Marathon (1994)

Pretty good! When things go well the gameplay is pretty fun and the overall ambiance and atmosphere is pretty nice to delve into. The story is probably the biggest highlight though, basically the first FPS ever to really have a story/lore, and it's done in a way that feels like a really good Sci-Fi experience imo.

Things fall apart elsewhere though. Kinda suffers from the old school vibe of just making games unnecessarily challenging for the sake of making playthroughs last longer. A lot of the level design and "puzzles" are also done in a very complex way to the point of just not really being enjoyable to play through. This ends up culminating in the last few levels being pretty unfun with really difficult enemies, areas where you're forced to take damage, and a bit of a push against natural exploration.

Still a cool experience, especially seeing where Bungie really got into the whole shooter genre. Some of the levels also mirror Halo CE's in terms of concept, environment, and fitting in the story line (specifically the first and truth and reconciliation).

Off and on for the past 5 years I've been trying to finish Marathon using the Aleph One version on Windows. I keep coming back to it because it is such a fascinating game. I'm a huge Bungie fan because of Halo and Destiny and here you'll see the exposed roots of Bungie's esoteric sci-fi mythos. It is all here, rampant AIs, cultish alien hegemonies bent of enslaving and annihilating the human race (complete with color-code uniforms), rifles that can't hit a barn door on full auto, plasma pistols that charge up and hit like a freight train, hilarious dialogue from your human companions, floaty low gravity physics. Considering the time it came out, Marathon was innovative as hell. High res graphics, possibly the first game with mouse look and weapon reloading ever, 2ndary fires for most weapons, excellent environmental storytelling in an FPS. But, it has plenty of rough edges. Some absolutely horrendous level design can make the game a chore to play at times. The designers could be real a-holes when they felt like it. You can't save whenever and sometimes you'll be dropped in a new level without warning and may not get an opportunity to save for quite some time. Colony Ship for Sale, Cheap may be the worst game level ever made in any game. I quite multiple play throughs because of it. Honestly, the game is way better if you enable cheats. This gives you access to 2 essential cheats to fix some of the game's BS: qwe() and yourmom() which allow you to jump (to bypass some ridiculously stupid platform puzzles when coupled with a grenade/rocket for momentum in the right direction) and to save anywhere respectively.

Cheats are not obvious at all how to enable in the Aleph One port and I couldn't find an accurate guide anywhere. How I did it was I copied the Cheats.lua file (you can read it in a text editor for the names of the cheats you can use) from your Aleph One folder's Extras folder to your Documents\Aleph One directory. From there, in the game you have to go to Preferences > Environment > Use Solo Script and select the Cheats.lua as your script file. Then to use a cheat you can press \ to open the console and type the name of the cheat function (such as 'yourmom()'). Honestly, without cheats, I probably would have given up on this game again, it is that frustrating. Even with these cheats, you'll still likely be stuck wondering where the hell to go or what to do a good half the time. Despite that, I don't think I had to consult a guide even once, just kept experimenting and doing trial and error till I stumbled on the right path (while missing fair bit, but I couldn't be bothered to care, you can read up on anything you miss later).

Overall, it was worth it finishing this game. It has a great story, great writing, and fun combat. If the level design and puzzles were better, it would easily gain a star or two. I've started Marathon 2 which already seems to be a vast improvement.

Marathon may be from the somewhat rough days of 1990s FPS, but manages an intriguing story, some puzzling challenges, and satisfying gunplay to make something well worth playing.

Under attack from an alien ship and a rogue AI, the player is aboard an Earth colony ship (the Marathon, of course) and must fight off the aliens by any means necessary. The story is quite ambitious and well done, with a routine mission slowly perverted by an insane AI out to incite alien rebellion amidst their ranks. This story is complemented by relaxing yet eerie atmospheric music and visuals that range from spaceship textures to strange alien designs.

As for the gunplay, the player has access to dual wielding pistols, free look, an assault rifle with grenade launchers (very helpful!), rocket launchers, and a strange alien gun that seems like it would fit right at home with Bungie's later Halo series. The movement is kind of weird, with gliding over platforms instead of jumping. This may lead to a frustrating puzzle or two, but other than a rogue elevator puzzle the game's fairly solid.

The challenge is heightened by limited save points, but also toned by infinite shield regenerators and difficulty levels. It may seem daunting, but Marathon is tweakable for all sorts, making for an intriguing adventure with some fun bits in between.