Marathon 2: Durandal

Pros: numerous engine enhancements; more styles of network games; larger, more detailed maps; shotguns!
Cons: Still no direct modem support; network levels disappointing

There you are, all ready to relax after liberating the UESC Marathon from alien invaders, when a rampant computer AI nabs you and sticks you into a stasis chamber. Seventeen years later, you awake to find yourself in a stolen alien spacecraft orbiting a strange and hostile planet. So begins Marathon 2: Durandal, the sequel to Bungie's award-winning carnage-fest, Marathon. The new version brings a vastly improved engine and 40 new maps, while preserving the action-packed nature of the original.

On launching the game, 'Wow' is the only comment that seems appropriate for the atmosphereic feel. Gone are the cramped confines of a beseiged space station -- durandal has beamed you down to the wind-swept surface of Lh'owan, a Pfhor-occupied planet that's ripe for liberation. Vast outdoor panoramas surrounded you outside a defense garrison, and sounds of howling wind fill the air. Gunshots ring out as BOBs engage a crowd of Pfhor. That's right -- Marathon's once-hapless civilians are there to help you, drafted by Durandal and packing heat.

One of the most engaging additions to the Marathon 2 environment is liquid. You can now wade through sludge, swim underwater, and go hip-deep (or over your head) in lava. Aliens may lurk below the surface, and weapons behave differently in liquid. This new element brings an added level of strategy to many levels -- in one mission, a sewage treatment plant has been bombed. It's slowly flooding, and you must retrieve cruial information before it is swept away. In another, the key to survival is 'lurking' underneath the surface to avoid detection. Sadly, none of Bungie's network levels include water.

Marathon 2 plays much smoother than the original. Level design seems cleaner, and missions make more sense. Gone are the annoying 'Colony Ship For Sale' puzzles from Marathon 1 -- puzzles and missions are integrated into the plot in a much cleaner manner. I was often sent to destroy critical Pfhor computers, locate information on ancient S'pht secrets, reactivate ancient AIs to aid in the liberation, and a host of other tasks. Marathon 2's story developed in a more logical manner, as well. While many players found the Marathon 1 story confusing at best, Marathon 2 makes more sense, and even resolves some of the inconsistancies in the original storyline.

All this emphasis on better puzzles, cleaner plot, and other subtle elements doesn't negate the fact that Marathon 2 is about one thing -- carnage. As the levels progress, nastier aliens and more feindish attacks await you. One level in particular ("If I Had a Rocket Launcher Someone Would Pay...") is a adrenalin-soaked romp through a spacecraft packed with powerful enemies. A new weapon has been added as well -- the WSTM Combat Shotgun. Though ammo is relatively scarce, it can take out most aliens in a single shot. Yee-haw!

Marathon 2's network play has been seriously revamped. Cooperative play makes it possible for friends to fight through the entire game side by side, using teamwork to accomplish the objectives normally tackled by a single player. Certain aliens, and additional ammo caches, appear only during network play on many levels. Of course, players can still opt to blow each other's heads off... It wouldn't be a 3D action game without that, eh? New "game" styles have been added since Marathon 1, including "King of the Hill," in which players try to retain control of a particular area, "Kill the man with the ball," rather like keep-away with missiles; and the classic Tag, in which the person who's It must score by killing another player. Unfortunately, the network maps seem rather uninspired; only a few make use of Marathon 2's new engine enhancements, and several make gameplay downright annoying.

Marathon 1 remained popular thanks to a healthy crop of customizing programs that sprouted up around it. The maps, graphics, sounds, and physcis hacks kept people playing. Marathon 2 was blessed with a map editor that was available only a few weeks after its release; numerous add-on scenerios and maps can be downloaded at the Marathon HyperArchive. However, a graphics editor is still unavailable; the mediocre artwork for many of the aliens could stand to be replaced.

This should change soon, when Bungie releases Marathon Infinity, the next installment of the saga. It will include editors for Maps, sounds, graphics, and the like. Until then, however...

Marathon 2 is a worthy sequel. Sadly, there's still no modem support, thought Joe Kloss's excellent program Netlink Remote can help users with fast modems circumvent the problem. It gives most fans exactly what they want -- new features, more action, and another chance to lock horns with the mighty Pfhor.