Marathon-Durandal
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Bungie's Marathon 2: Durandal heads to iOS
Months after the release of the original Marathon on the iPad, Touch Arcade reports that Marathon 2: Durandal has been approved by Apple and will be launch for iOS on Thursday (i.e. tomorrow). Marathon 2 includes many features not found in the original, namely that it's a universal app, meaning it's playable across all iOS devices this time around, not just the iPad. Furthermore, it supports Game Center, offers the same HD textures found in the Xbox Live Arcade version and features support for Joypad, and app that turns your iPod or iPhone into a game controller for the iPad. As with the original Marathon release, Marathon 2 itself will be free, with optional extras like high resolution textures (presumably the HD textures mentioned above) and a cheat mode available for in-app purchase. Additionally, all of these new features will reportedly be added to the original Marathon via an update later this week, hopefully meaning it will no longer be confined solely to the iPad.
Marathon trilogy now free through open-source project [update]
In what we can only assume to be a charitable act made in the spirit of the holidays, the Aleph One engine, which powers Marathon 2: Durandal, Marathon Infinity and a fan remake of the original Marathon, is now available to download (alongside the aforementioned games) for free. The distribution of the engine -- assumedly approved by Bungie, who just shared it through the studio's Twitter account -- is made possible thanks to its GNU General Public License. All three games are available for PC, Mac and Linux -- as well as the iPad, thanks to an open-source project completed this past summer -- so there's really no reason for you not to check them out. Unless, of course, you can only find satisfaction through thoroughly illegal piracy. We can role-play, if that makes it any easier. "No! Don't download all those games for free! That's illegal, you bad, bad buccaneer." Update: As many of you have pointed out, this project has been around for some time -- today just marks the arrival of version 1.0. We apologize for being so very, very late to the party.
Bungie fan porting Marathon to iPad, Marathon Infinity going open source
Daniel Blezek has been working on an iPad port of Bungie's nearly 20-year-old franchise for quite some time now -- more or less since the iPad launched in January of 2010, he says. Years of perseverance, a loving family, and some basic technical chops allowed Blezek to complete the port recently. Bungie and Blezek expect it to arrive on the App Store any minute, pending Apple approval, for the low, low price of zero dollars. If that weren't enough, Bungie has released the final game of the Marathon trilogy, Infinity, to the open source community, meaning it's likely to be included in the iPad App. Between the release of an iOS App recently and Marathon this week, it looks as though Bungie's support for the iOS platform is really up and running.
Bungie registers Marathon and 'Bungie Aerospace' trademarks
Between the recent filing to trademark ... something regarding Bungie's first FPS Marathon, and a filing for the name "Bungie Aerospace," we're not exactly sure what to make of whatever it is that's going on over at the house that birthed Master Chief. Both filings, spotted by Superannuation, represent still unknown plans for the studio. And aside from the logo you see above, we know very, very little about either. As for the Marathon trademark, it could very well just be an update to an existing filing. The inclusion of references to several past Bungie logos in the Bungie Aerospace filing, however, suggests a possible rebranding of the studio -- something we wouldn't be particularly surprised with considering the break with Microsoft way back in 2007, not to mention the fact that this fall's Halo: Reach marks the last Halo game from the studio before Microsoft's 343 Studios fully absorbs the IP. Oh, and no, Bungie won't be joining the Richard Garriotts and John Carmacks of the world in heading into outer space, as both trademark filings fall under the usual USPTO video game classification. A Bungie representative told Joystiq "No comment" when asked about the listings, but for now you're free to speculate along with us to your heart's content. Source 1 - USPTO Source 2 - USPTO [Via Superannuation]
Singapore-MIT Gambit Game Lab hosting huge game marathon for Haiti
We've seen a ton of gaming marathons attempt to raise money for charitable causes, but we've never seen anything quite so ambitious as this: Boston's Singapore-MIT Gambit Game Lab is hosting the "Complete Game-Completion Marathon" from February 26 - 28, in which 11 teams will attempt to beat a wide variety of video games, ranging from the original Final Fantasy to NHL 10. Video of their efforts will be streamed online, where viewers can donate money to Haiti's earthquake relief efforts through Partners in Health. You can find a full list of the games being played and their anticipated completion times after the jump. We wish all participants the best of luck -- especially the team that's trying to beat Mass Effect 1 and 2 in 25 hours. That's just madness! [Via GamePolitics]
Philanthropic rockers playing 1,000 Rock Band songs for Child's Play
We know you've probably already spent an irresponsible amount of dough this morning on hot Black Friday deals, but there's a unique gaming marathon for charity (a charithon?) taking place right now that could use some help meeting its $3,000 donation goal. Check out the web page of Clan of the Gray Wolf, where four gentlemen are attempting to play 1,000 Rock Band songs for approximately 80 hours, all the while collecting money for Penny Arcade's Child's Play Charity. So, instead of buying that set of Growing Pains-themed salt shakers simply because they're 75 percent off, why not lend a helping hand to four guys who, in 80 hours, are going to have the worst blisters anyone's ever had, ever?
