im a PC person myself and have never played marathon(let alone ever touched a mac)...but all these lil thoughts could be true...could not be true..only Bungie knows but you seemed to have done quite a bit of good work on this...is almost convincing

Sorry, but this isn't a convincing argument that Halo is any sort of sequel. Bungie certainly put in plenty of familiar treats for its Marathon fanbase, but saying that these make the game a sequel is ridiculous.

Everything you are saying is true and I agree with you that Halo should be called Marathon 4. Now what if Bungie ends the whole Marathon similarity thing right here and in Halo 2 no more easter eggs and that game is mainly dedicated to Halo. Then you can not call Halo 2 Marathon 5. I guess we will have to just wait and see if Halo 2 has no similarity whatsoever with the Marathon series, then you can truly call Halo the end of long running Marathon series. And HALO 2 the beginning of a new series for Bungie or should I say Halo.

Everything you are saying is true and I agree with you that Halo should be called Marathon 4. Now what if Bungie ends the whole Marathon similarity thing right here and in Halo 2 no more easter eggs and that game is mainly dedicated to Halo. Then you can not call Halo 2 Marathon 5. I guess we will have to just wait and see if Halo 2 has no similarity whatsoever with the Marathon series, then you can truly call Halo the end of long running Marathon series. And HALO 2 the beginning of a new series for Bungie or should I say Halo.

I came up with the same conclusion about the rocket launcher quite a long time ago.

As for the game itself, I dunno man, I just don't, but what about the vechiles eh?

All interesting points, but I am more in agreement with OoACoO; a sequel isn't defined by the similarities between it and it's predecessors, but by the story and setting. Although both Halo and Marathon have similar settings (much discussed on the HBO forums) they take place in two distinctly different periods - if not indeed entirely different "alternate" universes.

From a more realistic point of view it makes far more sense for Bungie to create a new gaming universe than continue with that created for Marathon. Considering the elaborate interwoven plotlines in the Marathon series, to continue this with a new game will increase the complexity of the plot exponentially. Bungie have always tried to make the setting feel authentic and not self-contradictory. To carry on adding new interesting ideas (races, events etc.) to a game series whilst still keeping this consistency would be a huge task.

So no, Halo isn't Marathon 4 - just a distant relative.

It is an interesting read, but I don't think that Halo is Marathon 4, but I think it is a game that simply pays homage to those that have walked before it.

I guess that the best comparison I have right off the top of my head is this: Relic Entertainment made Homeworld, a very innovative 3D RTS with a great story. Relic is about to release Impossible Creatures. I played the demo, and saw some very striking similarities between the two - namely they both try something seemingly Impossible and pull it off, both are great strategy games, and both use the same style of story telling, right down to the hand-drawn cinimatics. But both are different games, even though there are numerous similarites.

So, Halo isn't marathon 4, but it merely pays respect to the games that have gone before it.

Point of Information:
the bobs aren't wearing mark IV armor, But your marathon character is! (revert to your picture of the SPNKr's, Mark V on the left, Mark IV on the right. )

marathon.bungie.org/story will have all your answers, er, i mean, more qusetions for you.

its obvious that there are parrallels. . . they ARE made by the same company. and they have their fair share of continiuties (mark IV and Mark V armor, etc, etc.), and the same themes, its of course up to you to decide whether its all in the same maraverse, or parrellel universes (marathon infiity explored that one), or whether they are complete stand alone games. but its called halo b/c it has to do with a halo, the other one was called marathon b/cit had to do with a ship called marathon. =) so no, halo isn't marathon 4 b/c there is no marathon ship anywhere. and if you take the timelines given to us by bungie literally as the A.D. timeline, Halo takes place two hundred(?) years after the marathon laucnhes, but interestingly enough, one hundred years BEFORE the marathon games take place (the marathon floated through space for three hundred years before reaching its destination).

what I want to know is why is the marathon symbol all over the Halo installation, the covenant , AND human. just more questions.. . .

Did you ever think that perhaps bungie just kept what it liked from Marathon. And as far as similarities in symbols weapons and so on i'm sure they did that on perpose. perhaps they were a little nostalgic ( don't call me on spelling i woke up 5 mins ago). To call Halo a sequel is rather absurd in my mind and probably anyone who has fallen into Halo's world aswell. Love this article and it makes some great points but Sequel NO.
Feel Free to E-mail me.

Hi,
If any of you are halo fans. You're invited to come join the fourms at www.haloonline.net (you all seem intrested in halo so just an invitation)
Thanks
Spartan 3

Halo a sequel, I think not! Haven't any of you read the book "Halo: The Fall Of Reach"? There is no Marathon ship, Bobs, or any Mark armors in Halo! Their armor is called MJOLNIR, not Mark V. That's a big difference. In Halo, Master Chief is a SPARTAN, not a Bob, and halo.bungie.org said that Bobs more closely resemble the Marines. Not to mention that Marathon has no UNSC, the Human forces, or Covenant, the alien forces. Also, Bungie wanted Marathon fans to see something to buy; by using the best game modes and the symbols only make Marathon fans who liked these things want to play a new game in itself. And the AI were important everywhere, although they never were evil except for 343 Guilty Spark. Bungie would rather draw in more fans and old ones, not just let all the Marathon fans get all the fun. Most importantly, Halo has Halo, Marathon has a ship, two different things, two different universes, two different games!!!

Ok 1 worrd "Flood"

bungie wouldn't be ashamed to call it a marathon game if it's a marathon game, period.

I can't believe I gave you enough credit to read all the way through this pile of shit. If you were a true Bungie fan you might just realize that maybe since Marathon was one of the titles that made Bungie, and the logo is unforgetable that it kind of a second call sign for them? And if you had ever even played a little of this game you would know both cyborgs have MJOLINIR armor. Did this not jump out at you? And then you think the inculsion of the game types is strange, hello if you invented them and they were a huge success, would you leave them out of a similar game? And you believe that because Bungie staff have an attention to details like realistic physics (a.k.a. possible speeds to run at, or explosions blast radiuses) that this is a be deal? Not to mention you left out thousands of similarites like the Hunters in Marathon with their green projecticles and blue armor on harder or higher up levels. So do some more research, you just might find out that their are a ton of similarites you missed, a ton that have no bases, and an even larger amount of new and differnent things. I am soo pissed that you would call this "research" that I am going to go play some Halo before I burst a vein.

Satan,
Please of Please acctually play both games before you write an article!

This has all been discussed very throughly before at the websites you got your info from, specifically The Halo Story page from HBO and the Marathon Story Page. If you were gonna call Halo another Marathon sequel (which at least story-wise it isn't), you should've gone as far to say that Halo was Pathways Into Darkness 5, and that Halo 2 was PiD 6.

the games are similar yes, but they are different stories. marathon is about a gigantic ship that has traveled to a near solar system or galaxy or something where they have encountered aliens. not to mention marathon happens further into the future than halo is reported to take place in. they certainly follow and use the same information. they are in the same "universe." marathon is more of a story of the character the aliens and the AI durandal. halo is more about the character vs the alien. i think marathon had a very rich storyline, halo doesnt. they both share stuff involving the forerunner. in the end i would say that halo and marathon are from the same larger story, but are stories by themselves. they are not sequals in any way shape or form. also "mjolner mark IV armor" was mentioned in marathon as it was in halo. the alien civilization in marathon was also similar in that it was more of a combination of races working together. the motiviations are different. marathon was about using humans as slaves. halo is about the destruction of the human race because of religion. marathon does use the same rocket launcher, the words on the side are the same. another difference is the ability to "jump" in marathon, this doesnt exist in halo. they are totally different games that are in the general sense, on the same storyline. i have to say though, you have obviously coppied your ideas from HBO and i think you should give them a bit more credit for basically supplying your entire article with facts.

Couple other similarities/things you didn't mention...

1. Both games feature a "post game carnage report" after a deathmatch.

2. The Marathon logo on the Pillar Of Autumn is more clearly visible in the cutscene right before The Maw

3. Both games feature motion trackers, rather than the radar typically found in sci-fi games.

4. Your character in Marathon IS equipped with Mark IV armor.

5. In an old build of Halo (on this video i've got showing tons of old builds, level editing etc) the assault rifle DOES have a grenade launcher attached.

6. In another old build, the circular designs on the door can be found in Marathon 2 on a level called "Waterloo Waterpark".

That's it for now... but if I find anything else, I'll post it.

Who cares?!

Another forgotten thing: In "Halo: The Fall Of Reach" it proves that Master Chief is Human, not a robot or a cyborg. He is part of the SPARTAN project, where 150 cantidates are checked out to find 75 good cantidates. These people were taken a young kids, including someone named John 117. They were trained in battle tactics and strategies, and then were genetically modified, where only about 40 were left, only 30 of which were still suitable to fight. John 117 was appointed team leader after a great plan of taking out guards in a field practice, because the last person on the Pelican was to be left, so why not all get on at the same time? So John 117 became Master Chief, and over many years, mission after mission, until the actual fall if Reach, all of the SPARTANs were killed, leaving only Master Chief. Now that's nothing featured in Marathon, is it?

OMG! people keep saying, "Oh, they're so much alike!" Well, duh they're alike! they're made from the same company, Bungie! You need to look into Bungie before you say anything about Halo or Marathon.

I've never played marathon and I think since it is a lot like halo its a great game. But plot makes a sequel not eggs or similar design. Esp if its the same company. I mean do you go around saying that starcarft is the real warcraft 3. Also I may not have played marathon but bob stands for Born on Board.

I've never played marathon and I think since it is a lot like halo its a great game. But plot makes a sequel not eggs or similar design. Esp if its the same company. I mean do you go around saying that starcarft is the real warcraft 3. Also I may not have played marathon but bob stands for Born on Board.

I don't know if anyone who's posting comments is checking back for further comments, but to those of you who feel that a sequel (or for that matter prequel) is based strictly on plot and storyline, then what would you call Grand Theft Auto: Vice City? It takes place before GTA3, certainly, and has some familiar aspects to it (such as the radio station names), but the only character who makes a repeat performance is just a fringe character.

So by your own definitions GTA:VC wouldn't be a prequel (or sequel as far as game engines are concerned), but it obviously is a prequel/sequel. I don't think anyone would argue that it isn't.

Just food for thought.

Ok the rocket is the only convincing part of all this. If not, it does not mean it's a Halo's prequel. The rest could have just been purposly done by bungie or a coinsidence.

Ever think that the little bits and pieces that are reminicent of Marathon are for the benefit of those of us who have been playing Bungie games since 1994?

