Marathon on Xbox LIVE Arcade
Published July 10, 2007
Before there was Halo®, there was Marathon. The first first-person shooter (FPS) to come from Bungie Studios, Marathon was the game to get to show off your high-end Apple Macintosh. But as you'd expect from Bungie, it wasn't just a cool graphics engine—it was a blast to play. Though the storyline was different and the technology more primitive, Marathon was nevertheless sort of a proto-Halo, and fans of the series will recognize the inspirations for Halo's signature gameplay in the earlier game. Most Bungie fans have never experienced the series, though, as only one entry in the series was released for Windows PCs, Marathon2: Durandal, which was available for Windows 95.
Hi Bob! Die, Bob!
Now you can explore Bungie's roots right on your Xbox 360™. Marathon: Durandal, coming to Xbox LIVE® Arcade in the second half of 2007 takes the fan-favorite shooter and fully updates it for the console. This isn't just a port of the Mac classic. Developer Freeverse has taken the original game and recreated every image (over 4,000 of them) in HD. And while the original game was only playable solo or on a local network, Marathon: Durandal fully supports Xbox LIVE, with support for 8 players in Deathmatch, King of the Hill, Kill the Man with the Ball, Tag, and Cooperative modes. If your friends are right there with you, the game also supports four-player splitscreen. And the control scheme? Exactly like the Halo series.
Image: 4player.jpg from CPE
Play on Xbox LIVE, or with up to four playersin split-screen.
The game focuses on Durandal, a rampant A.I. originally designed to help control the U.E.S.C. Marathon, an intergalactic colony spaceship. Now he's in command of his own ship and he's looking for a powerful ancient alien artifact. Why? Because he'd like to become a god. As The Marine, you're at Durandal's bidding as he works to defeat the Pfhor, an insect-like alien race that's out to destroy humanity. The signature character in the series is the BOB. Standing for "Born On Board," the Bobs are cloned humans who have been rebuilt as walking bombs for the Pfhor. "Never leave a single Bob alive," is a mantra of Bungie culture.
The Pfhor hate humanity, and were responsible for the destruction of the U.E.S.C. Marathon.
Marathon: Durandal was developed for Xbox LIVE Arcade by Freeverse. Like Bungie, Freeverse has its roots in the tight Mac gaming community. With many team members who've been members of the Marathon fan community since the beginning, the company was uniquely qualified to bring Marathon: Durandal to Xbox LIVE Arcade.
With solo, co-op, network play, and loads of Xbox 360 enhancements, Marathon: Durandal promises to be a blast for Marathon, Halo, and FPS fans in general. The Bob-bustin' action starts soon.
Article by Denny Atkin
