Bungie Universe
This topic has moved here: Subject: Halo: Marathon
  • Subject: Halo: Marathon
Subject: Halo: Marathon

Marathon (Halo: CE)

You are far in the future on a Halcyon-class cruiser deep in outer space. A super soldier named Master Chief on a mission, you are the last hope for defending the ship as hostile and intelligent aliens named the Covenant prepare to destroy every living thing...

Marathon 2: Durandal (Halo: CE continued..)

Fresh from your triumph on the cruiser Pillar of Autumn, you are seized by the rogue monitor 343 Guilty Spark to do his bidding in a distant part of the galaxy on a ring wold named Halo. Within the ruins of an ancient civilization, you must seek the remnants of a lost clan, the forerunners, and uncover their long-buried secrets. Battle opponents ancient and terrible, with sophisticated weapons and devious strategies, all the while struggling to escape the alien nightmare...and learn the truth behind Halo.

Marathon Infinity (Halo 2)

Halo 2 takes the closed universe of the Halo series and blows it wide open. *irrelevant text removed* More than that, the scenario sheds a surprising new light on the story's characters and the meaning of events. Having defeated the Covenant and reawakening the ancient remnants of the Flood, the player now faces a world where friends become enemies within the Covenant armada, and all is not what it seems...

Coincidence?

  • 11.20.2011 10:53 AM PDT

wtf are you talking about? You make no reference to the marathon series from the halo series?

  • 11.20.2011 11:11 AM PDT


Posted by: Rambo93
wtf are you talking about? You make no reference to the marathon series from the halo series?


Ummm.

  • 11.20.2011 11:21 AM PDT

I'm LITERALLY better than Tim Tebow
Posted by: XxLordo4Xx
Better than Tebow.


San Francisco 49ers
XVI - XIX - XXIII - XXIV - XXIX


Posted by: Rambo93
wtf are you talking about? You make no reference to the marathon series from the halo series?


Did you read the OP at all?

  • 11.20.2011 11:42 AM PDT


Posted by: Boba_Fett

Posted by: Rambo93
wtf are you talking about? You make no reference to the marathon series from the halo series?


Did you read the OP at all?


You got it, right?

  • 11.20.2011 2:53 PM PDT

Nice try, but you can take any Sci-Fi game and compare it to Marathon.

  • 11.20.2011 3:01 PM PDT

Bungie like to reference Marathon. It is a pretty loose comparison really though.

  • 11.20.2011 3:05 PM PDT


Posted by: Tempus Irae
Nice try, but you can take any Sci-Fi game and compare it to Marathon.


Taking the hundreds of Marathon references into consideration. And, the fact that they are both made my the same developers. But, sure.

  • 11.20.2011 7:01 PM PDT

I'm LITERALLY better than Tim Tebow
Posted by: XxLordo4Xx
Better than Tebow.


San Francisco 49ers
XVI - XIX - XXIII - XXIV - XXIX


Posted by: Tycho X
You got it, right?



Yeah. I thought it was pretty obvious.

  • 11.20.2011 7:14 PM PDT

"That's about all that can be said for plots, which anyway are just one thing after another, a what and a what and a what.

Now try how and why."

Your comparison using motifs betrays the entirety of Marathon's subtext.

Halo is, at it's core, entirely about fighting when there is little hope of winning.

Marathon uses this as a framing device. At it's core, Marathon is concerned far more with Durandal's rejection of the meaningless existence that had been given to him.

It's like comparing a Ridley Scott movie to Thus Spoke Zarathustra.

That isn't to discount Ridley Scott, but I'm not going to compare him to Friedrich Nietzsche.

  • 11.20.2011 11:46 PM PDT
  •  | 
  • Exalted Legendary Member

Probably not a coicidence at all. Halo 1 and 2 were the 2 Halo games Jason Jones had significantly worked on (and obviously he worked on the Marathon series), and even though before the first game released(probably as soon as they were purchased by MS) Halo became it's own universe, it seems it was originally created as being tied into the Marathon universe, which is pretty clear looking at the Cortana Letters, and even after Halo came out Alex Seropian said in an interview some time after he had left Bungie to start a new smaller developer that as far as he was concerned, the security officer in Marathon, and the Master Chief were the same guy.

  • 11.21.2011 6:46 AM PDT

Many gave their lives so that we could live on. I intend to honor them by remembering them. Remember Cyborg. Remember John. Remember Noble.

Well, the Marathon references in Halo were there at least to make fans feel welcome in the new universe (I personally think Bungie likes to reference to the good ol' days).

Look at it: There's the main character, an AI guiding you, a ship you are on, ancient and extremely advanced civilization that is exctinct or simply gone (this ancient civilization isn't hostile) and a really powerful handgun :)
But yeah, they do differ at some points. Cyborg is much like the game as Chief is a lot like Halo. Marathon is a bit more rough (Cyborg fights for bare survival and is usually alone) and the story can get pretty sad and very philosophical (and is unbelivably beautiful) and has references to the Old Testament at times. While Halo is more optimistic and fun. And we didn't know Humanity was so desperate until the books came out and even then - the games still retained their optimistic feeling.

I've gotta say for myself, the more references from Marathon the more happy I am and the recent lack of Marathon symbols in Reach and Halo CEA made resentful - but I think there are some hints hidden deep down in the games.

  • 11.21.2011 1:49 PM PDT

<3 PMS Clan-Twitter-Personal Site
Posted by: Deus_Ex_Machina
Cortana 5 is a carbon-based lifeform that frequently visits these forums, currently residing in the United States. Practically every male on the site responds to her posts.

The Joyeuse IP Formula

Actually, OP, you're correct. There parallels in the IPs are extensive. The problem with Infinity, though, is that you're traveling through time and alternate realities; but many parallels remain.

As you might be aware, I went in a different direction with creating parallels between IPs.

  • 11.21.2011 1:56 PM PDT
  •  | 
  • Exalted Legendary Member


Posted by: George 257
Well, the Marathon references in Halo were there at least to make fans feel welcome in the new universe (I personally think Bungie likes to reference to the good ol' days).

Look at it: There's the main character, an AI guiding you, a ship you are on, ancient and extremely advanced civilization that is exctinct or simply gone (this ancient civilization isn't hostile) and a really powerful handgun :)
But yeah, they do differ at some points. Cyborg is much like the game as Chief is a lot like Halo. Marathon is a bit more rough (Cyborg fights for bare survival and is usually alone) and the story can get pretty sad and very philosophical (and is unbelivably beautiful) and has references to the Old Testament at times. While Halo is more optimistic and fun. And we didn't know Humanity was so desperate until the books came out and even then - the games still retained their optimistic feeling.

I've gotta say for myself, the more references from Marathon the more happy I am and the recent lack of Marathon symbols in Reach and Halo CEA made resentful - but I think there are some hints hidden deep down in the games.


While the lack of Marathon logos in Reach and Halo CEA are a little sad to see, they are a result of good things. Bungie in gaining it's independance left Halo with MS, but they kept Marathon, so there would be some legal and copyright issues involved in putting the logo they own in a game property they don't. So while sad to see, it means that Marathon is Bungie's alone.

  • 11.21.2011 2:05 PM PDT

halo was probably the best sequal ne marathon fan could ever ever ask for

  • 11.21.2011 2:10 PM PDT