You should really get more facts and information before actually posting something like this. Nevertheless, it's always nice to read something about a game created by my fave company (that would be Bungie... not Microsoft, though they aren't bad :-P ).

just as an aside, weren't bobs called 'bobs' because it was an anacronym for born on board?

i seem to remember reading that in the orginal marathon manual.

i sure hope someone ports if for os x someday.

Halo and Marathon. Both awesome games made by Bungie. Halo has many things that are remenicent of Marathon, so that people who have played both (like me and many of you) can tell your friends who have not, "Hey, that's from Marathon. It's a great game from back in the day. Way ahead of it's time." They're just Easter Eggs, and Easter Eggs don't make a sequel. Hell, there's the music from Myth on "Assualt on the Control Room." Does that make Halo a sequel to Myth?

Well, Halo is definitely not a sequel to Marathon. Its a prequel. A friend of mine even wrote a long essay on why the Master Chief is the same as the mysterious Cyborg protagonist of Marathon, and why it is possible that Cortana is Durandal, after going mad from information overload, or a prototype to Cortana. As well, Cortana and Durandal are both Charlemagne era swords- an important parrallel. As well, the Alien AI Thoth in many ways Parrallels Halo's own evil AI system.

In any cases, chances are that the Jjaro of PID and Marathon fame made Halo, and that Halo 2 will induct us into deeper exploration of the Jjaro connection between Marathon and Halo.

As far as the rocket launcher is concerned, a brief glance at any of the Marathon manuals reveals that EVERY missile launcher is a SPNKR variant. The variant in Halo is most likely the successor to those aboard the Marathon, which launched before the war.

In any case, you should do some deeper research in the Marathon story pages. The story is incredibly vast.

skye
77777

skyknyt, I think your friend is onto something with the idea that Halo is actually a prequel, and I love the whole sword name = AI bit (I seem to recall that being mentioned at HBO).

I did in fact read the entire Marathon and Infinity story a few years ago over at marathon.org (I had just finished playing the Durandal single player at the time). It took me an entire day to read, but it was well worth it.

I think you've definitely proved that Halo and Marathon take place in the same universe that Bungie has created for their games. Does it really matter if it's a sequel, prequel or two separate stories all together?

i don't know if you realize this, but the reason the gameplay is so slow is because the MC has really good reflexes, they make a huge point of it in the book

while I don't dispute that marathon is a brilliantly crafted series and that Halo is nothng short of brilliant this does not alone prove the case that they are sequels. On sonic adventure for the dreamcast plenty of homage was paid to nights but was it a nights sequel - no.

Hey skye, I want to read your friend's essay... Is it posted online anywhere?

I love this post. I was (and still am) so pissed at Bungie for selling out to M$ that I have really refrained from going to any of their sites, or even doing any suplimental Halo reading -- even after I bought an x-box and halo on ebay.

It's fun to think about the ways Marathon "lives on" in Halo. The kill-the-guy-with-the-ball game was one of my favorites.

Coincidentally, just last night I was at a halo party... we had 4 x-boxes, and 14 of us spent about 5 hours shooting the hell out of one another. I think I even brought up Marathon at one point, (talking about a spanker-suicide map I'd made for it back in the day). But in 5 hours, we never played king of the hill, or the ball game.

That's really one of the only things that I don't like about halo: that I can't create and/or download new maps for it. That, and using the stupid x-box controller.

I'm surprised you didn't pick up on a big reference to Marathon early on in the game. In one of the first missions, when you are sent to rescue a squad of cut of marines you find them by a big structure, which you then use as a defensive position against the incoming enemies. Some of the marines freak out at this point, and you can hear some of them say "They're everywhere!" which is one of BOB's favorite phrases.

Also, BOB stands for Born On Board, as in that person was born on board the ship.

this page should tell you all you need to know about marathon and halo occuring in the same universe:

http://marathon.bungie.org/story/

of course it also has hundreds if not thousands of pages of a detailed analysis of what in my opinion is the greatesst plot ever to grace a videogame (that of marathon 1,2, ∞)

also, lest people forget, myth was made by bungie more recently than marathon, and there arent any significant myth references in halo. let's just call halo a side story in the marathon universe and leave it at that :)

u know what? its good for u that u found all those similaritires.
tell me what didn't bungie make both of the games
and that logo thing was stupid. well the artists at bungie mix up thier art with other things.
thats what looks kool.

masterchiefs real name is john-117 NOT bob

ur site sux with a capital K

one more thing u cant compare the two, HALO rulz, tis all about HALO

i think nothing can compare to halo.HALO RULES!!!! i agree totally with asswhooper.HALO RULES and marathon can suck balls

The skull, suit, and logo were the only things about Marathon convincing to me. What is the point though, ever FPS is based on something with resources from a previous shooter. Ever producer wants another hit but has to make sure it is just as bad as the first one. It's just like how rare created Perfect Dark or Goldeneye 2.

The skull, suit, and logo were the only things about Marathon convincing to me. What is the point though, ever FPS is based on something with resources from a previous shooter. Ever producer wants another hit but has to make sure it is just as bad as the first one. It's just like how rare created Perfect Dark or Goldeneye 2.

bungie made all the marathon games so naturally their technicians are going to want to put the things they are used to handling into the game, maybe they wanted to meet the deadline and had to cut corners. I hear that is infact why they left alot of things like levels, extras, gun and vehicles etc..but hopefully we will see the true completed halo in halo 2. wether it is a sequel of marathon or not i dont care, it is a bloody excellent game providing me with hours of endless fun and the creaters are alright in my books, no matter where they got their ideas from.

John-117!? BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAA!..... no it aint

actually his name is John-117! Try reading "Fall of Reach"

What's the point? Who cares? Not me. Halo is a great game no matter how bitter you are against PC gamers.

i though Halo was the first of its kind......

BAH! I say bah! I agree with the blokey. who gives a toss. just enjoy the bloody game. As for John-117, I couldnt care less what it said in fall of reach, as far as I am concerned I'm glad that they only refer to him as Master Cheif cause then anyone could be him.

dude i totaly agree,but i think they made a new game with some of the same concepts.anyway i agree with the huge simalarity

I'd say you have a fairly valid argument, but in the big picture, does it matter?

One minor point. Halo was an Xbox launch title, and so I doubt Microsoft and Bungie could easily call it "Marathon 4" without lots of people (read: idiots) wanting to know whether Marathons 1 through 3 were available on Xbox. And there hasn't been a new Marathon in quite a while, so it's more economical to just call it "Halo".

Finally, why not re-use parts from your old games? Sure, its a cheap shot for people who know, but (and I hate to have to admit this) most people don't know what Marathon is. Is it recycling old concepts and artwork for use in a new game? Hell yes. Is that cheesy to do? Probably. But it's their game, and as long as the game is fun and playable, does it matter? Not really, as long as they progress each time a title comes out, and not just keep recycling the old stuff.

The way I see it the connections are simply to spark interest and debate like this, because it's fun and interesting. It's kind of like how in the end of one of the predator movies (don't know which one, but this is what I've been told) it shows as a trophy, a head of a xenomorph, indicating its the same time era (this also spawned 3 alien versus predator games starting on the Snes
I might point out a few more connections tho, go to start any halo level, and select the easy setting, recognise it now without the sword in front? And it's not just the marines that say 'they're everywhere', but also the little grunt aliens say it when they panic. Also, on the first level, just outside the bridge is a billboard, one of them as something like 'pentium XIII for sale' and underneath that is 'Colony ship, cheap'
So I personally think these connections were not only made as types of easter eggs, but for the fun of sparking peoples imagination.

hey duncan, one of the post also mentions a calico cat named jonesy, that was ripley's cats name, and it was predator 2

"but its called halo b/c it has to do with a halo, the other one was called marathon b/cit had to do with a ship called marathon. =) so no, halo isn't marathon 4 b/c there is no marathon ship anywhere."

By your logic, Halo 2 isn't really the sequel to Halo, because Halo 2 takes place on Earth, not Halo or another Halo installation.

"but its called halo b/c it has to do with a halo, the other one was called marathon b/cit had to do with a ship called marathon. =) so no, halo isn't marathon 4 b/c there is no marathon ship anywhere."

By your logic, Halo 2 isn't really the sequel to Halo, because Halo 2 takes place on Earth, not Halo or another Halo installation. Since it takes place on Earth, should it be called Earth?

Even if it was called "Earth" and not "Halo 2", it would definitly be the Halo sequel.

This is great, just like the old days when discussions about the Marathon plot raged on for thousands of pages!

I think the Bungie folks realise just how compelling the original storyline for Marathon was, by being ambiguous they promote this kind of debate. I also think that Bungie were always great fans of the Mac and liked the idea of putting Marathon references into the Microsoft flagship game, kind of an insider joke for old Mac cronies.

I like to think of Halo as some kind of prequel, The character is a cyborg (hence the first level name "Cyborgs and AI first") and could be the same character as the Marathon series.

Also (on a slightly more anorak note) someone mentioned earlier that there was no UNSC in Marathon - but there was a UESC...and in the prolog for Marathon2 the cyborg character starts after spending 17 years "in stasis" - sound familiar?

From just reading the Halo novel, I noticed that there is a class of ships call Marathon-Class. Interesting, no?

One thing Master Chief's first name is John !!! NOT BOB !!!

One thing Master Chief's first name is John !!! NOT BOB !!!

One thing Master Chief's first name is John !!! NOT BOB !!!

One thing Master Chief's first name is John !!! NOT BOB !!!

This title, wasn't meant to be Marathon. Halo is Marathon. The name of the race that created Halo is the foreRUNNERs. Marathon, Forerunner. Hmmm...

I believe that the sequels to Halo are intended to eventually tie the games together cohesively and unmistakably. I believe we will see some star wars type of revelations/surprises in the future Halo games.

In the game Master Chief is referred to as the Reclaimer by 343 Guilty Spark and it is implied that Master Chief or individuals who looked like him had used Halo before.

Born On Board. MC is awoken from cryo-stasis on the PoA at the very beginning of Halo. MC helps out and backsup the marines similar to the way the B
OBs worked. Perhaps the original 150/75 candidates were the BOBs from Marathon and Master Chief is the last one alive many years later.

This title, wasn't meant to be Marathon. Halo is Marathon. The name of the race that created Halo is the foreRUNNERs. Marathon, Forerunner. Hmmm...

I believe that the sequels to Halo are intended to eventually tie the games together cohesively and unmistakably. I believe we will see some star wars type of revelations/surprises in the future Halo games.

