Classic Marathon Reviews

by Adalton1985

Please fix! Just upgraded to the HD mode and while playing this level, I got to the area where you find the 3rd chip, but I can't progress anymore. After taking the 2 lifts up to the top and hitting the switch, I ran around looking for a new revealed doorway. I couldn't find one so I watched an online video and discovered that one of the pillars was supposed to open around the center lift. Mine doesn't open! I can't finish the level, and there's no way to restart it either.

Also make the game take advantage of the iphone 5 screen! I was hoping that was included in HD version.

by NintenGamer2100

Don't get me wrong, I love this game. The Marathon Trilogy is not only the best set of games made by Bungie, but the best games made for the Macintosh itself! I have enjoyed them for years, and I'm 13 with my birthday tomorrow on May 19. The only thing I Hate, and I mean HATE, about this game is the control mechanism. I don't know what kind of sick, cruel joke they are trying to pull, but this is horrifying. I even tried to contact them via email, and, surprise surprise, NOTHING. They need to wake up and smell the roses and change the controls! Other than that, it's a great game. I never thought I would be turned away from the best games I have ever played because of the control mechanism.

by Apaull622

Maybe it's only my iPad, but there's a... Game breaking glitch. I'm very new to the series, but I had heard multiple rave reviews, especially for the Mac. I opened ClassicMarathon , heard the little whoosh, but then, when it was supposed to show the quote, it only showed it for about half a second, so not even a reader of the highest calibre could read the text in that time. Not game breaking so far. I decided new game would be the best option, and I was pretty excited! Then, as I went to pick easy mode, the option highlighted, but nothing happened. I tapped back, but that was in vain. Doing so crashed it, and I was pretty upset. I, not being one to give up easily, bravely opened ClassicMarathon again, but alas, I found the same result. I proceeded to try each difficulty (results hardly varying), and each of the other options. Those other options had a slightly strange affect on the main menu. When I had attempted to select 'info', I did succeed, however, when I chose yet another option, the page that tapping info brought up was identical. Of course, I tested this some more, and I got the same results. I'd LOVE to play this game, and I'm sure this is a very enjoyable and immersive experience. I look forward to the day I can play this game!

by Jamessmith6

Really good port. Two issues:
Sometimes the weapon sprite is replaced by a black box, and it’s really distracting. It happens often.
Some additional cheat options would be appreciated (beyond the ones already there.) Like invincible mode and it would be fun to have one where the aliens couldn’t see you at all.

The black box thing is my only real complaint.

by YUNgames

There is a glitch on never burn money where the switch you need to activate at the end of the level does nothing and you cannot get the third chip. This is really frustrating because I was really enjoying the game up until this point now I am stuck with a broken switch and no chip.

by EnkiLeviathan

I grew up playing the Marathon saga, including the fan games, and played them at least once a year for ten years at least. This series is near and dear to my heart. It still holds up wonderfully and this port is a very good and faithful port. A few of the severely frustrating thing were fixed but there is a massive problem with the phone controls.

They work well enough and after a few levels the "slide to aim" becomes a bit intuitive but you can't look, move and shoot at the same time. That pretty much makes a few segments frustrating beyond all belief and a few of the secrets are now completely unreachable since you can't Grenade Hop.

That's the only thing that made me give it four stars. Otherwise, with the addition of purchasable crosshairs and HD textures (for only $2 for both it's worth it) this is a wonderful download.

I recommend finding a Joypad online and buying it for your phone though.

by Dr.Someperson

I thought it would be not that good but it’s pretty well thought out. It has a variety of enemies, maps (31 of them), weapons, and even some puzzles. Some complaints is that the movement control is not the best and that it doesn’t save right at the start of every level. I would say it’s worth a playthrough.

by Mikepianoman

This is definitely the Marathon I remember playing on my old Macintosh. The port is great but the textures on the weapons should be changed when buying the HD version. The walls and liquids look great but the weapons should be improved. The other thing is there needs to be the ability to change frame rates. 60fps is way too fast. Maybe I just had a super slow computer but back in the day the game played at a comfortable speed. On the iPad all movements seem rushed and it's hard at times to keep up with your movements. Other than that perfect port.

by SAWgnnr

I grew up loving this series on PC and when I saw it in ClassicMarathon Store I was thrilled.

On my iPhone 5 it worked perfectly, no bugs or glitches that I could find and gameplay was excellent. However when I upgraded to an iPhone 6 plus the game loads, and after selecting the difficulty the first level begins loading and immediately goes back to the difficulty setting screen before ClassicMarathon crashes and sends me back to my phone's home screen.

