Marathon Infinity
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Marathon Infinity |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Developer(s) | Bungie Software |
| Publisher(s) | Bungie Software |
| Version | 1.5 |
| Platform(s) | Mac OS |
| Release date | October 15, 1996 |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Input methods | Keyboard, mouse |
Marathon Infinity is the third and final game in the Marathon Trilogy of science fiction first-person shooter computer games from Bungie Software. The game was released on October 15, 1996 and included more levels than its predecessor Marathon 2. These were larger, and formed part of a more intricate plot that spanned both space and time. The underlying engine of the game changed little from the one in Marathon 2, and many levels can be played unmodified in both games. The only significant additions were the Jjaro ship texture set, multiple paths between levels, vacuum-enabled humans carrying fusion weapons (called "Vacuum Bobs" or "VacBobs") and a new weapon. Marathon Infinity, unlike Marathon 2, was originally released only for the Apple Macintosh.
Contents |
[edit] Story
The story in the single-player version of Marathon Infinity, titled “Blood Tides of Lh’owon”, is often considered to be confusing. For example, it begins as if large parts, if not all, of the events in Marathon 2 had not happened. Theories differ on exactly what happens in this game, but the consensus is that the player somehow jumps between alternative realities, seeking to prevent a chaotic entity, the W’rkncacnter, from being released from Lh'owon's dying sun. These jumps are apparently caused either by Jjaro technology or by the W’rkncacnter’s chaotic nature. For example, the player begins the game as Durandal's ally, only to be transported to a reality where Durandal did not capture the player after the events of Marathon. As such, he is controlled by the Pfhor-tortured AI Tycho.
After multiple instances of these "jumps", the player (seemingly the only being who realizes he is being transported between possible realities) activates the ancient Jjaro station, preventing the chaotic entity's release. The ending screen of Infinity leaves the story's resolution open-ended, taking place billions of years after the events of Marathon Infinity.
Despite the player’s being teleported to a Jjaro station by Durandal and left with a grim message in the beginning of Infinity, both Durandal and Earth did survive in the original timeline as can be seen at the end of Marathon 2.
[edit] Multiplayer modes
- Every Man For Himself
- The objective here is to kill everyone else and not die. The player with the best kill ratio (actually kills minus deaths) wins. Compare this to many other games, where only kills (and suicides) affect a player's score.
- Kill The Guy With The Ball
- The objective is to possess the ball (which is actually a skull) for the longest amount of time. When carrying the ball, running is disabled. The player can’t use any weapons when in possession of the ball, however, pressing the fire key will drop the ball and then reenable firing. The motion sensor displays an orange indicator indicating the location of the ball. A multiplayer mode in Halo, also developed by Bungie, there is a mode called Oddball, which is very similar to Kill The Guy With The Ball.
- King Of The Hill
- The objective is to stand on the "hill" the longest. "Hill" in this sense is just a figure of speech: it could be anywhere on the map and is indicated by the orange pointer on the motion sensor. Note that every player is trying to do the same, and others will most likely try to kill the player if he gets in their way.
- Tag
- The first person to die is "it". If the player is "it", he can tag someone (by killing them) and then they are "it". The objective is to be "it" the least. The motion sensor's orange indicator points to whomever is "it".
- Team Play
- This is an available option for any of the above gametypes. Team play divides everyone into teams by the colors chosen in the Join or Setup dialog. Every player chooses a team color (legs) and individual color (torso). Each team tries to score higher than the other teams, with the same scoring systems as used in non-team games, except for killing teammates. The player can see his teammate's point of view by pressing the delete key.
- Cooperative
- The game scenario can be played cooperatively with other network players. The objective is to complete the Marathon Infinity scenario as a team (i.e. cooperatively). All players teleport to the next level when the first one does. When a player dies, he drops his items. Saving is disabled when using this feature.
[edit] Editing tools
One of the most dramatic improvements in the game was the inclusion of Bungie's own level-creating software, Forge, and their physics and in-game graphics editor, Anvil. Forge and Anvil allowed a new generation of players to create their own levels and scenarios using the same tools as the Bungie developers themselves. Another improvement was the ability to include separate monster, weapons, and physics definitions for each level, a feature heavily used by Double Aught, who designed the Marathon Infinity levels.
See Marathon total conversions for some examples of games created using Forge and Anvil.
[edit] Trivia
 |
Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- In going from Marathon 2 to Marathon Infinity, Bungie was given a joke award by MacFormat magazine for "largest version number increase".
- The open source game engine based on the source code for Marathon 2 is called Aleph One, the next "number" after ∞.
- In Red vs. Blue, a machinima based on the Halo series Bungie created after the Marathon trilogy, the character Church sets off a ten-megaton bomb that sends his allies forward in time to a reality represented by Halo's sequel, Halo 2. At the same time, he is blown backwards in time represented by Marathon Infinity.
[edit] External links
- Official website at Bungie Studios, containing screenshots of all three Marathon games
- Offical discussion forum
- Free download of the game, as released by Bungie in 2005
- Marathon: Aleph One, a Windows/Mac OS X/Linux port of the game engine (the site also includes an AO-formatted copy of the game itself)
- Compilation of the game's in-game story text (each page is a single level)
- Marathon Infinity: Overview at Traxus Project, a Marathon universe wiki
- Marathon Infinity Spoiler Guide, a walkthrough of the game
- Marathon Infinity at MobyGames
|
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
