Marathon 2: Durandal

"The Sequel to Marathon, and a good one at that!"

Bungie has done it again! The sequel to the popular Macintosh game Marathon, has much better graphics, and a rather good plot. Great gameplay and a great game! The Marathon series is one of the greater sets of games for the MACINTOSH, and to this day, it still is a masterpiece, you can make custom maps, or download them from the net, or both! And have endless fun!

Gameplay-9
Run around with several weapons to eliminate the hostile alien threat... It takes a lot of keys to setup, which can be a hassle, but I have, and you can too, get a comfortable key setup with all those options to consider.

Graphics-9
Cool blue water gives the feeling of a serene environment, whether you are under attack or not....gaze in awe as you go underlava, yes, underlava, but you will take damage fast, so have a shield or lots of energy hopefully!!! The walls and surroundings are pretty well done, and see the rendered enemies that come after you in perfect 3D!

Control-6
Like I said, a lot of keys to consider, but you shouldn't have too many problems if you can find a comfortable setup for this game.

Sound-7
Shotgun fire, missile launching, and the crack of a enemies energy staff on your side, the sound makes the game even more fun and more realistic to play. The scream of a BOB gunned down by a flamethrower for one is rather cool, as is many of the other sounds in the game.

Playability-9
You can save at a pattern buffer when you are done for a while, and you got those custom maps you can get too! Endless amounts of gameplay!! With the game are included the tools to make custom maps and physics models...Physics models change the ammo fired from the gun, how much is fired, and even what is fired, fire BOBS from a missile launcher that explode, anyone like that idea? I do! Make enemies fire missiles instead of their normal projectiles? Change lots of the games physics with custom made physics models, and you can download those as well!

Replay Value-10
You can make and/or download as many custom maps as you want!!!! That makes for endless play!!! What more can you ask for??

Buy? Download a commercial demo? Delete it on the spot? Play a friends?

You might wanna try a demo or play a friends copy. All in all, it should appeal to quite a few people.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/06/01, Updated 07/06/01