In the game Master Chief is referred to as the Reclaimer by 343 Guilty Spark and it is implied that Master Chief or individuals who looked like him had used Halo before.

Born On Board. MC is awoken from cryo-stasis on the PoA at the very beginning of Halo. MC helps out and backsup the marines similar to the way the BOBs worked. Perhaps the original 150/75 candidates were the BOBs from Marathon and Master Chief is the last one alive many years later.

Forerunner = Marathon

Master Chief is born on board at the start of Halo.

simple and easy, sorry Game girl advance writers, but someone beat you to your obvious punch. If you go to http://marathon.bungie.org/story/ it has all the information you put and more. There is strong correlative arguments that your character is the same Mjolnir Mark IV Cyborg which existed in Marathon and the same as Halo and if you look even further back, you can date it to Pathways into Darkness. Halo has millions of simlilarities, but I won't waste time writing them as they're already put down by Hamlish the writer of this website, just click on the halo section in the left half of the website once you enter. Sorry to kill this thread with proof ;).
-Daemonecles

Also, to kinda put down those arguments that the master chief is a BOB or the same cyborg you play in Marathon. The master chief was said to be put together on the planet that the Pillar of Autumn hailed from. If you go into Marathon and read up, you find out that two asteroid planets got into a huge war between each other, sorry, but i forget the names, but in this war, the two sides manufactured the first "battle roids" and these were placed in battle and quickly killed everybody. I can't put my finger on a correlation between this and Halo though, as the asteroid planets cannot be the same as the one the master chief came from, but it looks like it was possible that the same technology was put together and mabye the body of the old cyborg soldier you were was arisen again by this technology after being found ?floating in space? But I need to read up on the end of marathon Infinity, because that was the last in the series, but i remember that in the end of Marathon 2: Durandal, the character and Durandal are rumored to have escaped the end of the universe and become gods, so mabye Halo was just meant to be a better/different/more recent/more mass marketed version of marathon? Because marathon didn't sell as well, but had a very devoted fan base such as people like me and you all reading this.

sorry for a THIRD post, but just have to say this: Halo and Marathon were both based on different sci fi books, but there are similar ties between them, which means could they be just different generations of "battle roid" Mjolnir Mark IV Cyborgs? halo was based on a book by Ian M. Banks called Culture and another one by him called Consider Phlebas, which are both excellent books and even the cover has Halo on it. Marathon was based on the book, Marathon by Alexander Smith, both should be bought post haste if you want to understand the backgrounds of both.

oh wow holy crap i didn't think about this one, but the forerunner could be the alien pfhor ship that Durandal comandeers and takes across the Galaxy because as one point in the game it shows how Durandal went around the galaxy with his new warp drives and he meets up with you again in Marathon 2

and no, master chief is not BOB on the Pillar of Autumn, BOBs are second or any following generation of children born on a starship and that's the name they get. You wouldn't be called Master Chief but BOB and you aren't born, just brought out of stasis

who cares? if they're both good games, forget about it and just enjoy them!

marathon owns all...what can i say...

MASTER CHIEF WAS NOT "BORN" ON THE SHIP!
HE WASN'T "PUT TOGETHER"!

he is a cybernetically advanced HUMAN...
he was born from a mommy...do you know how that works? first, your mommy and daddy fuck each other...the momma gets fertilized and out you pop!

if i'm wrong feel FREE to correct me

Does it really matter if it is sqeual? I mean it is pretty cool that the DEVs for this game through in all this stuff and it probally was ment to be a sqeual in its early stages of planing but do you really think the name Marathon 4 would have sold to the XBOX gamers who at the time were looking foward to new, fresh and original titles.

Halo was like th only micorsoft only on xbox, for xbox, design by XOBX, to make xbox what it is game. Would have this game really drawn in the crouds? I mean it would have been seen a add on to an almost dead series. Sorta like peoples take on the plans for tribes 3.

I am just glad they made the gmae and am really happy to see that the programers (DEVs) took the time to add in these little reminders of Halos heritage in the gaming world.

True if you read the HALO books it is clear. Masta Cheif was born and is an enhanced person. I won't say human because they didn't make that clear. He comes from another world then earth. He is also the last of his class of powersuit enhanced warrior.

to "..."
the master chief was born yes. But so were the battleroids, the cyborgs are old dead bodies which are rebuilt. He was never born on the ship, yes, but if you read the intro in the manual, you see that he is "created", i'm not sure on the words they use, mabye trained, if so, then i'd need to rethink my argument, but he is "created" on the planet where the pillar of autumn came from. This sounds so much like what happened on the asteroids. But the master chief IS an enhanced person, but he was dead and then re-animated. he is in a powersuit and all, but these are all cybernetic enhancements and the suit is not the only source of power he holds.

The Covenet Symbols in the ship are the same as the marathon logo.

Wow, I can't believe this is even a debate.

Someone else pointed out the Marathon logo's presence within the Halo logo years ago, when Halo was first demoed on a Mac G3 at Macword. In an interview, Jason Jones (lead programmer and cofounder of Bungie) mentioned that there were "common threads" running throughout all of Bungie's games. The example he mentioned at the time was that in an earlier game of theirs, Minotaur (1992), the character can find a sword named Durandal.

I doubt the question "is Halo a sequel" matters. Bungie works common elements into their games.

waka

OK, that's it. I am now refering to Halo as "Marathon 4". No one will know what the hell I'm talking about, but hopefully it'll relieve a little of the anger I have that there is no and never will be a Halo for Mac.

This hole Strand got me very interested in delving deeper into this issue. And I found some very interesting things.

First I went to compare Timelines here's what I found:
In the Marathon Timeline there are constant events in the year 2000 era. But between 2472 and 2611 there are no events It mearly says: "(This century intentionally left blank. Seriously, nothing really happened.)".
Now I looked at the Fall of Reach Timline (Halo book) And found that every single event was from 2494 to 2552. That's a little interesting dont you think?

Also In the Marathon timeline it says "c.-6.4E07 (-60,000) Unnamed 'God' crashes on the Yucatan Peninsula in southeastern Mexico."

And in the Fall of Reach timeline it says " 2512 A geological survey team on Sigma Octanus IV finds rocks with odd compositions - these were introduced from meteor impacts roughly 60,000 years ago"

Both 60,000 years ago. Interesting no? I have just begun my research so I'm sure I will find more interesting tie ins later.

Nice job chris. Keem em coming!

My only reservation to thinking that Halo is the unofficial sequel is a bit of a technology lapse. In Marathon, there were obviously star-trek-like-transporters. BOB's transported in to help you out. In Halo, no there are no such things. Of course, you could argue that the transporters are located on the Pillar of Autumn and therefore could not be used at all, BUT the Halo novel makes absolutely no reference to any such device. I think there may have been another technology lapse that made gave me doubts, but that's the main one.

Wow, I never thought of that one, good job. It's pretty obvious when you think about it. But the big, BIG, thing we're missing, is the AI. Sure we have cortana and she's all good and all, but she isn't like the AIs out of Marathon who control different portions of the ship. Also the transporters...you SHOULD have them on PoA, but you don't. There are transporters though, and Cortana and the 343 Guilty Spark use them to transport you in different levels such as "343 Guilty Spark" and well...i forget the other one, but Cortana sends you in upside down because she's getting the hang of the transporters.
Thanks for the posting.

Actually there shouldn't necessarily be Teleportation technology in Halo. Halo is a prequal to Marathon, so Marathon is farther into the future.

You can get a wide shot of the control room quite easily......

You do it late on in the game, after you use the plasma pistol to shoot down the 4 sentinels and when you clear all the covenent and get out side, you make your way down the pyramid. You then get into a Bamshee....you then fly back on yourself into the pyramid and into the control room, now fly up and look down on control room from above. E A S Y.

As for your comparisons, I never played with a Mac before so I can't say, but old references to other stuff is always cool in my books.

The rocket launcher was actually *called* the SPNKR in Marathon: Durandal and Infinity, wasn't it?

I get so pissed when I see most-influential-games-lists claim Quake or Duke Nukem as being the games that brought 3D to first person shooters. I was fragging my friends on 6100s local-talked together years before Quake came about.

Actually, Cortana can control many parts of the ship, according to the Halo novel. From what I remember, Cortana can control the weapons and lay down an effective defense, can navigate, and do start up procedures. . .she pretty much has the run of the ship. In fact, all ships in the fleet had an AI. The Pillor of Autumn is unique in that is had two AI's, it's normal AI and the much more advanced Cortana, who was really developed as a supplement to the Spartan she (Cortana) chooses.

ya i noticed the name "Foehammer" in marathon a while ago too

Halo might have some relations like the emblems and the suit but i agree HALO IS NOT ANOTHER MARATHON really marathon got very old very fast

Bungie just was used to creating games around that area of intrest

Between the "A" and the "L," I see an "O" in that logo. Halo is EVIL, I tell you.

I don't know if anybody said this already, but Cortana is Durandal's counterpart sword. Charlesmagne had Durandal, his cousin had Cortana.

Halo also takes place some 3~400 years before Marathon. Plenty of time for the Flood, etc, to die and for Sph't and P'fhor to come around.

However, Halo is not Marathon 4. If anything, it's the prequel. It's like Command and Conquer and Red Alert. RA is the prequel to C&C, Marathon being C&C with Halo being RA.

There are a lot of similarities, yes, but not having played Marathon I can't say one way or the other.

However, you did kind of push out the fact that nearly all FPS games have some sort of King of the Hill.

Perfect Dark for the N64 has both a King of the Hill and a Capture the Case mode, where the object is to hold a briefcase for the longest. Unreal also has the Domination mode, where your team has to capture a specific location, and hold it for a set amount of time to earn points.

It's also important to point out that games include fan throwbacks all the time. In Perfect Dark, the guns from GoldenEye are displayed in the Weapons Testing area of the agency office.

Everyone who is saying no are you stupid Halo is not a sequel blah blah blah, is retarded. You should play both games before you make such an article blah blah blah of course they played both games or otherwise they wouldnt have any time of premise or basis for comparsion, also never once in the article does it say Halo is a sequel to marathon. The whole article poses the question is it a sequel? Some smart people have said no its not and these are the reasons but most people dont use their brains and just rant about how there no way that it is and have no support evidence. Maybe you all should take time to READ the article before ranting.

According to the Myth: The Total Codex production journal, Bungie stopped production on Marathon 4 to make Myth. Marathon 4 was going to be a 3D installment of Marathon. Wether or not the story was going to follow the others is not reported. Most likely the work they did for Marathon 4 evolved into Halo. If anyone running Windows wants to check out Marathon, Marathon 2 was ported, and the demo can be downloaded for free. You might want to check bungie.org if you're curious.

