Enjoyed the play. Very nicely designed and well thought out. Love the new textures. Has a nice, ambient feel to all levels.
I couldn't play the Lovia level (the last level) as it fatally crashes the game/software soon after arriving at this level. Tried a few times but even just standing, doing nothing, while trying to see if moving through the first doorway sideways or backwards (which has helped with other scenario crashes), the game crashed regardless. With me doing nothing after jumping into the level, standing still, it still crashes. Never experienced such a severe fatal crash in a Marathon game scenario before, and I have been playing Marathon since August 1994 (played the prototype game at GenCon in Milwaukee).
Otherwise, the scenario is one of the best I have played in a long while.
Removes the bloat and gives you the information you need. What more could you ask for?
I've been waiting for a mod where it fixes the skyboxes of M2 and Infinity for so long and we finally have it. I can finally use those fullscreen HUDs without my immersion being broken now.
I've sampled all three soundtrack plugins and this is definitely the best one. Interesting use of leitmotifs to enhance the music and I like the attention given to which levels get what track.
For whatever reason the landscapes are not working.
Because of the "merge", the checksum of the map file is different from the original. So any plugins that check for the Win95 map file specifically will not work with this.
I love the way this HUD looks, but it is entirely incompatible with the Enhanced HUD crosshairs.
Apotheosis is an absolute Masterclass in Marathon scenario creation. From the first step to the sprint at the finish line, my jaw was on the floor and eyebrows on the ceiling! The scenario is so well thought out, planned, and executed - not to mention stunningly beautiful (to the eye and ear) - that it took me right back to my initial run-throughs of Bungie's Trilogy. Palms sweating, gasping for air, praying for a nearby Save Terminal, or 1x powerup, all while masterfully being guided through the amazingly crafted levels. Zero fluff, every level a breathtaking Masterpiece, expertly rationed ammo and supplies, an engaging story, and enough baddies to wear your fingers to the bone. All of this, in a brand new environment filled with the most apropos textures and scenery objects. I cannot tell you how many times I just stopped and stared at the beauty before me. The cartography, lighting, and atmosphere instantly pulled me right in, and I was there. Truly an unforgettable gaming experience. The all new weapons and sprites were the icing on the cake. Again, so well thought out, planned, and executed - with balance - kudos to the entire team. "What the hell was that?!" (that ran across the catwalk)... "Are those buildings glowing blue?!"... "Did the floor just drop out!?!"... so many sensational and thrilling moments, it took me right back to the mid 90's, and it felt like the very first time.
Thank you for the outstanding gaming experience, my hat's off to the entire team for all you have created.
Sincerely, ...Borzz
Took me hostage for a good four days
In Tempus Irae you play the role of a heavily armed Vitruvian Man helping Leonardo da Vinci track down his missing tax receipts while 3 eyed Italians attempt to swat you with brooms. (Description generated by AI).
Seriously though, the original Tempus Irae is one of the seminal works in the world of Marathon scenarios, Nardo threw down the gauntlet in a big way, back when we were all just learning how. This update is a beautiful and faithful modernisation of that brilliant work. It's absolutely worth experiencing once more, or for the first time.
soliciting reviews: minus one star
omitting my review from the promised total carnage readthrough: minus one star
purging my review from simplici7y along with the entire nefx historical record: minus one star
reducing simplici7y to a splash page for the internet archive: minus one star
those loved by nefx today, beware
it was not ever
it will not always
i downloaded ale phone jp just to play it
I can honestly totally understand the negative reviews, but this scenario absolutely BLEW MY MIND with its plot, labyrinthine design and overall mysteriousness when I was roughly age 12. It is indeed VERY hard, and I'm honestly amazed it was so difficult to find where to go even though I've played it before and I'm 2 decades older now. Though it can be frustrating, in my opinion it is off the charts creatively and truly incorporates design choices I've never seen elsewhere, many devices I'd never have even considered despite developing for Marathon for my entire lifetime. To respond to what others have said - no, A1 didn't break the scenario, it already had its very inconvenient, unforgiving style and very difficult battles.
I really appreciate this! It worked first try, and this game is one of my all time nostalgic favs.
I like the idea! Got a chuckle looking at the Shapes in ShapesFusion.
Unfortunately, I kept getting 'Out of RAM' errors whenever trying to run a map with this Shapes. So I didn't really experience the joy in-game. :(
Very Good Demo.
After finishing KTA4 and Phoenix I had to stuff my face with some more Ryoko maps and this came in clutch. This scenario uses no AR and has pretty unorthodox progression. Not as convoluted as the other reviews say, methinks. Also has a lot of funny references to Rubicon so maybe you might want to play this after you've played that first
Highlights Marathon Infinity's weapon balance and enemy design. No reason not to play this if you're at all a fan of Marathon combat.
If I have a particular complaint, it is that the health/oxygen bars have a strange clipping at their edges (even and most notably when they are full). Although, I wonder if this is at all fixable...
EDIT: setting the size to Normal slightly mitigates the issue, but is no fix.
Beautiful sprites and mapping. Nice combat on TC. Weapons that feel straight out of Unreal Tournament in the best possible way. Can feel quite different from regular Marathon at times, but perhaps that is more to its credit than anything else.