Summary
Bungie and Aleph One Developers have re-released the second entry of the studio’s classic first-person shooter series,Marathon 2, for absolutely free on Steam.Bungieis mostly known for being the creator of theHaloandDestinyFPS franchises. However, the studio got its start with theMarathonseries back in the ’90s.
Bungie’s classicMarathontrilogy started in 1994, first being released for Apple Macintosh computers. While it was competing with other influential FPS games released in the 90s,Marathonwould help codify a lot of FPS conventionsand tropes that gamers are familiar with today. While the series isn’t as well-known as Bungie’s other IPs, since it was only available on Mac PCs for the longest time, the studio has been revisiting theMarathonseries with both a new game and re-releases of its older titles. The firstMarathongame was re-released for free on Steam back in May, and fans can now pick up the second entry in this influential FPS series for free.
Re-released asClassic Marathon 2, this game was developed and published by Aleph One Developers. Aleph One Developers is a fan-run team of developers who were working on bringing theMarathontrilogy to modern platforms like Steam. Much like theClassic MarathonSteam re-release,Classic Marathon 2has made a number of enhancements and improvements to the original.
Classic Marathon 2 is Available for Free on Steam
New features included inClassic Marathon 2are optional widescreen HUD support, 3D filtering and perspective, positional audio, and 60+ fps interpolation. Players who don’t like any of these new enhancements can also opt to play the game the original way.Classic Marathon 2also has a texture pack DLC, which replaces the game’s graphics with the ones from the XBLA version ofMarathon: Durandal. The story ofMarathon 2picks up after the first game’s ending, wherethe evil rogue AIDurandal seizes the player character and forces them to do their bidding.
The third game in the trilogy,Marathon Infinity, is also slated to be re-released on Steam sometime this year, also for free.Bungie is also reviving theMarathonIPwith a brand-new hero shooter, though the studio has faced a bit of backlash following the announcement ofMarathon’s change from an extraction shooter to a hero shooter premise. This revival is still currently in development, however, so fans will need to wait until more information is given before fully casting judgment on the game and its direction.