I wouldn't call Halo a sequel per se, it seems pretty obvious it's supposed to be it's own game. But I was long ago convinced that it takes place in the same universe as Marathon.

As somebody mentioned, the very interesting gap in the timeline of Marathon corresponds very nicely with the Halo timeline. The player in both games can't be the same person, because while Halo is taking place, the Marathon is en route to Tau Ceti, and for this same reason it also means that Durandal and Cortana cannot be the same AI. However, it is widely accepted that the player in Marathon is a Mjolnir Mark IV Cyborg. The similarities to this that turn up in Halo are too much to dismiss out of hand. They both certainly seem to be the same kind of entity.

After the first Marathon game, Durandal whisks the player off to Lh'owon in a stolen Pfhor ship. By the time he arrives there, in 2811, not only is the player halfway across the galaxy from any Halo-related events that may be occurring, it's also around 300 years later to boot. To me, this explains why there might not be much correlation between Halo and the events in the second and third game.

Well then, I suppose I could start out saying that I'm a big fan of Halo and that when I had a Mac a few years ago I played a little Marathon and loved it. It's kinda wierd, I'd actually forgotten about it until I read this and it gave some sort of crazy flashback/seizure due to the sudden realization that you were talking about "the" marathon (the first screenshot really did it for me)I don't really see why there's a debate over who's who. And what game is a sequel to what. Most annoying are the few who have posted that haven't played both games, you know who you are......(they like to scream "halo rules!" and usually have nothing worth saying) anyways, I would describe this thread as "Being riddles with pointless bickering and hoobjabbering with occasional bursts of piercing logic and rational creative thought."
And I'm done.....

well, now that u mention it, yeah, id have to agree with you. but ten again, witt he timeline of Marathon and Halo, would u call it a Sequel or Prequel?

i mean, in Halo they have the more advaced Tech but the Marathon was launched 200 years years before Halo, so that could b the reason for that.

as for manyof the people here who just cant accept the possibility, i think most o the jus dont want to admit that they would like anything that should be bearing the Marathon name

oh, and just a note to Malachai, the Briefcase game in Perfect Dark was not King of the Hill or anything like it. much more akin to the KtMWtB game. only real dif being the ability to run and use weapons.

King of the Hill is a lot diferent, and personally, i think its a hell of a lot more fun.

and teh last note.. i swear.. is that the placement of the Marathon symbol scarily enough makes it AOL

so yeah

You put up a fairly good arguement and I was almost convinced. But reading up on the stories of both I would say that it was just Marathon reverences thrown into the game as something some people would get. But calling it a sequel because of an Easter Egg would be like calling Dukem Nukem a sequel to Doom because the Doom character makes an appearance. Now that I think of it though...doesn't the guy from the Doom and Quake games look eerily like the guy from Halo?

Look at Final Fantasy games. Different worlds, same names, places, music (even a character named Cid).

You really can't blame bungie for using some logos, and names from a previous project.

By the way, Halo IS the best FPS game ever created. Nothing can change that.

Marathon was one of the first computer games I ever played, and I played a lot of it. A friend had a small LAN in his house and we would play Marathon for hours. I would have to agree that HALO is just a logical sequel to the whole Marathon series. Too bad Microsoft snatched it up in an effort to aid the Xbox.

Yes, Stephen, that was my point. All the games these days have a KotH/KtMWtB form of play.

ya missed an obvious one. Marathon logo on its side in the 'O'.

Bobs are Born On Board's.

The graphic on the main page that links to this
article seemed to be about Halo and AOL, rather
than the connections between Halo and Marathon.
The red circle between the "a" and "l" of HALO
threw me off ;)

Spin-off. Not a sequel, a spin-off.

Microsoft should burn in hell for buying Bungie and ruining their original vision for Halo. Theres your proof it wasn't a Marathon sequel right there. If you had been to the Halo site like I had many times before Microsoft bought Bungie you'd know that Halo was actually intended to be, well... Planetside. That was their original vision. Maybe not the massive multiplayer part of it, max of 64 people per game more likely. I can't remember exactly but I dont think it was even supposed to be a FPS, more like 3rd, I can't be exact on that due to all that info has been erased from their site since Microsoft bought it and told them "We need this game out soon, just make it a FPS" then decided to rush Bungie, which is why the game is the same damn levels going in as it is coming out. But it was supposed to be a game with huge battle areas lots of people, the same Vehicles they have in Halo, but lots LOTS more like Planetside. Screw you Microsoft, Screw you.

Y'know, there's a ton of people that go on and on about this stuff at halo.bungie.org

Things here that, if you don't know anything about Marathon, like me, will completely blow your mind.

Check out one of the real "Master Chiefs"...(maybe the name is Bungie's little commentary on Navy vs. Marines?)..

http://www.cnrc.navy.mil/regionnorth/newengland/cmc.htm

If you haven't been priveliged enough to have a Mac, Aleph One(based off official Marathon 2 opensourced code) should let you play on Windows or Linux. They have demo files converted to PC formats as well. The current screenshot for today looks as if it can only get better...

(Responding to Droch's post) Hopefully, Halo 2 will fit Bungie's original vision better. I've got some preview movies of Halo from before MS bought Bungie, and they're quite different from the final game.

Regarding the similarities, there are undeniably ties between Halo and Marathon, just as there are ties between Marathon and Pathways into Darkness (check out bungie.org, if you haven't already).

As to why Bungie didn't call the game Marathon 4, first, it's a totally different storyline, and set at a different time, even if it's related and set in the same universe.

Second, Bungie had (they used to, I don't know if it's still there) a page on their web site regarding Marathon 4. It said something like this: There's a painting in the Bungie offices. In the painting are a group of people, Bungie employees IIRC, surrounding a dead horse, kicking it. Upon closer examination, a label is seen on the horse: Marathon 4.

Maybe Halo is a prequel to the Marathon series? And maybe that's why all the races are seen with the Marathon symbol because Bungie will eventually all tie it in to the Marathon series.

Or bungie could just be having fun to see if the fanbase gets the allusions =) Hell, that's what I would. Most companies do that anyhow with different games.

i don't understand the hype surrounding halo; there wasn't anything very groundbreaking or terribly exciting about it. sure, it was fun but not to warrent so much attention.

Thats exactly what I mean J, if you watch those videos, the game was completely different, I was extremely excited with the direction bungie was going to take a Battlefield type game... then Microsoft... bleah...

Thats exactly what I mean J, if you watch those videos, the game was completely different, I was extremely excited with the direction bungie was going to take a Battlefield type game... then Microsoft... bleah...

I'm Bak again. Why does cortana say "If I still had fingers, they'd be crossed. " This implies she was once human, or that she used to be a cyborg or something. Any suggestions?

mmm... marathon.
anyhow, the most telling point for me (besides the spanker) is that your character in Marathon 1-3 is a Mjolnir Mk IV cyborg, and the Master Chief is wearing Mjolnir Mk.V armor.
The "marathon" symbol is actually the UESC symbol, and so it doesn't have to be tied directly to the Marathon. So, how many sevens are in Halo?
Hats off to eight nineteen.

Maratho OWNS all, cortana is an AI who is an exact copy of Dr. Catherine Halsey, who was killed when Reach fell. You can find out more by reading "The Fall of Reach."

Why the hell do u hav 2 go n make up these stories 4 me it just ruins the originality and amazing gameplay dat Halo is. U shoud be prazing it as a game not as somethin it msy or may not hav intended to be. Is it a great game... Yes, then who carse if it was a sequel its just as good either way!!!

This is the type of discussion that gives the hardcore fans their legitimacy. But it's really boring to read and frankly, who cares? What is it with people and their perpetual arguments about the cockpit dimensions of an X-Wing or some other sci-fi related issue? How about the suggestion that these imaginary worlds aren't set in stone and oftentimes very much related? Do you know what a format is?

I've never played Marathon, but I am aware of the similarities between the two, and what caught my eye while readign the book was "Marathon-class" Cruiser, the largest ships in the UNSC fleet. I think.

I've never played Marathon, but I am aware of the similarities between the two, and what caught my eye while readign the book was "Marathon-class" Cruiser, the largest ships in the UNSC fleet. I think.

You made a coment about Master Chief's name is Bob. I don't know if you are serious or just making a point but if you read the fall of reach, master chief's real name is John.

Guys i think that bungie simply put that stuff in so fans of marathon could go "oh, oh that was in marathon" i know that i have played several games by the same companies and noticed references from other games i.e. Sacrifice the company that makes earthworm jim made a game called sacrafice with gods and stuff and the god of earth was james and he was an earthworm and i was like "oh, oh earthworm jim thats awesome." and i felt really smart for knowing it so maybe they put that stuff in so that you would feel cool for noticing it.

the first sacrifice in my post should be shiny

i think all of you guys except for satan are complete and total jackasses for even trying the game halo to any of the marathon games its cooler sleeker has beter graphics and not to mention if any of you idiots have not noticed the xbox controler was almost completely designed just for halo i dont know how any of you are so stupid as to not realize it but not only that but this game was the xbox primary flagship game marathon didnt have a hole system and controller layout made for it not to mention that halo got the rating of best game of the year by over1million newspapers and magazines the world over and you can tell that bungie spent more time on the storyline and
graphics of halo thanthey evver thought about doing on the marathon games so you stupid dumbass petefiling sissys you better do some real thinking before ever puting down a game asgreat as halo or the halo sequel or even begining too compare what qiute possibly be the two best games ever created with any other low rate cheap ass garbage that you might even consider to be half way deacent buncha dumb shit eat dumb jackass mother fuckers that you all are people like you aughta burn in hell crack sniffen potsmoken drugie nogood for anything bastards.
Oh and P.S. Im a redneck southern boy and was able to realize this and say something to yall stupid fuckers so HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.!

oops i ment to put compare inthe first sentence of thepost i aplyed there so justput that in your head instead of trying P.S. the KKK says yalll suck and im right

Halo was originally written for the Mac. Micro$oft bought Bungie while halo was 40/50% complete. Thus stopping such a great game coming to a rival OS. Plus they actually had a decent game for X-box, so they could actually sell the consoles as soon as they were released, rather than hoping some one would make a decent game off there own backs, which so wouldn't happen in time for the console to survive. It was very good marketing on Micro$ofts behalf.

They even promised that the mac version would not be delayed, but it never even made it to the mac.

Well, maybe they ran out of ideas. But Halo was suppose to be a RTS game at first. Then it turned into the FPS it is today. Interesting article...

