Reviews

Newest Reviews

  • Currently 3/5 Stars.

Polished Amateur Scenario Portal of Sigma

treemantheo on Nov 13th, 2020, Version 1.1

It takes a lot of work to make a long-form Marathon scenario like this, so although I put this down somewhat quickly due to lack of interest, I want to give credit where it's due for the effort put in to give it the polish that the author was striving for. Most notably, apparently collaborating with various mapmakers from the community help build the maps, which all look visually stunning.

What I liked: * Visually appealing map design throughout. Looks better than a lot of TCs. * A lot of attention to detail in the terminals, texture sets, weapons, enemies, and items (also lol @ the DOOM armor pickup for shields). Though there is playful "reimagining" of existing images, nothing feels slapped on. * I never got lost or confused; the map flow is decent * Secret areas * Team effort * Cohesive presentation overall

Constructive critique: * This might not bother people who are just in it for the gameplay, but the writing is not strong, and personally I noticed it right away which is a poor first impression. If you're striving for something that has an impact on the player, you want to evoke a sense of mystery, build strong characters, and give the player a sense that they're on the map for a reason that feels like more than just a fetch quest, none of which I felt here. If you're collaborating again, consider bringing on one or more writers or editors for this. Hunt down some scifi or comics writers! I think having a strong story-first approach will also result in more interesting maps from a gameplay perspective. * Enemy encounters seem bland. Consider positioning that takes advantage of the enemies' strengths. Have them sneak up or have the high ground; Let them have the upper hand, and don't make them deaf. Surprise the player -- but not by having enemies teleport in right in your face, which happens several times in the first (actual) map. Also please don't teleport the player directly into a pack of hostiles, that's just rude. * Too many weapons introduced in the very first fighting map. This uses up all the excitement around weapon reveals almost all at once. * There's a bit of an ammo shortage. * (nit-pick) The first terminal that a compiler is sitting in front of doesn't look like a terminal, it looks like a wall. Then there's a ton of other walls that don't do anything which have the same texture. * I would have liked to see new enemy types since we got new weapons, but this doesn't affect my enjoyment that much. * Rebellion is a sucky map preference, especially when there's no pattern buffer immediately available. (your scenario is not the only one with this problem -- looking at you Rubicon X)

Soo I know I gave a lot of critique here, but I hope the author takes it in stride. Despite my criticisms as a player, I made a lot of maps and several longer scenarios for Marathon in my formative years and nothing came close to this, so I want to say nice work and I think anyone could enjoy this if they're just looking for a casual good time. Keep making stuff, and email me if you want an editor, playtester, or original music for future scenarios. ;) dreameter.music (at) gmail (dot) com

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.

Top 3 pic mods Fullscreen Corner HUD

Jacob on Oct 26th, 2020, Version 1.0

Took a little bit, but I found out what the top 3 pics are from.

1st - Marathon Squadron

2nd - Portal of Sigma

3rd - Excalibur Morgana's Revenge

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.

I Could Map Better. Imperium

Sharkie Lino on Oct 21st, 2020, Version V

No I couldn't.

The test runs we did were a lot of fun, even though we had more players than some maps were meant for, haha. Channel Z definitely reminds me of Mucking About and Master Slave from Red Spectrum. TRON was really a unique and fun experience. Just takes a little getting used to as sometimes the plain-colored walls can be a litte confusing in terms of where you are and some movement, but then again, we had 5 players on there during one of the test runs.

Pretty awesome work on Phantom Power with the precipitation and wind volume effects, I had no idea the precipitation got stronger the first time I played it, as well as the fog getting darker, but that's because I didn't have fog on the first time until I did a solo run. Sorry. :P

The other new maps are fun too.

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.

Been Over 8 Years and I Still Play It Marathon Phoenix

ihatelivinginthisplace on Sep 29th, 2020, Version 1.3

My first review of this game was made on Aug 2012 and it's quite stunning seeing how much history I have with this particular game.

My opinion still stands that this scenario, Eternal, and Rubicon surpass the original trilogy. I'd say EVIL and The Gray Incident are on par with the trilogy. Red is really the only one I'd rate below M2/MI. (Not a huge fan of M1 myself, too much Doom.)

Regarding Phoenix, unlike the previous commenter, I find the combat a thrilling experience; it's especially adrenaline-inducing when playing on Total Carnage; the enemies are so aggressive and ruthless, prompting me to strategize to take advantage of their weaknesses.

