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The full original Marathon trilogy is now free on Steam, but Bungie are still quiet on the rebootPfhorst person shooter
Pfhorst person shooter
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Bungie
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Bungie
Earlier this year, Bungie’s 1990s sci-fi shooter,Marathon, came to Steamfor free. AndMarathon 2followed in July. But this series is a trilogy. Where’s the third one? I want the thir– oh, it’s here now. Yesterday, the final game,Marathon Infinitytrickledonto the storefront, offering a neat little bundle for fans of retro shooters. But it’s also a reminder that we’ve yet to see more of Bungie’s upcoming reboot.
It’s also worth pointing out that the entire set of Marathons have been freely available for decades thanks to the work of the developers of the Aleph One port, an open source project that kept these aged FPS games going. They’ve now simply brought the full trilogy to Valve’s popular platform for the first time, it seems with Bungie’s blessings.
Like its predecessors, Marathon Infinity is listed on Steam as “Classic Marathon Infinity” - the “classic” no doubt appended to distinguish these from the upcoming reboot-loot-shoot, about which we knowonly a little. It looks to be a PvP extraction shooter, with a seemingly loose connection to classic Marathon lore. “It’s not a direct sequel to the originals, but something that certainly belongs in the same universe,” said Christopher Barrett, who was game director when it wasrevealed last year.
For now, at least we have old Marathon. I played through the first Marathon a decade after its release, in an impatient fugue state as I waited forHalo 2to come out. I had a good time reading ship logs and directives from an annoyed artificial intelligence and blasting tall aliens to bits. It was basicallyDoomwith a bit ofSystem Shock’s story (something must have been in the water in 1994) and I remember being impressed that a ten-year-oldFPScould hold my attention for so long.
It will be Marathon’s 30th birthday in December this year. If you want to see if it still holds up, go right ahead. And if you hate Steam, don’t sweat, all three games are stillavailable as Aleph One.