Well, maybe they ran out of ideas. But Halo was suppose to be a RTS game at first. Then it turned into the FPS it is today. Interesting article...

Well, maybe they ran out of ideas. But Halo was suppose to be a RTS game at first. Then it turned into the FPS it is today. Interesting article...

He's got a few things wrong about Marathon, but some good points in general.

The Marathon logo is, in the Marathon game, the logo of the UESC, or (I believe) the United Earth Space Corps.

Marathon VacBOBs aren't wearing Mk IV armor, but the Player is a Mjolnir Mk IV cyborg. Also, the fans didn't name the rocket launcher spanker, Bungie did.

However, I don't think Halo was meant to be a "sequel". It could be placed in the same universe (called the Maraverse by some) in a different time.

its long been known that halo is set in the same universe as marathon, i knew that before halo came out, it was mentione din practically every priview and review around the release

Did you ever consider the possibility that Bungie was perhaps referencing its past success for those who were around to see it? I hate to say it, but Mac gaming was and is still a bit of a niche market - not a whole lot of folks played the Marathon titles. For a casual fan who comes to H.A.L.O. unaware of other games, stuff like the symbols, "Spanker", and whatnot are just neat little touches for the universe. And for the hardcore fans who flame each other over whether or not the name of the armor was "MJOLNIR", Bungie tossed in those things to say, "Hey, remember this?"

Excellent observations, but while were on the topic we might as well call MYTH:TFL the prequel to marathon/halo because it shares the same types of small eastereggs/nitpicks. "FROG BLAST THE VENT CORE" anyone?
Personally i think if Halo is Marathon 4 then it's a piece of trash and if it's not.... it's still a piece of trash and a disgrace to the marathon series. Sorry after all that waiting i was bitterly disappointed with Halo. Aside from that the story and the characters don't have nearly the impact Marathon had, and NO Marathon is not only about the colony ship U.E.S.C. Marathon, it's about the mind, existence, and the number SEVEN.

"SMELLS LIKE NAPALM,TASTES LIKE CHICKEN"

-KT

Oh, yeah almost forgot. The rocket launcher from M1-Minfinity was also called the SPNKR. I've never heard of it referred to as the spanker myself. Now all they need to do is make the 'Zeus Class Fusion pistol' for halo 2 (and while we're at it throw in some S'PHT, Jjarro, and Pfhor and we'll have a full fledged sequel.

PS- Halo also has roots from an excellent book (series) called 'Ringworld' by Larry Niven. Great Read!

"Microsoft should burn in hell for buying Bungie and ruining their original vision for Halo. Theres your proof it wasn't a Marathon sequel right there. If you had been to the Halo site like I had many times before Microsoft bought Bungie you'd know that Halo was actually intended to be, well... Planetside. That was their original vision. Maybe not the massive multiplayer part of it, max of 64 people per game more likely. I can't remember exactly but I dont think it was even supposed to be a FPS, more like 3rd, I can't be exact on that due to all that info has been erased from their site since Microsoft bought it and told them "We need this game out soon, just make it a FPS" then decided to rush Bungie, which is why the game is the same damn levels going in as it is coming out. But it was supposed to be a game with huge battle areas lots of people, the same Vehicles they have in Halo, but lots LOTS more like Planetside. Screw you Microsoft, Screw you."
-originally posted by Droch
See now this guy knows what he's talking about; it was gonna have massive multiplayer battles of Humans vs Covenant with massive Air/Sea/Land vehicles. AND IF THAT WASNT ENOUGH YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE ABLE TO EXPLORE THE ENTIRE RING WITHOUT LOAD TIMES!!!!!!!!

I S'PHT ON YOUR GRAVE M$!!!!!!!!!!!

THIS KID JUST REACHED PUBERTY,

"i think all of you guys except for satan are complete and total jackasses for even trying the game halo to any of the marathon games its cooler sleeker has beter graphics and not to mention if any of you idiots have not noticed the xbox controler was almost completely designed just for halo i dont know how any of you are so stupid as to not realize it but not only that but this game was the xbox primary flagship game marathon didnt have a hole system and controller layout made for it not to mention that halo got the rating of best game of the year by over1million newspapers and magazines the world over and you can tell that bungie spent more time on the storyline and
graphics of halo thanthey evver thought about doing on the marathon games so you stupid dumbass petefiling sissys you better do some real thinking before ever puting down a game asgreat as halo or the halo sequel or even begining too compare what qiute possibly be the two best games ever created with any other low rate cheap ass garbage that you might even consider to be half way deacent buncha dumb shit eat dumb jackass mother fuckers that you all are people like you aughta burn in hell crack sniffen potsmoken drugie nogood for anything bastards.
Oh and P.S. Im a redneck southern boy and was able to realize this and say something to yall stupid fuckers so HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA."
-originally posted by inuyasha

Hey buddy try playing the game before you go on bashing it like a retarded xbox fanboy.

THIS KID JUST REACHED PUBERTY,

"i think all of you guys except for satan are complete and total jackasses for even trying the game halo to any of the marathon games its cooler sleeker has beter graphics and not to mention if any of you idiots have not noticed the xbox controler was almost completely designed just for halo i dont know how any of you are so stupid as to not realize it but not only that but this game was the xbox primary flagship game marathon didnt have a hole system and controller layout made for it not to mention that halo got the rating of best game of the year by over1million newspapers and magazines the world over and you can tell that bungie spent more time on the storyline and
graphics of halo thanthey evver thought about doing on the marathon games so you stupid dumbass petefiling sissys you better do some real thinking before ever puting down a game asgreat as halo or the halo sequel or even begining too compare what qiute possibly be the two best games ever created with any other low rate cheap ass garbage that you might even consider to be half way deacent buncha dumb shit eat dumb jackass mother fuckers that you all are people like you aughta burn in hell crack sniffen potsmoken drugie nogood for anything bastards.
Oh and P.S. Im a redneck southern boy and was able to realize this and say something to yall stupid fuckers so HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA."
-originally posted by inuyasha

Hey buddy try playing the game before you go on bashing it like a retarded xbox fanboy, IF IT WERENT FOR NICE PEOPLE LIKE JASON JONES AND ALEX SEROPIAN AND DOUG ZARTMAN PACKAGING COPIES OF MARATHON/P.I.D. IN THEIR BASEMENT HALO WOULDN'T EVEN EXIST.

I've got some criticism for some of the critics here:

Don't criticize an article until you've read it. If you have read it, but find yourself unable to comprehend it, go get an education, then post.

This article was well-formatted, well-researched, and posted for YOUR edification and consideration. The author has obviously played both games (as explicitly stated in the article) and has visited the official Bungie (and other) websites pertaining to both games (as explicitly stated and linked to in the "resources" section). The similarities presented go well beyond the persistent Marathon logo and graphical similarities.

I do, however, agree with those who testify that Halo is not a true sequel, but rather a new game in the distinctive tradition of the Marathon series.

I don't know if any of you noticed this...

just my personal opinion but i simply think that bungie are just paying an homage to their previous games.
kinda like the final fantasy games - theyre not sequels as such because its brand news stories and all - just another FPS from Square. the only real sequels are FFX-1/2 (which i havent played any of, only played FF7 and 8 heh).
ah well thats my opinion anyway

Okay. Saying Halo is a Marathon sequel is like saying that Perfect Dark was a sequel to Goldeneye. Sure, they're similar in many, many respects. The only problem with your arguement is that YOU AREN'T EVEN IN THE SAME UNIVERSE, let alone within the same ballpark. I think we can all agree that PD is in no way Goldeneye:2, right? :P

The same goes for Timesplitters 2 [if there was a Timesplitters 1 I never got around to playing it so don't bring it up]. TS2 is also very similar to PD/Goldeneye, and it's not a sequel to either of them. Companies take good ideas from within their organization and run with them. It doesn't make them have any continuity besides genre and gameplay. Sequels tend to have some element of transition between games, or at least tie up loose ends and involve each other at some level.

tell me who the fuck still plays on Mac anyway!? If you want games then get a real gaming platform, not a fancy text processor...

Something that I don't think anyone else has pointed out, is the similarity between the Marathon logo, and the Quake logo. Perhaps some of the developers of Quake were Marathon fans.

I've never played, or even heard of, Marathon, but after reading all of this I am very interested. Does anyone know where I can download a copy of this game? I wonder if it will work on Mac OSX?

does that mean halo is like aliens 2.5 or something because they have like a sgt who was like apone from the movie and like the marines who tag along with you are like the USCM

"Okay. Saying Halo is a Marathon sequel is like saying that Perfect Dark was a sequel to Goldeneye. Sure, they're similar in many, many respects. The only problem with your arguement is that YOU AREN'T EVEN IN THE SAME UNIVERSE, let alone within the same ballpark. I think we can all agree that PD is in no way Goldeneye:2, right? :P

Posted by: Ray

The same goes for Timesplitters 2 [if there was a Timesplitters 1 I never got around to playing it so don't bring it up]. TS2 is also very similar to PD/Goldeneye, and it's not a sequel to either of them. Companies take good ideas from within their organization and run with them. It doesn't make them have any continuity besides genre and gameplay. Sequels tend to have some element of transition between games, or at least tie up loose ends and involve each other at some level.

Posted by: Ray
tell me who the fuck still plays on Mac anyway!? If you want games then get a real gaming platform, not a fancy text processor...

Posted by: RJ"

Sorry i really need to clarify a few things, so at the risk of sounding like a smart A$$....

Ray, Perfect Dark did take place in the same universe. It was on Earth (for the most part) wasn't it. Beyond that they all (007,PD,TS1/2) play the exact same way because it's the same team that made all 4 of those games they just broke off from Rare and formed Free Radical. So i suppose they felt like evolving the FPS' gameplay throughout all 4 of those titles.

RJ, there are plenty of people who still play on macs and that trend is increasing. Just so you know though, Halo PREMIERED at Macworld 99, and some of the first footage of Doom 3 was shown at Macworld 01. That and macs aren't fancy text processors, for an example of what macs are generally used for go watch any movie that has really nice cg and ask the artists what kind of computer they have.

PEACE

Just a quick note that Tribes 2 had a similar multiplayer mode, where whoever held something for the longest amount of time wins.

"I've never played, or even heard of, Marathon, but after reading all of this I am very interested. Does anyone know where I can download a copy of this game? I wonder if it will work on Mac OSX?

