| Review score |
| Publication |
Score |
| AllGame |
  |
Marathon is a first-person shooter video game developed and published by Bungie, and released in December 1994 for the Apple Macintosh. The game takes place several centuries into the future in outer space and sets the player as a security officer attempting to defeat an alien invasion aboard a colony ship named the Marathon.
Although Marathon is a first-person shooter, the game is known for having an intricate storyline that is also an essential element of its gameplay, whereas many similar games devote minimal attention to plot in favor of faster, more action-oriented gameplay. In addition to its single-player scenario, Marathon also features a multiplayer deathmatch mode through which up to eight players can compete against each other on the same computer network, via individually linked computers. This functionality increased anticipation for Marathon prior to release, and won the game the Macworld Game Hall of Fame Award for the best multiplayer game in 1995.
Marathon is the first game in a series of three games collectively known as the Marathon Trilogy, which also includes its two sequels, Marathon 2: Durandal and Marathon Infinity, released in 1995 and 1996 respectively. In 1996, Bungie completed Super Marathon, a port of Marathon and Marathon 2 to Apple's short-lived Apple Bandai Pippin video game console.
The plot is primarily revealed to the player by computer terminals accessed throughout the course of the game. These terminals relay information such as crew logs, maintenance documents, historical accounts, and stories, but their primary function is to allow the player to interface with three artificial intelligences (AIs), who provide the player with information about his current mission at any given point in the game and teleport him out of a level when his mission is complete.
Marathon takes place in outer space in the year 2794. The player assumes the role of a nameless security officer stationed on the UESC Marathon. The Marathon has arrived in the Tau Ceti solar system and is supporting the colonization effort of the planet, Tau Ceti IV. The game starts with the player making his way to the Marathon on the shuttle Mirata when an alien ship appears and attacks the system. He survives by ejecting seconds before the explosion of the Mirata, and hours later, his officer's escape pod then reaches one of the Marathon docking bays.
...
Wikipedia
