Xenos as lone, stalking cosmic horror, or endless black tide. Which is better?

[RabidBadger]

I was watching some gameplay clips of AvP2 (game), where the aliens are in massive numbers, but go down fairly easily to gunfire, such that both the Pred and human characters obliterate them at a rate rivaling Serious Sam at some points.

They never "end" and the plot is very clear that they are overrunning the place and winning, but they seem to be seeing if they can run the humans out of ammo.

Even when you play as the Alien, while you do quite a bit and are very powerful, you have your own expendable xenos around, and a couple of the objectives even involve you using your fellow xenos to soak up sentry gun fire.

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This goes back to the original "Alien" versus "Aliens" comparison. One bug, versus hundreds. The xeno on the Nostromo is the perfect predatory organism with no weaknesses. The ones on LV-426 keep coming after the humans despite anything the humans, with heavy weapons, can think of to do to hold them off, but they take massive losses and go down easily to gunfire.

Which concept of the creature do you think is the better route?

[thepouncer]

the lone xeno's only priority is self preservation ,the hive xeno's own life is inconsequential the hive is more important , look at the father or mother versus the unattached the same rules apply in any society or species . people themselves are more primal than they think ,the needs of the many and all that 

[Commander Aun]

I think both concepts are fine, but in future films, they need to even out the potrayal of the Alien. A:R executed them well, since they were in groups, and they worked together to take out the whole crew. They should have applied this more to AVP2, or at least make them move to doge blasts and make them more menacing, like actually trying to attack Wolf when he held them both, or at least move to try and make him go off balance if he is so strong.

[Huol]

I was watching some gameplay clips of AvP2 (game), where the aliens are in massive numbers, but go down fairly easily to gunfire, such that both the Pred and human characters obliterate them at a rate rivaling Serious Sam at some points.

They never "end" and the plot is very clear that they are overrunning the place and winning, but they seem to be seeing if they can run the humans out of ammo.

Even when you play as the Alien, while you do quite a bit and are very powerful, you have your own expendable xenos around, and a couple of the objectives even involve you using your fellow xenos to soak up sentry gun fire.

-

This goes back to the original "Alien" versus "Aliens" comparison. One bug, versus hundreds. The xeno on the Nostromo is the perfect predatory organism with no weaknesses. The ones on LV-426 keep coming after the humans despite anything the humans, with heavy weapons, can think of to do to hold them off, but they take massive losses and go down easily to gunfire.

Which concept of the creature do you think is the better route?

A single monster is always scarier than a thousand monsters.

[Uncanny Antman]

I prefer fewer Aliens, just as I prefer slow zombies.

Slow, creeping dread/death > all-out attack.

[Huol]

I dunno, the fast zombies in 28 weeks later where pretty scary.

Most notibly the farm house scene.

When he's running away from that huge mob it really freaked me out. They don't get tired, you do, they're fast, oh shit, your slowing down, your breathings heavy, your tired out, your legs scream in protest but you know if you slow down even a tiny bit, your going to get pushed to the floor and beaten to death.

[gameoverman]

How come one alien is always more deadly?  One alien took out the Nostromo crew, one alien killed over 20 prisoners, Grid killed two predators and Chet killed three predators.

But when aliens swarm, they're always cannon fodder.  Not that I mind this so much, if they are portrayed as fast, viciious and if-they-get-you-you're-dead.. (like the fast moving zombies too).

[Huol]

I think it's because a large amount of aliens is controlled by the queen, "go do this, kill them, i don't care whether you live or die"

Whereas a lone alien, is trying to survive, trying it's best, so it's going to be a better alien.

[Kimarhi]

I think both work on different levels.

On Alien killing people almost randomly (or after having stalked them depending on your perspective) has an entirely different feel to it.  You don't know whose next.  It's a creeping terror that through all the stuff you do/don't do the alien might chose you as its next kill.

In Aliens it is more tense, because things are all around you and their closing in and you can't escape.

Both work, and at times in my life I've preferred Cameraliens over Alien's Alien.  But now I prefer Scott/Giger/O'bannon's incarnation.

One Alien typically has alot more menace added to it for stories sake, and thus have more of an emotional/physical impact whenever they are on/offscreen and until they lose/win.

[The Chibi Kiriyama]

Who ever said it can't be both in the same picture?

[D-101]

The lone. The hive Aliens just want to protect the queen. The lone is looking out for itself.

[gameoverman]

Who ever said it can't be both in the same picture?

Well in Aliens we saw them mostly in groups - except maybe the one who snuck onboard the dropship.  There were multiple aliens in A:R too, but we only saw two working together at the same time, the others hunted by themselves.

[happypred]

A lone xeno is good for building a sense of mystery and suspense

but as an endless black tide, they become more than a threat to just a small group of people...they become a threat to the human race. I've always liked to think that the aliens combined with man's greed is the most menacing force in the alien universe.

I'd say the two portrayals inspire different types of terror