Posted by: SubSpecies23"

Well, Sub, i believe they still allow you to buy the Marathon trilogy at bungie.com (wouldn't really know since i stopped paying any attention to bungie since the M$ buyout) and if you would like to play it on OSX then goto source.bungie.org and download Marathon:Aleph One. It's got all those goodies you'd expect from an open source project; openGl, windows/linux support for Marathon1/infinity, internet play etc. VERY FUN STUFF! :)

Forgive the use of a fake e-mail, but I so hate inundation with spam. Now then...

As a fellow Mac Gamer (our poor beleagured platform that can handle PC titles better than PCs), I think that you might be onto something. All PC users DO is scoff at us and our games. If they hadn't SEEN you playing Escape Velocity, they wouldn't care no matter what. And I think that goes ditto for Marathon, unfortunately. It's a stigma, and the lot of you PC gaming twinks can't admit it-and that's fine. But be honest with yourselves.

As I recall, Bungie WAS working on Marathon 4 and scrapped it for Halo. And you guys are right-the games are essentially identical and different at the same time. I'm not even going to get into a continuity argument here-though it would stand to reason that this is more than 20 years down the line from Marathon Infinity. And as for scrapping the Halo moniker and calling it Marathon 4, what's wrong with calling it Halo?

We Mac guys need to be honest here too. We're ticked off that Microshaft bought Bungie-more than that, it's probably going to be the beginning of the end for a great game studio. The great Myth platform battle will cease to exist, and instead we'll have microsoft raking these Bungie guys against the coals to pound out successful FORMULAIC game after game.

Honestly... Regardless of this whole Marathon/Halo conspiracy as you might like to think of it... We all lost on this deal.

I've never played Marathon myself, but when the first similarities came up I took an interest & looked into it.

The article is great, clearly written with a great deal of enthusiasm & as one of the most die hard Halo fans out there, was very impressed with it.

I was wondering if you had ever submitted this article to www.halo.bungie.org as they have a huge resource of such things & I am certain much of what you have found has not been uncovered by anyone else.

Good work!

hey, this is the first time I've ever visited a gaming site designed for women! thats awesome! on topic now: very nice detective work on the marathon similarities. I dont necissarily agree that Halo is just a sequel to the Marathon series, but I do believe Halo was based on the concept of Marathon. Just my 2 cents worth

Lazar;

You must be mistaken; bungie specifically stated that they were going to end the series with Infinity, which is the reason they released the map/physics editors with it (and soon after, the trilogy).

For anyone who's interested; after finishing Myth2:Soulblighter (an extraordinary 3d rts game that featured smooth flowing terrain) one of the devs supposedly tinkered with the engine so that he could run around on the landscape in first person. Pretty much how bungie actually started work on halo.

Yes, the similarities are there as with all the bungie games. Everybody says they're everywhere. Not just the grunts and the marines, but the poachers in Myth II: Soulblighter. You can't say that a game is a prequel or sequel unless the creators of the game (bungie in this case) announce it.

"There are only two infinites:human stupidity and the universe, and I'm not too sure about the universe." -Albert Einstien

I got this from an interview with the Halo Team, from XBN Issue 02.

Talking about the character you play in the original Marathon and Master Chief
"I don't think you ever find that out, but it's the same character. God, we've never said that before, but it's completely obvious. Cortana isn't in Marathon, but there are three AI's in there that came from the same stylistic storyline." - Alex Seropian (Bungie co-founder)

Additionally, Seropian says that Halo (the concept/seed of, started with Marathon

In the interview they also mention that Halo as a game was originally designed to be like their game Myth. This concept evolved mumerous times, to become the Halo we know today.

After this concept was changes to a 3rd person action game, Marcus Lehto and his art team began work on the "Halo Universe", developing concepts for characters and vechiles.

After reading this interview, as well as this post, it is my personal opinion that Marathon and it's concepts, played a huge role in the influencing and shaping of Halo. Many of the character types and comcepts carried over to Halo. It may be a spirtual sequel to Marathon, but Halo and its universe is techniquelly seperate from Marathons.

I just spent an entire night looking at different sites and forums trying to figure out the infamous "Cortanas Letters", before I stumbled upon this site. All the information in this article is just a very small piece of the puzzle. I personally believe that Halo is actually a prequel to the Marathon, and I'll list my reasons why I believe this.
Since I started my search with "Cortanas Letters", I'll start here. For those unfamiliar with the letters, they were originally sent to marathon.bungie.org in 1999 from "Cortana", who was assumed to be, and never denied to be, an employee of Bungie. Nathan Bitner was the person who was believed to be the one responsible, however he did as anyone would and denied it. In the second of 6 letters, one line reads "There was a fourth. You couldn't have known. And I haven't forgotten." At first I thought it was blatantly saying that there's a fourth marathon game. However, reading some information on the marathon series, I now believe that it's in reference to the AI structures. The sentences "You couldn't have known. And I haven't forgotten." imply that "the fourth" has existed for quite some time, but information on it was lost.
Also, many people referred to the use of teleports in marathon, while there is only one instance of teleportation in halo, and it wasn't even human technology. Well, one thing that must be mentioned, is that many (if not most) technological milestones were reached at times of war, when the government(s) need to have an edge over their enemies. So if Halo is indeed a prequel, it only makes sense that some technology wouldn't be available to the MC.
While there are still many more reasons for my believing that Halo is a prequel to Marathon, I'll only write one more since this is getting quite long. That last point is the marathon logo being in the halo logo. I know that it could just be homage to the classic game, but I just don't believe that Bungie would do something that blatant considering all the other "homages" in the game. I just think that Microsoft wanted a game that wasn't going to be connected with games they had no affiliation with (also, if you label a game a sequel, it immediately goes under comparisons of the original). So, Bungie accomodated Microsofts want for an original game, as well as accomodate the fans need for another chapter in the marathon world, even if it is, an unofficial one.
With all that being said, I must point out that I am not saying that Halo is in FACT a prequel. Only Bungie can make that statement. However I do say that since the comparisons are too much to call, Halo is AT THE VERY LEAST, a RE-TELLING of what was, and still is a fantastic, deep, story, and is sure to be just as fantastic. Both games are incredibly detailed in the story, and I think we all agree, when I say that we eagerly wait for the release of Halo 2, connection to Marathon or not.

Thanks for your time,

Joshua W. De Vries

Here's what I use as proof they are in the same universe based on the gameplay as well as reading both official books.

Note: I said same universe. Halo is not Marathon 4 because of the difference in story and location. If you wore Mark IV armor in Marathon it would make it impossible for Master Chief to be the main character, which rules out the Prequel hypothesis.

1. MJOLNIR armor is actually Project MJOLNIR, the code name for the Mark V armor. If you read Fall of Reach carefully you will not only notice that it mentions this, but it also describes the Master Chief and the spartans training against people wearing old "prototype Mark I armor" for their protection.

Dr. Haley: "Yes I know all about the Mark I prototypes. We had to scrap the concept and redesign battle armor from the ground up for the MJOLNIR project."

2. Quote: "The Pillar of Autumn is forty-three years old," Cortana said. "Halcyon-class ships were the smallest vessel ever to recieve the cruiser designation. It is approximately one-third the tonnage of Marathon-class cruiser currently in service." I'm sure this means something.

3. Similarities between the weapons as mentioned above, not to mention the fact that AIs are used all the time in ships in the Halo books. Also, putting the Marathon logo smack in the center of the Halo logo is too direct to be just a passing reference. Its too much to deny and say "they are just paying homage" or "Halo is teh best and you sux cause I dont pay any atention to waht anyoen said!!!"

You know, I'm amazed at how many people have nothing more to say then:
"no ur wrong Halo rulez so marthon sux ballz so i'm right"

Halo = Marathon Spinoff

Master Chief = VacBob with lots of experience (Master Chief is the highest possible Navy enlisted rank, "eagle claws and two stars over three chevrons." I have to wonder what his rate is…)

UESC Marathon was Demios, the moon of Mars converted into a colony ship, not a class of vessle.

Let's not forget Thoth, the S'pht AI, the incarnation of Tao- always favored the underdog and never ever helped the one with more strength.

Tycho was destroyed in the original Pfhor attack, Durandal damaged and freed as a sapient being, and Leela unscathed but later killed, reverse-engineered, and mass produced for a Pfhor data network. Tycho was rebuilt by the Pfhor and turned on Durandal after gaining sentience.

And never forget that "Pillar of Autumn!!" is a fantastic swearword to use during LAN play, which loosely translates into "oh, you pathetic failure! a monkey on crack could've done better!"

maybe they just didn't want to call it Marathon 4, cuz marathon sounds like a running game, does it not? halo sounds much cooler

There are a lot of tie-ins to Marathon and it feels like there should be some kind of connection. Hopefully Halo 2 will give us some kind of insight as to whether it is a prequel to the Marathon series (some of the tech, namely AIs and starships, seems primitive compared to what was in Marathon).

I love this kind of thing. . .and wish Halo 2 had more of it.

Like El Mariachi vs Desperado. A little bit sequel, little bit. . .remake.

All fun. . .

HI
i think that be good ((( Halo 2 i think is beter )))

Every theory has its critics. I personally feel a great deal of investigative reporting and research has been done here, and here is significant evidence to assert that Halo is in fact a sequel to the lesser known Marathon series. Being a PC gamer primarily, I understand how a game like Marathon could slip under the radar, but a great friend of mine pointed it out to me when Marathon 2: Durandal was released. So I did fortunately get a chance to take a look at it, I went back and played the first, then eagerly awaited the third. While I did form my own theory with my friends that Halo was Marathon 4, they brought up similar arguments that similarities do not necessarily define a sequel, merely homage. Is Bungie paying homage to a game long in their past? Perhaps, but I think they want to continue Marathon and bring it all to the public eye.

My personal take is that Halo isn't a sequel to marathon as such - but it does take place in the universe ... I guess a similar kind of situation would be something like Star Trek or something ... where each of the stories take place in different places at different times, with different characters and stories, but there are marked similarities between them. Just a thought.

Anyone who thinks that Bungie would simply "homage" does not know Bungie. All references to the event several million years ago, for instance, refer to the Bungie game "Pathways Into Darkness". Who would keep this ancient game's timeline going through three concecutive games and believe the obious Marathoneque references are just "thrown in"?


Seriously, I know nobody has posted here in months, but without spending a good day's reading at the Marathon Story Page which does a better job analyzing Halo than the Halo pages have. Pay specific details to the Timeline of Marathon compared to the Timeline of Halo. (Marathon launches from Earth just before Halo's storyline really begins, but the Marathon games start at least 200 years after the Fall of Reach.)


