man I wish marathon 20xx looked more like this
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I am a few hours and few levels into this and damn it kicks ass
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I suspect, without evidence, that Marathon has a long and noble mapping tradition, mirroring Doom’s. Therefore in my ignorance I can’t conclusively say how Apotheosis X holds up relative to other ostensible titans of this presumed community. But man, this episode rocked. Just great level design. A lot of it is “linear” in the sense that you are only rarely given access to central hubs with multiple valid paths; rather you more often are given access to sizable arena-like chunks, or constellations of arenas, within which is an objective that when completed opens the next section. But while that predominates, one of the things that makes the mod so great is that there is a huge variety and great pacing. Crazy combat arenas will follow on dark contemplative exploration-style maps with only a few enemies that pop out of hiding to ambush you. One incredible standout is a level that repurposes the swimming mechanic as a zero-G “spacewalk” as you explore a darkened half-shredded ship that has lost gravity, finding alternate ways around destroyed corridors.
Plotwise it’s sort of just a take on Durandal, not particularly inspired, but solid. Gives you the investment you need to keep moving. Some “5D” antics relating to advanced teleportation technology discovered on an alien planet, nothing as wild as in Infinity but tastefully deployed.
All in all a great experience, entirely free, anyone with any interest in campaign fpses should play. After you do the original Marathon trilogy, of course.
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A long time ago I got Marathon on the Xbox 360 and quickly gave up on it. I wasn’t ready then. But I have been playing and really enjoying the recent Aleph One releases on Steam. The way this game slightly differs from Doom and other shooters of the era, it’s really remarkable and fresh feeling. The dungeon crawl vibes are slight but really help with the tension each level creates. And the story is certainly intriguing. I’ve been watching the great Majulaar Ultima retrospectives this week, so I have a hankerin to play those games, the Marathon sequels, and Pathways Into Darkness too.
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dang! there wasn’t much else this game had going for it but its visuals, and now this?? what a farce.
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haha heh
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siiiiiigh
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Lol
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incredible
they need to hire the original artist. only way out
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That’s my friend!
This isn’t the first time!!
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On the bright side, Bungie didn’t use an LLM. They did this theft the good-ole fashioned way.
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am I right in thinking the original artist is a trans woman? just asking cuz the aesthetic is very trans and also such a theft would fit the societal pattern of stealing from trans women’s groundbreaking art… no need to answer either way.
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the art director of marathon, btw, is hardly some nobody
Joseph Cross is an American concept artist and designer. Cross was hired during the pre-production phase of Dune in 2017-2018. He collaborated with director Denis Villeneuve and production designer Patrice Vermette.
Game concept art
- Dead Space 2 (2011)
- Dead Space 3 (2013)
- Destiny (2014)
- Destiny 2 (2017)
Film concept art
- Kong: Skull Island (2017)
- Ghost in the Shell (2017)
- Deadpool 2
- Foundation (2021)
- Finch (2021)
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Not even the first time they’ve pulled this shit. Kind of wild to see them keep falling.
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it’s ok everyone, they found the very real guy who did it, who already left the company and thus can’t be identified or reprimanded. management can’t be held responsible for the work their reports do on their direction, or for reviewing & approving it
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Real coward shit not even reporting it on their main feed.
6 Likes