Xbox Live Market Place - General Discussion Thread 1

[watusi]

Well they're two laughably bad games. Marathon was far worse than i was expecting it to be. I think Microsoft should knock releasing games every week if it means we get subjected to this crap. I'd much rather have one great game a month.

[kendra]

Yeah just tried Marathon, I thought this was supposed to be good, urg it's terrible, almost the worst FPS I've ever played (ok maybe not the worst, but in that category).

[El Leone]

I got it. Its not bad. Its slightly confusing as it lacks intial direction. You need to find a computer terminal where you'll be told what to do by an A.I. Its also slightly confusing when a level properly ends as once you report back to the terminal it'll teleport you to the next level instantly, but you'll get used to that. Its not a instant joy, but so far what I've played, it's starting to build up with some pace and the story is going somewhere. Mutiplayer although seemed very quiet earlier, seems very capable.

I also suggest that you turn down the sensivity, it gets rid of that awful floaty feeling.

[Jebus]

Yeah just tried Marathon, I thought this was supposed to be good, urg it's terrible, almost the worst FPS I've ever played (ok maybe not the worst, but in that category).

Name one that's worse...?

[ChrisF]

Probably the first Marathon

[kendra]

Name one that's worse...?

Daikatana.

[Brats]

I downloaded it. It's just as I remember it. Instant purchase.

Boo-urns to you haters. Do some bloody research!

I will give you that the trial is a bit silly. Marathon isn't like Doom, it has a much more solitary, oppressive atmosphere than Doom and is much more like System Shock or Metroid in its feel.

Technically it was very advanced for its time and it's ahead of Doom, which got a rousing response on these boards so I believe people have just forgotten how to judge a 90's FPS correctly. The new HD graphics work well, but I still prefer the old jaggied look.

Going back to the Metroid comparison, Marathon starts a bit like Super Metroid from when you first land on the planet. At first it seems incredibly basic, but then it opens up. The conversations with Durandal are also very reminiscent of Prime and Fusion.

Imagine being told Super Metroid was one of the best 2D games ever and you only played five minutes from the start of the planet. You'd think it was awful. That's how you lot are all looking now .

[ChrisF]

I think we need to take the Scientologist approach here.
From Brats profile:

Interests:
Toast, Barry Manilow, Small Churches

[MartyG]

Well I bought Spyglass Board Games....

I've had a go at the chess, and it is well dumbed down, timed out before the checkmate but only a few moves away - it just wants to piece take all the time. It seems quite well presented, less gimmicky than I was expecting, but I really would have liked a 2D board as an option.

I might still be tempted @ 400, I'll see how the reversi and other games play first.

[Kotatsu Neko]

Yeah just tried Marathon, I thought this was supposed to be good, urg it's terrible, almost the worst FPS I've ever played (ok maybe not the worst, but in that category).

How long did you play it for? If it's less than 2 hours then you are being unfair to judge it. Marathon is all about plot and atmosphere, it's not a regular FPS.

[Brats]

The trial is everything before your first teleport, so basically it's nothing. The only enemies you get to fight are the Pfhor guys with spears and the hovering drones and most of that is with the pistol. That's a bit rubbish and they should have let the trial last a lot longer (at least the first few chapters) to get a good feel for the game.

[ChrisF]

The most prominent of the features is the brand-new 3D engine that allows Marathon: Durandal to run at 60 frames per second, compared to the 30 frames of the original.

source: http://www.joystiq.com/2007/07/17/ev...-durandal-for/

NOW I understand why some people are getting their rocks off on this release!

[MartyG]

The trial is everything before your first teleport, so basically it's nothing.

Perhaps the trial version should have included a bit more of the game then.

[kendra]

How long did you play it for? If it's less than 2 hours then you are being unfair to judge it. Marathon is all about plot and atmosphere, it's not a regular FPS.

Well as Brats said, the trial version is short, so based on that I really can't see myself buying it. It feels worse as a game (in terms of how it moves/handles etc) as Wolfenstein 3D. Given that two hours would probably infuriate me.

[Brats]

Perhaps the trial version should have included a bit more of the game then.

I completely agree (as I said above).

It feels worse as a game (in terms of how it moves/handles etc) as Wolfenstein 3D. Given that two hours would probably infuriate me.

I can't agree with that. It feels the same as Doom, except you can look up and down.

I like the way they've handled the update. The original game had a HUD running across the bottom third of the screen so the game screen was effectively in widescreen. Now they have updated the HUD in HD so that the entire game screen fills my 16:9 monitor and th HUD lays across it (unlike Doom which runs in 4:3). Nice touch.