I find the level design very complicated and interesting. (The complicated level design grew on me over time; I don't need a guide to beat MP anymore.)

Perfect scenario... except for that typo in Tantive IV. Sytemic glitch indeed.

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.

Awesome! Operation Tantalus

Mazaro on Sep 27th, 2020, Version 1.0

Another absolute classic, I remember playing this one vividly. Thank you very much for this! Might I suggest a port of "Marathon Revisited"?

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.

Thank you Phoenix Falling

Mazaro on Sep 27th, 2020, Version 1.3

I am surprised and amazed to see a port of the last M1 TC in 2020. I played through this one 3-4 times over the years and loved its weird creativity, especially the later alien sections with the original art. At one point I even unearthed and set up a 20 year old mac just so I could play this TC again. Thank you so much for bringing this one back to a playable form.

Bugs for me:

*Game crashed a few times (not sure why).

*Troopers and garbage cans were transparent.

  • Currently 1/5 Stars.

minus ten thousand MapDamager Lua

treellama on Sep 23rd, 2020, Version .2 != .20

Minus ten thousand stars

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.

ugly Wrk Maps

windbreaker on Sep 12th, 2020, Version 1.0

I haven't downloaded these yet, but just from the screenshot, if you're going to remake maps, you should make them look better not worse.

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.

Thank you Marathon TROJAN

Destiny on Sep 11th, 2020, Version 1.0

I have wanted to replay this scenario for so long. One of my most favorite TCs for Marathon. Now I can finally hear the music again and experience this scenario once more. Good job.

  • Currently 1/5 Stars.

fulldiaper Portal of Sigma

irons on Sep 3rd, 2020, Version 1.1

i like the purple but it's not as fun as you'd think

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.

Nice Marathon 1 Remastered Sounds

Quiver333 on Aug 21st, 2020, Version 1.0

Much better on the ears

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.

Nice M2I HD Sounds Mod

Quiver333 on Aug 21st, 2020, Version 0.1

Nice

  • Currently 4/5 Stars.

Ok, 69 downloads Marathon Evil mml

Quiver333 on Aug 19th, 2020, Version 1

Because of course it is

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.

little off-top question Fullscreen Corner HUD

Quiver333 on Aug 19th, 2020, Version 1.0

What are the scenarios on first 3 screenshots?

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.

One of the best net packs ever made Starlight

The Man on Aug 8th, 2020, Version X

If you host net games at all, you need this pack. (And if you only join others’ net games, you still need this pack to familiarise yourself with one of the most frequently hosted third-party packs on the metaserver.) It’s utterly massive, with (as of this writing) 44 levels from tiny to absolutely gargantuan, all gorgeous, all with fantastic flow, all with impeccable weapon and item placement.

I must confess I haven’t actually played all 44 of these as net games (again, there’s 44 of them!), but I’ve never had a bad experience with any of the ones I have. In my ideal world, we’d see the stock maps hosted on the metaserver a lot less often, replaced by maps from packs like this and Windbreaker’s Imperium.

While I’m at it, Ryoko’s Paradise Lost, Second Quest, and Red Spectrum also hold up really well. (Red Spectrum is quite architecturally simple compared to Ryoko’s later work, but still has great flow and weapon placement.) Grab those too.

Edit: Ryoko added six new maps for version XI that match his expected standard of quality, bringing the total level count to 50. Several other levels also have revisions, expansions, or bug fixes. If you have an old version of this pack, it’s worth getting the new one.

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.

Wow M1A1 Fullscreen Corner HUD

Quiver333 on Aug 7th, 2020, Version 1.0

It's actually very useful, even for official M1, keep up the good work

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.

It's there now Survival 2.0

helviusrufus on Jul 30th, 2020, Version 1.7

It's there now. I don't have java and just experimented with some minor changes manually just to see what'd happen. One o my resistances to changes is that the enemy really doesn't care about your preferences, so mostly I just fight against whatever comes along. It's good fun and I doubt that any changes I did would make it any better. Also, making changes directly teaches me how lua works. It's a multi purpose package.

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.

AWOL Survival 2.0

helviusrufus on Jul 30th, 2020, Version 1.7

There is no script in the download, just pgn files. The 5 star is for the older version which I have and use.

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.

Nice Fullscreen Corner HUD

Quiver333 on Jul 22nd, 2020, Version 1.0

Well this is sweet

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.

Explain it to me please. Phoenix Falling

MoppyPuppy on Jul 20th, 2020, Version 1.3

I don't have time to play this, can someone spoil the whole thing for me please?