: These are all good thoughts. Obviously, different people take away different
: things from the Marathon series, which is why it has such broad appeal.
: Personally, I enjoy the Marathon series because it does such an
: outstanding job of mixing plot line, visual candy and action. It is
: engrossing in all three respects. My personal favorite is M2 because it
: tells a very well integrated story that is easy to follow, it is visually
: stunning and enjoyable to play. I agree that the MI textures are better,
: if not quite as intriguing as some of those in M2, and I, too, have played
: M2 using the MI texture set (I still prefer the M2 S'Pht doors, however -
: they appear alien and ancient).
I agree regarding MI vs M2 textures. However, I think the M2 Pfhor texture set is just horrid to look at. If only that could have expanded on the M1 Pfhor texture theme (sparkling force-field windows, tons of flickering light with the general ambience very dark)
: My main gripe with MI is that the story is just too complex and poorly
: presented. I have no objection to nonlinear plot lines and, indeed, found
: Rubicon exceptionally well done in this regard. I never really understood
: the use of multiple universes in MI until I came here, however. The
: terminal text in MI is just too cryptic. It's a good story, but there's
: too much to read between the lines and one never knows why they are doing
: what they are doing. My first time through, I couldn't understand why in
: the world I would actually support the Pfhor, work for Tyco and fight the
: BOB's. The final insult is what I believe to be a very weak ending. I
: understand now why Durandal would have said that there was no evidence of
: the W'rkncacnter, as there wasn't in this final universe, but this didn't
: exactly prove satisfying.
Yeah... in plot, less usually is more. In defense of Double Aught, they didn't have much of a different engine and largely the same textures (or modified versions) from M2 and so were somewhat constrained (i.e., they had to keep it on Lh'owon, etc.)
: Now, as to what constitutes an adult level . . . some of the people
: discussing this aren't even or are barely adults, themselves ;) . At least
: chronologically, I'm probably the most qualified to answer this. Let's put
: it this way - I started playing with computers when I was 16 - with a
: computer that took up a large room and used punch cards. To me, MI seems
: the most juvenile of the Trilogy for the reasons already stated. In fact,
: MI very much has the feel of a rebellious adolescent - sorry if I'm
: stepping on toes ;) . M2 will always in my mind be the most mature of the
: scenarios - it is certainly the most polished. M1 will always occupy a
: special place in my heart, however, as the most intriguing with an
: edge-of-the-seat plot line and a fear factor that has never been equaled
: except perhaps in M Evil and, to some extent, Red and Rubicon.
From the perspective of someone who never played computer games at all until I was 24 (and having played all three marathon games in order), I found M1 to be strongest in coherence and interest, M2 to be the strongest in well developed plot and scene integration, and MI to be the strongest in level design. I think what hurt the plot is that perhaps they were reaching too far. If the game was longer (say an extra 10 levels or so), a better balance could have been achieved, in terms of the player understanding what they were doing and why.
just my $0.02
Cheers,
Ben