Citizen Game marathon gaming for Children in Need
On November 20, staffers from UK blog Citizen Game will be holding a video game marathon in support of Children in Need -- a charity established in 1980 in support of disadvantaged, disabled and abused children throughout the UK. Not to be outdone, Citizen Game will hold the event at a film studio in central London for the night and invite gamers from across the globe to help them battle children issues online. Interested gamers should visit Citizen Game to learn about event start times, Xbox Live Gamertags and PlayStation IDs and how to donate. Thus far, Citizen Game has reached £215 ($358 USD) of its £2,000 ($3,330) goal and have promised to game for one hour per every £100 ($166) they collect. We wish them the best of luck.
CharityWatch: TheSpeedGamers tackling Final Fantasy I - XII
We know, we know -- another Sunday, another gaming marathon for charity. Still, we figured that the 30 tips pointing us to this particular marathon which we received within the course of ten minutes meant people were interested in it. Still, if you do find yourself annoyed, then you can go screw right off. It's charity, dude.The fine philanthropic folks over at TheSpeedGamers are spending this entire week completing Final Fantasy I - XII in an attempt to raise at least $20,000 for an autism treatment organization named ACT Today. By our calculations, that's 15,000 random encounters, 1,300 levels-up and about 200 unbearably long, villainous soliloquies over the course of seven days. That's enough to drive even the most hardcore Squeenix supporters insane -- why not go reward their self-abuse with a few bucks for charity?
Norway Post's new logo: Pokball or Marathon symbol variation?
This is what makes us smile. Reader Olav sent us word this morning that the Norwegian post office switched its old logo (which we've placed after the break for reference) to something, he said, that "unmistakably looks like a pokéball." After checking it out, we believe Posten Norge's new symbol looks like the love child of a pokéball and the symbol from Bungie's Marathon.Coincidence, or conspiracy by some gamer in the art department?Source - Article about new post symbol (it's in Norwegian)Source - Norway Post in English[Thanks Olav]
Marathon 2 map pack thrown up on Wednesday
Yes, we know, you've been clamoring for more multiplayer maps like an irate, "plz sir can I hav sum moar" Oliver Twist. You yearn for more of Bungie's first-person shootery, dreaming of running and gunning down corridors you haven't been through countless times already. It'll genuinely make your day to see new downloadable content pop up on the Xbox Live Marketplace, but until a new Halo 3 map pack is announced, that day is still quite a ways off. But here, have some Marathon 2: Durandal stuff in the meantime.For 250 MS Points (an awkward $3.125), the Jjaro Map Pack will net you 12 new multiplayer environments, playable in King of the Hill, Kill the Man with the Ball and Tag modes, and two achievements worth a combined 30 gamer points. If the game's infamously sickening motion doesn't make you throw up, be sure to grab the content just in case Marathon gets thrown off Xbox Live Arcade.
