 | In Response To: The First Marathon Is The Best (Neoptolemus)
Since this thread has turned in to a way of rating our favorite Marathon games . . .
My personal favorite is MI. I know most people hate it, but I LOVE it. I love the story, i think it finally got the complex story telling back that the first game presented. I love when I really have to think to figure something out. Which is why I really don't like the M2 story.
The first game is set up as horror sci-fi very similar to alien(back in theaters). It did a great job at this, an amazing job. I was shocked many a time when an alien poped out at me and I didn't get that feeling back till evil. The story is set up like a mystery that the player has to peice together. The terminals were gate ways to this mystery, each one a clue. This was never agian achieved in the marathon games. Every one pretty much agrees that it is the best story wise and this is my reason.
All the games have a comlex story, but present them in their own way. MI tried to recapture the mystery of the first and fialed making it just confusing for most. There were just too few clue that clearly pointed at what was happening. In M2 the terminals all feel like commands or rewards. Personally I think that most could have been converted to cut secnes between levels and had pretty much a simialr effect. The story doesn't really add to that of M1, but goes off on its own tanget into a universe more like Dune then Alien(another reason I don't like the game, I can't stand dune).
It does this in many fasions. The new map making is much more fun though. It looks good, but is still kind of blocky for my taste(Incredible for the time though). I really like playing through the levels and still do. The only problem for me was that it felt like I was jumping hoops for the sake of jumping hoops. I felt detached from the story, that what I was doing in the game had littel affect on the out come of the story. Where as in M1 I felt like the events reflected my doing.
Another thing that I have mixed feelings on is arming the bobs. While its cool to have some one on my side they make the game easier. Infact they were constant ammo supplies after they did what they could. I feel they are better use in MI, trying to kill the player.
M2 visualy is akward at best. The new sprites lose the feel of their proir being. The hunters have trimed down and are less intimidating, while the troopers look more threating. We lose my favorite sprite, the hulk, for my least favorite, the cyborg. And the game sprites don't really jive with the M1 styled walls. Like wise the terms use of some really great art teamed up with real photos. This kinds of inconsistency breaks down the reality of the game.
Finaly we come to MI. It builds on the story of the last game and slightly on the orginal. The walls match the new sprites, dark and detailed. It mixes the feel of both M1 and M2. The duel story line is cool and this time the player is the driving force of the game instead of a tool to push it forward. The maps are dark and complex. I love how maze like many the levels are and that many of the puzzles are part of the game, not just an obsticle. The term art is great and the terms are set up as real terms like in M1. This is more real game world.
I know every one has there favorite mine is a toss up between M1 and MI. I may have bashed M2, but it is really fun to play which is one of the prime reasons of playing a game. I can't say that I replayed M1, where as I have replayed many of the M2 levels.
Ellio7t
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