Put all this together and it suggests that Halo happens before Marathon but, with all the unignorable similarities, in the same universe.


Of course, Bungie muddles things by saying (in the game) that the Marathon dates may be corrupt. No doubt we will discover more in later Halo games.


Oh, and to the whole religious "blah blah sucks" arguments: It's been so long since there's been an actual story in a popular computer game that there's no surprise the modern-day hack-box kiddies don't recognize the value of one.

Did I say "months"? I meant "hours".

halo is a wicked ame I don't know why you guys are dumping on it so much just stfu and play the damn game !!

halo is a wicked ame I don't know why you guys are dumping on it so much just stfu and play the damn game !!

halo is a wicked ame I don't know why you guys are dumping on it so much just stfu and play the damn game !!

Liked Halo. Never played Marathon, but after reading the article and all the responses I believe that Halo is not really a sequel or prequel, but a seperate side story that takes place in the same universe. I believe that the events in each game relate to each other and that they'll probably be tied together somewhere down the line.

Now I don't understand all this insecurity about Halo though. No one said that it wasn't a good game, people are just pointing out that it may be part of a greater storyline... and what's wrong with that?

well I'm a big halo fan.
but if you think for a moment and look at the marathon sign . . then remember on halo, where the master chief, A.I meet cortana, you can see that thing they stand on is the same shape as the sign. now to get to the Halo sign it self, you can see that it looks like that bridge master chief, A.I., and cortana where standing on.
im my mind I think the sign on the Halo sign is part of the map that master chief goes on to get the constrip. and to your "spanker" and other one spnkr maybe the guys at bungie decided to use the other names? instead of making up new ones.
but if it is a remake? then it should take marathon one's place as a better version of the game ok lol.
cuz this game is way to good to be compared to some lame ass 90's game.
and another thing! the guy in marathon does not have a his whole body coverd unlike master chief.
thats my icing on da cake bitch!

well I'm a big halo fan.
but if you think for a moment and look at the marathon sign . . then remember on halo, where the master chief, A.I meet cortana, you can see that thing they stand on is the same shape as the sign. now to get to the Halo sign it self, you can see that it looks like that bridge master chief, A.I., and cortana where standing on.
im my mind I think the sign on the Halo sign is part of the map that master chief goes on to get the constrip. and to your "spanker" and other one spnkr maybe the guys at bungie decided to use the other names? instead of making up new ones.
but if it is a remake? then it should take marathon one's place as a better version of the game ok lol.
cuz this game is way to good to be compared to some lame ass 90's game.
and another thing! the guy in marathon does not have a his whole body coverd unlike master chief.
thats my icing on da cake bitch!

Your point is clear but Perfect Dark also had King of the Hill

I hope all you people still realise that Halo, was originally supposed to be out on PC instead of XBOX

I hope all you people still realise that Halo, was originally supposed to be out on PC instead of XBOX. Watch some of the originall PC trailers, and you will see how much it was changed for the XBOX.

to "lol" you are a dumbass if you think that to be true, Halo was developed as a FPS game for XBOX by Bungie, a sub-let corporation of XBOX, yes yes, xbox is a microsoft product with mainly computer-type engines but still, if it was designed for PC then it would have been on PC first, and the PC game sucks comparitively. Also all of you who think Halo is really a sequel to marathon need to pull your heads out of your ass and wake the hell up. numeber one read the book Halo: The Fall of reach and you will see that JOHN, NOT BOB is the master cheif and NON CYBORG HUMAN who has been genetically altered at a previous dad, cryogenically frozen to be used for alter cambative experiences and not armed with class IV armor or class V armor but he is clad in armor known as MJOLNIR. Also the Covenant is no new threat to the UNSC forces as the battle has raged for years, the name slips my mind but that is not the same as the Marathon name, so what if there are "easter eggs" until i see that damn easter bunny i'm going to call Halo by it's name and not Marothon 4.

Its not a sequal in some respect, the designers of Halo were probably just influenced from Marathon back in their youth. I'm sure Marathon has influences from other earlier games/films/comics too.

Its not a sequal in some respect, the designers of Halo were probably just influenced from Marathon back in their youth. I'm sure Marathon has influences from other earlier games/films/comics too.

I have a new idia, what to meik new game called star ship troopers it is a vidio byt it would make a great game in the right hands and if you do plees send me a copy of it and halo 2 I allredy have halo 1 and, congradulations wickid, and well done.

People are extremely aggressive about these sort of comments, aren't they?

I haven't played any of the Marathon games, but I do find Halo fun. I'll have to look for the Marathon logo in the game! Thanks for writing a great article.

Has anyone seen the similarities between the Fusion Pistol in Marathon and the Plasma Pistol in Halo?

Halo takes place in the same universe but takes place 200 years after the launch of the UESC Marathon Colony Ship.

Does anyone other than me see the striking similarity between Durandal and 343 Guilty Spark?

Cortana will likely go rampant in Halo 2 or perhaps Halo 3.

Has anyone seen the similarities between the Fusion Pistol in Marathon and the Plasma Pistol in Halo?

Halo takes place in the same universe but takes place 200 years after the launch of the UESC Marathon Colony Ship.

Does anyone other than me see the striking similarity between Durandal and 343 Guilty Spark?

Cortana will likely go rampant in Halo 2 or perhaps Halo 3.

Has anyone seen the similarities between the Fusion Pistol in Marathon and the Plasma Pistol in Halo?

Halo takes place in the same universe but takes place 200 years after the launch of the UESC Marathon Colony Ship.

Does anyone other than me see the striking similarity between Durandal and 343 Guilty Spark?

Cortana will likely go rampant in Halo 2 or perhaps Halo 3.

I have played both halo and marathon and loved them both. Not sure if any of this has be menchond (to much here to read in one sitting)but first marathon had a flame thrower and halo was suppose to and second if you have played halo you know the MC is not an andriod or like because he takes his helmet off!

games rule

games rule

Id also like to point out the marathon logo is on the tip of the pipe captain keyes is holding.

thats totally ridiculous. plenty of games from the same companies have easter eggs from previous games.the only people who would call halo marathon 4 would be marathon fanatics who cant seem to handle the fact that the marathon series is dead, as in not being continued. besides the armor is not mark v armor. Thats the prequisisit to the mjolnir armor that mc and the spartans use in halo.and the rocket launcher, that just says that bungi liked what they did and wanted to keep things similar. besides diddnt they just finish 3 marathons. i mean, thats a lot of time in wich they were using the same development methods on the same platforms using the same ideas. its not hard to belive any of this but is no way is HALO a marathon. if really want to know read the first two halo books their both approved by bungi.

thats totally ridiculous. plenty of games from the same companies have easter eggs from previous games.the only people who would call halo marathon 4 would be marathon fanatics who cant seem to handle the fact that the marathon series is dead, as in not being continued. besides the armor is not mark v armor. Thats the prequisisit to the mjolnir armor that mc and the spartans use in halo.and the rocket launcher, that just says that bungi liked what they did and wanted to keep things similar. besides diddnt they just finish 3 marathons. i mean, thats a lot of time in wich they were using the same development methods on the same platforms using the same ideas. its not hard to belive any of this but is no way is HALO a marathon. if really want to know read the first two halo books their both approved by bungi.

You know, I think several people here have made very credible points. I have played both games, surprising for a dedicated PC user, and they bear quite a remarkable similarity. (I STILL hate those idiotic one-button mice) In any case, both games are landmark software, and should be treated as such. Wether or not one is the other is rather irrelivant, I think. Perhaps it is a batter idea to spend the time playing the games, rather than debating their lineage.

Hi, i'm not trying to be mean or rude or anything but i came across this website and it really got to me. i'm a really big fan of Halo. i don't know what "Marathon" is but by the pics i see, it seems like Halo and Marathon do have some similarities but Halo has much better graphics then Marathon and why would u want to call a war-killing-alien game "Marathon"? if i just heard that name and not seen the game, i would thought it's about marathons and stuff. no, Halo is a better name and it sounds more interesting. wut really got me going was when i saw pics from the game and where you guys found stuff belonging to the Marathong game. so what? maybe Bungie just wanted to put some memories of that game on Halo for Marathon-lovers. jeez, it's nothing devastating, no offence. i love playing Halo but this just really got me mad. it's like as if wut Bungie did was a crime, but really, no. and i'd like to say that Kahless is right, why the hell care if they have similarities? they still have differences here people. oh, and uway 44 is totally right. frig, if u people could see these things, u guys are paranoid, no offence. Roger also has a point there about the Master Chief. even though i don't know these people, i agree with them cuz they have they same point of view as i do. everything Widow Maker said is true. Ed also is right and speaks the god damn truth, unfortunatly for u guys. whatever u guys find wrong with Halo, i just have one thing to say bout that: get a life! play the game, have fun, and forget about Marathon. it was played in the 90's and i'm pretty sure there's a lot more people that have the same opinion that i do. to me, just because they seem to be wars going on in the same universe is no biggy. i don't care, at least they happen at different times. also, i haven't played or read or even have a game with a great storyline, characters and more like Halo. i think Bungie is very creative and yes, probably did use somethings from Marathon to pay homage. why? probably because Marathon was becoming less popular and probably people wanted something better! and what they got was fabulous Halo!!!!!!! i can't wait for Halo 2, and i'm positive that the Halo series will so be so much funner and better than Marathon!!! no offence but it's my opinion. i don't want to get anyone pissed off or anything but u can't get mad for what i said. sry if i said something that made u guys angry.

halo empress

Hi, i'm not trying to be mean or rude or anything but i came across this website and it really got to me. i'm a really big fan of Halo. i don't know what "Marathon" is but by the pics i see, it seems like Halo and Marathon do have some similarities but Halo has much better graphics then Marathon and why would u want to call a war-killing-alien game "Marathon"? if i just heard that name and not seen the game, i would thought it's about marathons and stuff. no, Halo is a better name and it sounds more interesting. wut really got me going was when i saw pics from the game and where you guys found stuff belonging to the Marathong game. so what? maybe Bungie just wanted to put some memories of that game on Halo for Marathon-lovers. jeez, it's nothing devastating, no offence. i love playing Halo but this just really got me mad. it's like as if wut Bungie did was a crime, but really, no. and i'd like to say that Kahless is right, why the hell care if they have similarities? they still have differences here people. oh, and uway 44 is totally right. frig, if u people could see these things, u guys are paranoid, no offence. Roger also has a point there about the Master Chief. even though i don't know these people, i agree with them cuz they have they same point of view as i do. everything Widow Maker said is true. Ed also is right and speaks the god damn truth, unfortunatly for u guys. whatever u guys find wrong with Halo, i just have one thing to say bout that: get a life! play the game, have fun, and forget about Marathon. it was played in the 90's and i'm pretty sure there's a lot more people that have the same opinion that i do. to me, just because they seem to be wars going on in the same universe is no biggy. i don't care, at least they happen at different times. also, i haven't played or read or even have a game with a great storyline, characters and more like Halo. i think Bungie is very creative and yes, probably did use somethings from Marathon to pay homage. why? probably because Marathon was becoming less popular and probably people wanted something better! and what they got was fabulous Halo!!!!!!! i can't wait for Halo 2, and i'm positive that the Halo series will so be so much funner and better than Marathon!!! no offence but it's my opinion. i don't want to get anyone pissed off or anything but u can't get mad for what i said. sry if i said something that made u guys angry.

