I'm hovering between the 3.5 and 4 buttons, full of torment and indecision. I suppose I have to give something for the raw ambition of the game, because it's fuckin wild.
I can explain the plot of Marathon Infinity very easily. At the end of Marathon 2, the P'fhor blew up the nearest sun, which they didn't realize contained a Lovecraft. As a result, things are getting David Tennent Voice Timey-Wimey, and you jump between several different timelines and a handful of abstract dream sequences until you end up in one where it's possible to stop that disaster from happening. All of this is actually supported by lore in the previous games, but you aren't explicitly told anything beyond hints until pretty much the last map of the game.
Infinity stands both as an integral part of the trilogy, and something totally separate. You don't start in the original timeline, and you never see the events of M2 through anything other than a distorted lens. You already had a conclusion to the conflict and even an epilogue taking place thousands of years later. A lot of the strange, unanswered questions left at the end of M2 are not actually answered here. Hell, Durandal isn't even talking to you for the vast majority of the plot.
And yet, without Infinity you'd miss out on so much. Bungie had developed plenty of toys, both narrative and mechanical, and this almost feels like a level pack intended to get the most from them. You finally get some insight into what being with the P'fhor is like, and some very funny glimpses into their bureaucracy. You get to spend a lot of quality time with Tycho, who was really under-characterized before. You get the confirmation that the player character is a cyborg, which is really really obvious from game 1 but it's in here.
I guess my main problem really is just that I didn't like playing the levels as much as M2. The 'level pack' thing carries over to them just feeling like some master levels for DOOM shit where it's harder than I'd want. Fighting humans is actually really tough because they have the game's only real hitscan weapons, the save points and shield recharge stations have some real asshole placements, and we see the return of bullshit switch puzzles where you get no idea what small thing changed on the other end of the map, or that you need to hit that one switch but then hit it again with the right timing. Also, you get hit by the hard enemies very quickly, with the final levels introducing a few new high-end guys that are even tougher. Those final levels are actually pretty reasonable for combat difficulty, though. My choke points were in the really specific solutions more than the "here's a billion dudes to kill" parts.
That said, I would be remiss not to point out that the actual level geography kicks ass. These feel a lot more like real places, and the architecture is intricate and well thought-out. The dam level is just incredible dude, even if navigating it sucks. The one new level type/wall texture is the big alien space station that you start and end the game in, as well as visit at the end of each failed timeline if you happen to find the secret entrance, and it's great. The ambient noise and claustrophobic corridors evoke nothing less than the atmosphere of the original Marathon.
I actually find myself wishing for a little more narrative coherence. Even within a single timeline, you often end up changing allegiances multiple times, sometimes just having to feel it out based on who is shooting you unprovoked. Some of the most important plot points are actually really subtle and missable. There is sort of a thematic reality to this relating to destiny and the AI self-awareness angle and blah blah blah but really it could have been sold better with a teensy bit more explicit messaging in the right places. The first time you enter a timeline and find yourself in a civil war where SOME enemy types are hostile is fantastic, though, so don't change that.
Oh, uh, there's only one new gun in this and it's meh.
Anyway I've definitely convinced myself into clicking the 4 while writing this. Great series. This is the one with all the custom levels but don't start with it that would be ridiculous. Special thanks to Woodaba for linking me to Aleph One and showing me these are incredibly easy to obtain and play in the modern day.
I can explain the plot of Marathon Infinity very easily. At the end of Marathon 2, the P'fhor blew up the nearest sun, which they didn't realize contained a Lovecraft. As a result, things are getting David Tennent Voice Timey-Wimey, and you jump between several different timelines and a handful of abstract dream sequences until you end up in one where it's possible to stop that disaster from happening. All of this is actually supported by lore in the previous games, but you aren't explicitly told anything beyond hints until pretty much the last map of the game.
Infinity stands both as an integral part of the trilogy, and something totally separate. You don't start in the original timeline, and you never see the events of M2 through anything other than a distorted lens. You already had a conclusion to the conflict and even an epilogue taking place thousands of years later. A lot of the strange, unanswered questions left at the end of M2 are not actually answered here. Hell, Durandal isn't even talking to you for the vast majority of the plot.
And yet, without Infinity you'd miss out on so much. Bungie had developed plenty of toys, both narrative and mechanical, and this almost feels like a level pack intended to get the most from them. You finally get some insight into what being with the P'fhor is like, and some very funny glimpses into their bureaucracy. You get to spend a lot of quality time with Tycho, who was really under-characterized before. You get the confirmation that the player character is a cyborg, which is really really obvious from game 1 but it's in here.
I guess my main problem really is just that I didn't like playing the levels as much as M2. The 'level pack' thing carries over to them just feeling like some master levels for DOOM shit where it's harder than I'd want. Fighting humans is actually really tough because they have the game's only real hitscan weapons, the save points and shield recharge stations have some real asshole placements, and we see the return of bullshit switch puzzles where you get no idea what small thing changed on the other end of the map, or that you need to hit that one switch but then hit it again with the right timing. Also, you get hit by the hard enemies very quickly, with the final levels introducing a few new high-end guys that are even tougher. Those final levels are actually pretty reasonable for combat difficulty, though. My choke points were in the really specific solutions more than the "here's a billion dudes to kill" parts.
That said, I would be remiss not to point out that the actual level geography kicks ass. These feel a lot more like real places, and the architecture is intricate and well thought-out. The dam level is just incredible dude, even if navigating it sucks. The one new level type/wall texture is the big alien space station that you start and end the game in, as well as visit at the end of each failed timeline if you happen to find the secret entrance, and it's great. The ambient noise and claustrophobic corridors evoke nothing less than the atmosphere of the original Marathon.
I actually find myself wishing for a little more narrative coherence. Even within a single timeline, you often end up changing allegiances multiple times, sometimes just having to feel it out based on who is shooting you unprovoked. Some of the most important plot points are actually really subtle and missable. There is sort of a thematic reality to this relating to destiny and the AI self-awareness angle and blah blah blah but really it could have been sold better with a teensy bit more explicit messaging in the right places. The first time you enter a timeline and find yourself in a civil war where SOME enemy types are hostile is fantastic, though, so don't change that.
Oh, uh, there's only one new gun in this and it's meh.
Anyway I've definitely convinced myself into clicking the 4 while writing this. Great series. This is the one with all the custom levels but don't start with it that would be ridiculous. Special thanks to Woodaba for linking me to Aleph One and showing me these are incredibly easy to obtain and play in the modern day.