Marathon DLC (Jjaro Map Pack) hitting tomorrow
We here at X3F love our old-school FPS's just as much as the new-school ones, and at a price of 250MSpts, the upcoming DLC for Marathon 2: Durandal looks to get us back into the archaic swing of things. The new Jjaro Map Pack will hit the Marketplace tomorrow and includes twelve multiplayer maps, two Achievements (worth 30pts total) and three new multiplayer modes (King of the Hill, Kill the Man with the Ball, and Tag). For those obsessed with such things, the Achievement details can be found after the break. Oh, and according the post at 360sync, the devs will be Live and playing on the night of release.
Poll Results: Poker best, Shrek worst of XBLA chopping block titles
Over the last few days, we asked you to pick the best and worst of the Xbox Live Arcade titles that are potentially up for delisting. We've now tallied the votes and the results are in:Best: Texas Hold 'Em (12.77%) Marathon: Durandal (12.48%) Contra (9.18%) Worst: Shrek N Roll (12.00%) Yie Ar Kung-Fu (8.37%) Screwjumper! (6.48%) You can view our picks for best and worst here. We want to make a special note regarding the Yaris game, which was not included because it would pass the delist hurdle of over 6% conversion rate (hint: it had no demo and was free; the devil is in the details). We don't know if Microsoft will be that stringent regarding its guidelines, but there is poetic justice in noting that the developer, comprised of former Blizzard North staffers, suspended operations in April.
Marathon: Durandal DLC video blowout
Looks like 360Sync decided to turn the drip feed of Marathon: Durandal DLC info into a full torrent. There is now video of seven more maps in addition to the two that were revealed already. According to 360Sync, they also have video footage of one more, making ten maps so far. Here are all the maps currently revealed: Duality Thick and Chunky Melatonin Mime Target Fortress Lh'owon Arena Mars Needs Women Vulcan Beyond Thunderdome Not only that, but Bruce Morisson, project lead for Marathon at Freeverse, has left a comment stating there are "several" more to be included with the upcoming DLC. That's a lot of maps. Check out video of all of the maps revealed so far embedded above. Once the first video is over, the next will automatically load (alternately, you can skip to the next video using the navigation buttons). [Thanks, StLouisRibs]
Bungie's next game is like, 'totally different'
One of Bungie's many skills is to talk up future projects without saying much at all, with the latest edition of the now independent company's podcast providing a sterling example of vague vocalizing. In a discussion between Luke Smith, Frank 'O Connor, Brian Gerrard and lead designer Christian Allen, we learn that Bungie's next title will be "totally different" to what you may have envisioned. Though it's early days yet, we're assured the work-in-progress is looking "very cool." As an adventure involving armor-clad tough guys gallivanting across mysterious space hoops is almost certainly ruled out (we're not mad about it), what do you think is nestled within Bungie's chiffon sleeve? %Poll-9154%[Via Eurogamer]
Four48 crew takes on the world in Resident Evil 4 race
With three marathon gaming sessions neatly tucked under their belts, the Four48 crew are starting to get a little overzealous. Attempting to beat four Zelda games in forty-eight hours was a lofty enough goal -- but for their latest effort to raise cash for Child's Play, they're attempting to establish global domination by besting seven other teams in a race through Resident Evil 4.The first team to cross the finish line (via jet ski, if memory serves) nets themselves a copy of No More Heroes, along with bragging rights in the rapidly expanding competitive marathon gaming scene. As always, you can watch their live webstream to see if the Four48ers can back up their boasts -- that is, if you can stand ten straight hours of listening to the death rattles of Spanish pseudo-zombies.
