up where you are like they tend to do there, there are actual noise and hiding mechanics you have to contend with. So if you come across a big group of human enemies, you have the option to throw a noisemaker into the middle of them to attract the alien, but you have to consider the very strong possibility that it comes after you when it's done with them.

Dungeater posted...

the worst time i can think of was Prey reboot

Which Prey do you mean? The one I'm thinking of only has one enemy that might be considered a stalker and you're really just intended to murder it.

I actually enjoyed how they had mr. x setup in RE2 remake so that was pretty fun. I don't mind'em one way or the other.

......actually you know what, that one stupid ass enemy in RE6 that you had to fight in all 4 of the campaigns was annoying though. The shit that splits into multiple parts, lol.

I played through all of RE6 on co-op with my boy so it was hilarious when we would synchronize grown every single time that enemy plus the "find the 3 key shits!" popped up.

i just found MR X annoying in RE2make when the zombies are already bullet sponges this was just uhg

it just makes you rush through things rather than get to soak in the atmosphere

Letsago posted...

I've always liked the idea of an open world game that has an enemy like this. The thought of having a huge world to explore but there's an entity that knows where you are at all times, and is always making its way toward you, would be a neat way to make tension.

That actually made the Watchdogs games fun.

Once you had online hunters potentially invading you I started devoting way more attention to my rear view and always having an alternate route.

divot1338 posted...

That actually made the Watchdogs games fun.

Once you had online hunters potentially invading you I started devoting way more attention to my rear view and always having an alternate route.

I loved the idea of players invading your game and being able to blend in as one of the citizens, I wish they expanded on that.

Letsago posted...

I've always liked the idea of an open world game that has an enemy like this. The thought of having a huge world to explore but there's an entity that knows where you are at all times, and is always making its way toward you, would be a neat way to make tension.

I have thought about a game like that, like in most parts of the map you are hunted by a few elite warriors of different alien factions in a contest, like Predator, but you eventually kill most of them, then there are even more remote places like an ancient ruin with demons, the open sea..

Chicken posted...

I loved the idea of players invading your game and being able to blend in as one of the citizens, I wish they expanded on that.

Deathloop kind of does this. Julianna is trying to kill you and her default power lets her disguise herself as an NPC.

No thanks, more annoying than anything.

I remember playing RE3 Nemesis on the playstation, rolling my eyes at Nemesis and running past him. Only for him to follow me through the loading screen. Blew my little mind back in the day.

Invincible stalkers can work quite well. Haunting Ground did it well, the RE games do it well, Dead Space was fine too.

GeminiDeus posted...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh9AfN78-mI

Anyway, I absolutely loved it in original RE3. Nemesis had several different spots where he might appear, but you never knew when it might happen, and that always kept me on edge on replays.

Mr. X quit that day!

Frosted_Midna posted...

Mr. X quit that day!

Mr X had never before seen such bullshit.

I still find it amusing that Mr X in the remake breaks into a full on charge if you shoot his hat off.

the problem is that the mechanic is treated as a pure gimmick in most games that don't revolve around stealth to begin with.

"see the stalker > run/slow the enemy down" is the only way the game is designed.

no hiding mechanics, no distraction mechanics, no sound mechanics etc.

In RE2 and RE2R they were great. Never played the original RE3 but the Nemesis was so so in the remake.

I thought Rachel in RE: Revelations was great

Strider102 posted...

Imagine you're chilling, walking down a hallway, when suddenly Nemesis crashes through a wall or window, you have no ammo, so you run.

You make it to the door, you're safe in the next room. But, strangely the music is still playing. "That's odd" you think to yourself.

Then the door opens.

S.T.A.R.S.!!!!!!

He's chasing you, again, he follows you, then you walk into another room, the music stops.

You're safe.

For now

You run into a safe room. You're safe.

He bangs on the door. Are you safe?

...

You're safe.

Consayblue22 posted...

Never played the original RE3 but the Nemesis was so so in the remake.

Yeah, go fix that. You'll certainly think it better than RE3R and as okay as original RE2.

GeminiDeus posted...

Anyway, I absolutely loved it in original RE3. Nemesis had several different spots where he might appear, but you never knew when it might happen, and that always kept me on edge on replays.

This is one of the things that I think is key to making it work. If it gets to the point that the stalker enemy shows up on a regular enough rhythm that you can reasonably predict it, then it's not as scary. Just as important as the times they do show up are the times when you think they might show up but they don't. It needs to be as unpredictable as possible if it's going to keep you on edge.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/7/7b3b0627.jpg

*holy shit I never noticed how jaggy apu is in this clip

https://youtu.be/WutlOjp2JsI?si=_8BXlavm1DOggtT4

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


You can fight back tho. Not completely at first but you eventually are not locked into one shot kills anymore as the game goes on