The main problem with the game, in , is that it takes an age to truly get your bearings in any of the game's labyrinthine levels. You might well have a handle on roughly what you're supposed to do, but the samey-looking nature of the simplistic design means it can take a long time before you stop wandering around in circles. Back in , game designers hadn't really figured out that it wasn't much fun being lost, and as such Marathon: Durandal quite quickly becomes a bit of a slog to play through more than a handful of its 30 or so levels.
As atmospheric as it must have felt at the time, it only goes a small way towards excusing what was, and is, quite wretched combat. The AI is practically non-existent, with enemies standing around gormlessly, waiting for you to pick them off one by one. Next to the seminal Doom 2, it can't even hold a candle to id's classic in this respect - even if it does boast some neat innovations like dual-wielding, and the ability to swim through liquid. There are a bunch of minor complaints that don't help endear you to the game, either - like starting a new level with the health you left the last one with.
Not only is this fairly annoying, it makes further progress extremely tough if you're low on health - often resulting in a lengthy backtrack as you reload a previously saved game and repeat an entire section simply to stand a chance of getting anywhere with the next level. Another common moan is that it's one of the worst games for inspiring motion sickness - although it's not something that affected us - and in any case, camera bob is turned off by default, so it really shouldn't be an issue for many people.
On a personal level, as nice as it is in theory to have a slightly more involved plot-line and sense of purpose, the game still inevitably resorts to getting players to push switches to progress. It's not as revolutionary as the passionate fan-base would have you believe - give us Duke 3D any day of the week please, 3D Realms - you know it makes sense. On the other hand, if you played and enjoyed Marathon at the time, then you'll be in for a treat. The game's art has been entirely cleaned up to enhance it for HD displays, the HUD has been tweaked to ensure it takes up less of the screen, the game now runs at 60 frames-per-second instead of 30, and the whole shebang now takes full advantage of widescreen displays.
In terms of giving fans the ultimate version, you can't fault it whatsoever. On top of that, there's a brand new score-based single-player 'Survival' mode, where you have to see how long you can last against wave upon wave of enemies, as well as all the online modes that you'll remember from the old days.
Although most of these now feel exceptionally old-school, they still have a certain charm about them and give gaming historians the chance to see how some of Halo's multiplayer ideas were first implemented. All told, Marathon: Durandal offers an intriguing insight into Bungie's early days, and for the sake of points it's well worth checking out. That said, despite being ahead of Doom 2 in many respects, it's simply nowhere near as fun to play.
Saddled with clunky combat, it's impossible to come to this with fresh eyes and appreciate what the fuss was about. The redesigned controls take full advantage of the Xbox Controller and enhance playing a first-person shooter on a home console. Critic Reviews. Score distribution:. Positive: 1 out of Mixed: 10 out of Negative: 2 out of All this publication's reviews Read full review.
I think it's quite a bit better than DOOM in almost all aspects. But it's impossible to ignore the fact that everyone who has played Marathon has gotten nauseous. I've never seen this happen with a game before, but obviously anything that leaves people feeling worse than when they booted it up, can't get a very enthusiastic thumbs up. First and foremost, it has just as much charm as id's classic Doom, with hilariously bad pre-rendered enemies, a fresh feeling of exploration and multiplayer options galore, both off-line and through Xbox Live.
The second is a rapid frame rate that induces motion sickness. Official Xbox Magazine UK. An interesting curio for Halo fans, but expensive. All this publication's reviews. Despite being ahead of "Doom 2" in many respects, it's simply nowhere near as fun to play. Saddled with clunky combat, it's impossible to come to this with fresh eyes and appreciate what the fuss was about. The Marathon fan base out there who played the game over 10 years ago will most likely be the only ones to get any real enjoyment out of this one.
Xbox World Magazine UK. A blast from the past that should have stayed unblasted. Play the free version if you must. User Reviews. Write a Review. Since the original game hadn't been released, the Xbox Live version was renamed " Marathon: Durandal ".
Pfhorpedia Explore. Wiki Content. Explore Wikis Community Central. Register Don't have an account? Marathon 2: Durandal. Marathon 2: Durandal was the sequel to Marathon. In addition to being released for the Apple Macintosh, a Windows 95 version was also released. The game engine itself underwent several changes from its first incarnation.
Although most of these changes were "under-the-hood," a few were visible to the user. The Marathon 2 engine offered performance gains on some machines, in addition to support for higher resolutions, higher color depths, and better quality sound. The enhanced engine also allowed the loading of maps from external files, allowing for users to later create and play their own maps. Marathon 2 begins 17 years after the first game's ending.
The player awakes aboard the Pfhor ship that Durandal stole, having beamed the player aboard as he left Tau Ceti. He reveals that after they left, a Pfhor fleet arrived and destroyed the colony. He further reveals that he called the Pfhor to Tau Ceti in order to steal their technology.
Now they orbit the ruined S'pht homeworld, Lh'owon. Durandal sends the player and an army of ex-colonists to search the ruins of Lh'owon for information that would give Durandal an advantage against the Pfhor, who are planning a new assault on humanity. Among the new characters in this adventure are Durandal's evil counterpart Tycho, who played a minor role in the first game; a Lh'owon-native species known as F'lickta; an ancient and mysterious race of advanced aliens called the Jjaro; and the long-lost S'pht'Kr clan.
Marathon Infinity included more levels than Marathon 2 , which were larger and part of a more intricate plot. The game's code changed little since Marathon 2 , and many levels can be played unmodified in both games. Marathon Infinity was only released for the Apple Macintosh.
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