Four48 crew tackling Paper Mario for weekend Child's Play marathon
Remember those wacky kids who tried to beat the four 3D Zelda games in a single two day sitting, and failed miserably due to technical difficulties and general overzealousness? Well, they're back, comically tiny TV and all, to take on the N64 cult classic Paper Mario, in an attempt to raise more donations for Child's Play (their first outing netted a total of $1200 for the charity).These weekend warriors (called the Four48 crew in honor of their first ambitious marathon) are planning on sitting down with a new game every Saturday morning, and not getting up until the ending credits roll. You can watch their exploits on their video webstream (and donate to a worthy cause) on their site. We highly suggest it -- if watching these guys trudge through classic games doesn't trigger your nostalgia gland, at least it's interesting to watch bedsores develop in real time.
Four Zelda games in 48 hours
We've all, at some point, had a game that we decided not to put down until the closing credits. Whether you uncompromisingly soldiered on through a Warcraft III campaign, or decided to topple Bowser before turning in for the day, we're all familiar with marathon gaming. However, a small gathering of Zelda enthusiasts are attempting a seemingly impossible gauntlet of non-stop dungeon raiding -- all four 3D Zelda games (Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess) in just 48 hours.That's four water temples, three Ganondorf confrontations, and a whole mess of heart containers, stretched over a two day period. With nearly thirty hours to go, the CameronBanga.com team have already bested Ocarina of Time, and are currently trudging through the most tedious of all the Zelda titles, Majora's Mask. We can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday night than watching these goons sink into sweet, Hyrulian madness via their live webstream -- but then again, we're what most camp counselors would call "indoor kids".
Freeverse discusses porting Marathon 2 to XBLA
Gamasutra's postmortems are excellent opportunities to look back at certain games, and hear with unabashed honesty what went right and wrong throughout the course of development. Such is the case with developer Freeverse's postmortem on their enhanced port of Bungie's classic Marathon 2: Durandal for Xbox Live Arcade.Freeverse employee Mark Levin goes into insane levels of detail describing the arduous task of bringing Marathon 2 -- originally a Macintosh title -- over to the Xbox 360. He discusses the team's decision to re-work the graphics for HD, and the difficulty of bug-testing very old code, but somehow neglects to discuss the game's propensity for causing upset stomachs.Regardless, it's a great and honest read, with some real insight into the treacherous task of bringing old games to new consoles.
Bungie finds balance between new IPs and Halo
In an interview with Develop, Bungie studio manager Harold Ryan elaborates on what's in store for the Halo developer after it the left the Microsoft fold. The answer being moar Haloz shouldn't elicit a gasp from anyone, but the studio's return to independence now allows it to find a better balance between the guaranteed moneymaker and new intellectual properties. "During the development of Halo and Halo 2, we had other, non-Halo IPs in development and we killed those projects both times," said Ryan. "Both teams were swallowed whole by the Halo team. With Halo 3, that was the first time we know that we couldn't let that happen – it's not an acceptable way out to add 20 people to the project by killing that prototype."With the prototype having survived and creativity culling quelled, Bungie is now "actively engaged" in exploring worlds of a different kind and quite possibly, a different shape (look for Cubee in 2009). That isn't to say everybody's sick of Master Chief, of course: "We shipped Halo with 45 people and now we're 115, so two thirds of the studio have only shipped one or two games in the Halo series. For the most part they came here because they were really excited to work at Bungie and in the Halo universe. So from that point of view we don't have a shortage of people happy to make Halo games." It's just as well, since we're fairly sure there's no shortage of people happy to play them either.
Freeverse to offer advice on Marathon: Durandal motion sickness
Perhaps noticing a few of his soldiers dropping like flies, Microsoft's Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb spoke with Freeverse regarding the fits of motion sickness caused by their latest release, Marathon: Durandal. While they're not offering a technical solution just yet, they do plan on giving folks fair warning and a bit of advice. Within the next few days, Freeverse will "implement a [dashboard] message on the download screen to advise users on steps they can take if this affects them and are investigating other options to address the issue."When we spoke to Marathon:Durandal's project lead, Bruce Morrison, he suggested a simple flip of the "camera bob" option and that seemed to work wonders. With so many folks -- many with no prior history of motion sickness -- getting ill from playing, it may still require an alteration of the game itself.