Great game but there are some bugs to be worked out.

by EmiNfhkfygddj

I first tried it on my iPhone, and couldn’t get past lvl 2 because touch controls were to difficult to get use to, i’m sure if I had triad longer I would eventually end up getting used to, but then I read in reddit it had controller support and had a blast playing it, but now that iPadOS has keyboard and mouse/trackpad support for games, so why no add it, so people can have the option to play it as back in the day in macOS, thx and nice work : )

by DCver3

Nice to find this on iPhone. I’ve played the trilogy so many times over the years. Since the Apple days. It still has a charm that no other FPS has ever really been able to replicate. My daughter was watching me play and she was really into it.

The only negative is it doesn’t support PS4 controller support. That’s been a real game changer since Apple implemented it.

Still, everyone should play this series at least once in their lives.

by Is This A Beta Test?

So nice to see my old favorite (and it’s sequels) brought to the iPad. When Apple decided to allow pairing with an xbox controller, I was excited to try it with Marathon. The game plays great with a controller with one exception. Unfortunately I can not play a game without the y-axis inverted (too much muscle memory from old flight sims and RC I guess). Anyhow - the only change I would like to see to the game(s) is to allow inverting the y axis. Otherwise, 5 starts for sure.

by Ski00001

Most older games don’t hold up well, especially some shooters, but this one still feels great. Weapons in this game are satisfying, especially the duel pistols and later duel shotguns in the sequel. It honestly feels like a game that was made at a time when technology wasn’t good enough to tell its story, that still holds up amazingly well. It has levels that always have a fun gimmick of some kind to it’s layout that keeps things fun and interactive. The amazing story stays interesting throughout and keeps the engagement high throughout, and despite having mostly text based story, you can still feel the tension. All enemy designs are unique and well explored and the alien weapon is fun to use. every enemy is well distinguished over what class it is, what attacks it uses, and what rank it is. And for a game this old, I still love it’s soundtrack and shares a similar feeling to the early’s halo’s soundtrack. Overall a game [and series] worth playing.

by A Review That Is Okay

This is a awesome port of a classic title that my dad tells me all about so when it was on ClassicMarathon Store I instantly bought it however there is one thing that I don’t like. The shoot button is practically the entire screen! It only kind of annoys me and not many other people. But besides that I would recommend it I mean it’s a great port of a classic game a bit hard but rewarding!

by Krillin Starosta

I will say this game is really good it's very very similar to doom but different and more difficult and more fun. And also Happy Birthday Marathon that started halo and every other game made by Bungie you will be a revolutionary piece in the history of games. If you want a pc fps game on your phone and iPad this is the one to pick up. Farewell marathon you will be in my heart.

by &/@):

A classic 90’s shooter game in my phone. What more could I ask for? Your able to change the controls and button layout to your liking which is very convenient. And it’s a great and fun game. Iv looked at the reviews for the mobile DOOM and lets just say it looks like Marathons controls are significantly better than DOOMs. 5 stars, totally download.

by Jake1295

As a big fan of Bungie since Halo, it is good to play the games they made previous to Halo, especially in preparation for their new upcoming title, Destiny. I have a few issues with it like freezing, music stuttering, audio stuttering, and crashes, but that doesn't keep ClassicMarathon from being rated highly, just not five stars. I might change my mind if there were an update to improve this though.

by E419

I used to play Marathon on my Mac, then the developer’s previous port on ios with my ipad 2 in high school. I played it so much on ios and loved every second of the portable Marathon experience! I was really sad to see it delisted from ClassicMarathon store, but this new version with controller support made my day, and convinced me to get an iphone again.

Thank you so much Daniel, Alephone, and Bungie!

by Bloodbubble

Just downloaded this game and played this classic for the first time and the game is pretty good so far and I would really love it if you guys would team up with Bungie to port all three games to the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox series X, PS4, PS5 and PC. Because this game deserves to be more recognized to a wider range of gamers who played bungie games and other first person shooters. It would even be cooler to see a reboot of the series just like Doom. I would buy all three in a heartbeat if you guys made this happen.

by Trevor Collier

This is an absolutely wonderful, amazing faithful remaster of the original game. Most people don’t know that this is Bungie’s precursor to Halo, and I rarely get to play it. The fact I can also go BACK to the original graphics is such an underrated thing.

You play as personnel on a ship called the Marathon recalling almost nothing. Your ship is under attack. Only one voice reaches out to communicate with you, and right now that voice is helping you stay alive.

Unravel the events leading up to the attack on the Marathon, and learn more about the factions that attacked you. Fend off the invasion and save.. anyone you can.