: Hi. I've been lurking here for years, and for some reason I have never posted
: anything, which is very unlike me since I am a real Forum dweller and a
: Marathon fan.
: Ok, enough about that!
: The reason why I'm posting is that I finally downloaded Eternal X and I've
: been playing it for 2-3 hours every night for one and a half week now (on
: Kindergarden dificulty)and I can't decide wether I like the game/scenario
: or not.
: The plot and the storytelling in Eternal X are top notch! -I even think that
: it surpasses the original Marathon triliogy on this point. What I'm
: reffering to here is the Terminal texts - the maker/makers of Eternal X
: have captured the flavor and style from the previous games and refined it,
: and on top of that there are tons of new stuff for us to dig into.
: Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant!
: I also like the mixed array of M:I/M2 units and M1 units (I personally prefer
: the M1 look of Hunters and Troopers).
: I also appriciate the fun details and the elaborate ways the map makers have
: created radar screens, machines etc. just by using polygons and vivid
: light effects.
: What I don't like with Eternal X is the textures. I don't like them at all
: (except certain selections from the Pfhor texture set). The reason I
: dislike the textures is because they feel very artificial, sterile and
: monotone in a bad way; the textures don't look real (they look
: computer-generated), nor do they got any soul or feeling (because they
: look computer-generated). They are just too clean, bleak and pattern-like
: for my taste. The textures definitely ruin the Eternal X experience for
: me. It feels like I'm running around shooting Pfhor inside of Photoshop.
: NOTE: I do like the new Landscapes though.
: Another thing I don't like about Eternal X is how repetative the gameplay is.
: It feels like I'm mowing my way through labyrinths hitting random switches
: that have no relation to each other. ...Or maybe the textures are the
: problem here as well since there seem to be only two switch types/designs
: (one switch, and one chip drive) per texture set. The texture sets from
: the original Marathon games had a wide array of switches, which made the
: levels feel more alive.
: My last complaint is the weapons in Eternal X. The ammount of ammo you wade
: through in the game is just crazy. I know that I've been playing the game
: on the Kindergarden difficulty, but still! 49 Pfhor Staffs, 49 Rifle
: clips, 49 grenade mags etc. is just insane and makes the game feel even
: more unrealistic and video game-like than it all ready is (thanks to the
: textures).
: Another thing about the weapon arsenal is the choice of weapons. I like the
: fusion pistols, the fusion cannon, the Trooper rifle etc. But the graphics
: of the Pfhor Staff is absolutely horrible. The Enforcer Flame Rifle feels
: very redundant when you all ready got three other automatic weapons to
: play with (like the Fusion cannon, the Trooper rifle and the Copland-Beta
: (Enforcer machinegun)). I miss the good old flamethrower - a short/medium
: range weapon like that would've been cool as well as it would've made the
: arsenal more variated and versatile.
: Despite all the criticism and complaints, I still find Eternal X a good
: game/mod, simply because the sheer size of the scenario, the amazing plot
: and the superb storytelling.
Also in my opinion there needed to be more human weapons other then the Fusion Pistol and Rifle. I heard they were going to make another Eternal game, maybe they can put more human weapons in that one.