halo empress

Hi, i'm not trying to be mean or rude or anything but i came across this website and it really got to me. i'm a really big fan of Halo. i don't know what "Marathon" is but by the pics i see, it seems like Halo and Marathon do have some similarities but Halo has much better graphics then Marathon and why would u want to call a war-killing-alien game "Marathon"? if i just heard that name and not seen the game, i would thought it's about marathons and stuff. no, Halo is a better name and it sounds more interesting. wut really got me going was when i saw pics from the game and where you guys found stuff belonging to the Marathong game. so what? maybe Bungie just wanted to put some memories of that game on Halo for Marathon-lovers. jeez, it's nothing devastating, no offence. i love playing Halo but this just really got me mad. it's like as if wut Bungie did was a crime, but really, no. and i'd like to say that Kahless is right, why the hell care if they have similarities? they still have differences here people. oh, and uway 44 is totally right. frig, if u people could see these things, u guys are paranoid, no offence. Roger also has a point there about the Master Chief. even though i don't know these people, i agree with them cuz they have they same point of view as i do. everything Widow Maker said is true. Ed also is right and speaks the god damn truth, unfortunatly for u guys. whatever u guys find wrong with Halo, i just have one thing to say bout that: get a life! play the game, have fun, and forget about Marathon. it was played in the 90's and i'm pretty sure there's a lot more people that have the same opinion that i do. to me, just because they seem to be wars going on in the same universe is no biggy. i don't care, at least they happen at different times. also, i haven't played or read or even have a game with a great storyline, characters and more like Halo. i think Bungie is very creative and yes, probably did use somethings from Marathon to pay homage. why? probably because Marathon was becoming less popular and probably people wanted something better! and what they got was fabulous Halo!!!!!!! i can't wait for Halo 2, and i'm positive that the Halo series will so be so much funner and better than Marathon!!! no offence but it's my opinion. i don't want to get anyone pissed off or anything but u can't get mad for what i said. sry if i said something that made u guys angry.

halo empress

Halo is Halo. Iv'e never heard of marothon before, but from the pics at the top of the page it looks like the graphics realy, realy, realy suck. my opinion is this, the same as widow maker's "so what if there are "easter eggs" until i see that damn easter bunny i'm going to call Halo by it's name and not Marothon 4." i believe those little eastereggs you all call were put in there because Halo's creaters (bungie) used up all there ideas and so they 'borrowed' some stuff from other games so that they could spark there inmagination again.
P.S. If you have Halo p.c. please join my server, it is called "Grim Ripper" and to all of you who haven't played halo, get a freaking XBOX, i mean come on, there is technology that can literaly have a car drive it's self and you people are still stuck on mac get a grip.
P.P.S. please visit http://halosn.bungie.org/wallpaper.html?item=478
if you look at the Halo fan art there is another ship in the UNSC navy that has more weapons than i've ever heard of, it's called the Phelios.

shot in the head with a S2AM sniper round by,
Grim Ripper

Halo is Halo. Iv'e never heard of marothon before, but from the pics at the top of the page it looks like the graphics realy, realy, realy suck. my opinion is this, the same as widow maker's "so what if there are "easter eggs" until i see that damn easter bunny i'm going to call Halo by it's name and not Marothon 4." i believe those little eastereggs you all call were put in there because Halo's creaters (bungie) used up all there ideas and so they 'borrowed' some stuff from other games so that they could spark there inmagination again.
P.S. If you have Halo p.c. please join my server, it is called "Grim Ripper" and to all of you who haven't played halo, get a freaking XBOX, i mean come on, there is technology that can literaly have a car drive it's self and you people are still stuck on mac get a grip.
P.P.S. please visit http://halosn.bungie.org/wallpaper.html?item=478
if you look at the Halo fan art there is another ship in the UNSC navy that has more weapons than i've ever heard of, it's called the Phelios.

shot in the head with a S2AM sniper round by,
Grim Ripper

Halo is Halo. Iv'e never heard of marothon before, but from the pics at the top of the page it looks like the graphics realy, realy, realy suck. my opinion is this, the same as widow maker's "so what if there are "easter eggs" until i see that damn easter bunny i'm going to call Halo by it's name and not Marothon 4." i believe those little eastereggs you all call were put in there because Halo's creaters (bungie) used up all there ideas and so they 'borrowed' some stuff from other games so that they could spark there inmagination again.
P.S. If you have Halo p.c. please join my server, it is called "Grim Ripper" and to all of you who haven't played halo, get a freaking XBOX, i mean come on, there is technology that can literaly have a car drive it's self and you people are still stuck on mac get a grip.
P.P.S. please visit http://halosn.bungie.org/wallpaper.html?item=478
if you look at the Halo fan art there is another ship in the UNSC navy that has more weapons than i've ever heard of, it's called the Phelios.

shot in the head with a S2AM sniper round by,
Grim Ripper

Halo is Halo. Iv'e never heard of marothon before, but from the pics at the top of the page it looks like the graphics realy, realy, realy suck. my opinion is this, the same as widow maker's "so what if there are "easter eggs" until i see that damn easter bunny i'm going to call Halo by it's name and not Marothon 4." i believe those little eastereggs you all call were put in there because Halo's creaters (bungie) used up all there ideas and so they 'borrowed' some stuff from other games so that they could spark there inmagination again.
P.S. If you have Halo p.c. please join my server, it is called "Grim Ripper" and to all of you who haven't played halo, get a freaking XBOX, i mean come on, there is technology that can literaly have a car drive it's self and you people are still stuck on mac get a grip.
P.P.S. please visit http://halosn.bungie.org/wallpaper.html?item=478
if you look at the Halo fan art there is another ship in the UNSC navy that has more weapons than i've ever heard of, it's called the Phelios.

shot in the head with a S2AM sniper round by,
Grim Ripper

Halo is Halo. Iv'e never heard of marothon before, but from the pics at the top of the page it looks like the graphics realy, realy, realy suck. my opinion is this, the same as widow maker's "so what if there are "easter eggs" until i see that damn easter bunny i'm going to call Halo by it's name and not Marothon 4." i believe those little eastereggs you all call were put in there because Halo's creaters (bungie) used up all there ideas and so they 'borrowed' some stuff from other games so that they could spark there inmagination again.
P.S. If you have Halo p.c. please join my server, it is called "Grim Ripper" and to all of you who haven't played halo, get a freaking XBOX, i mean come on, there is technology that can literaly have a car drive it's self and you people are still stuck on mac get a grip.
P.P.S. please visit http://halosn.bungie.org/wallpaper.html?item=478
if you look at the Halo fan art there is another ship in the UNSC navy that has more weapons than i've ever heard of, it's called the Phelios.

shot in the head with a S2AM sniper round by,
Grim Ripper

Halo is Halo. Iv'e never heard of marothon before, but from the pics at the top of the page it looks like the graphics realy, realy, realy suck. my opinion is this, the same as widow maker's "so what if there are "easter eggs" until i see that damn easter bunny i'm going to call Halo by it's name and not Marothon 4." i believe those little eastereggs you all call were put in there because Halo's creaters (bungie) used up all there ideas and so they 'borrowed' some stuff from other games so that they could spark there inmagination again.
P.S. If you have Halo p.c. please join my server, it is called "Grim Ripper" and to all of you who haven't played halo, get a freaking XBOX, i mean come on, there is technology that can literaly have a car drive it's self and you people are still stuck on mac get a grip.
P.P.S. please visit http://halosn.bungie.org/wallpaper.html?item=478
if you look at the Halo fan art there is another ship in the UNSC navy that has more weapons than i've ever heard of, it's called the Phelios.

shot in the head with a S2AM sniper round by,
Grim Ripper

there not called bobs u fucking idiot...the master cheifs code number is 117 and his real nme is john...he started to get trained when he was 6 and became the squad leader of the other spartans...he had a team with uniforms that looked exactly like his and he had 2 friends...Sam And....well i forget the girls name but they both died in a war but not with the covenent...then the pillar of autumn got attacked and well u no if u played the game..........any way hope u gathered information by this and see u around...Master Chief 360

there not called bobs u fucking idiot...the master cheifs code number is 117 and his real nme is john...he started to get trained when he was 6 and became the squad leader of the other spartans...he had a team with uniforms that looked exactly like his and he had 2 friends...Sam And....well i forget the girls name but they both died in a war but not with the covenent...then the pillar of autumn got attacked and well u no if u played the game..........any way hope u gathered information by this and see u around...Master Chief 360

there not called bobs u fucking idiot...the master cheifs code number is 117 and his real nme is john...he started to get trained when he was 6 and became the squad leader of the other spartans...he had a team with uniforms that looked exactly like his and he had 2 friends...Sam And....well i forget the girls name but they both died in a war but not with the covenent...then the pillar of autumn got attacked and well u no if u played the game..........any way hope u gathered information by this and see u around...Master Chief 360

THE GRAPHICS SUCK BECAUSE IT WAS MADE YEARS AGO ON A MAC, WHEN THAT WAS THE BEST LOOKING GAME THERE WAS!

Okay, I think this is pretty convincing...but Im still staying with the fact that Halo is Halo. Hell, if you look at the Scorpion (tank) on the back theres a special little Easter Egg....the GameCube logo. You may need to use a pistol or Sniper Rifle, but its there. This doesnt mean that Halo has any future on the gamcube or anything, its just an easter egg. I think they put all of the Marathon things in there for all of the fans of Marathon to find them, and some memories as well.... The Bobs in Marathon -do- look a lot like Spartans in MJOLNIR armor, but Master Chief's name is John...

Okay, I think this is pretty convincing...but Im still staying with the fact that Halo is Halo. Hell, if you look at the Scorpion (tank) on the back theres a special little Easter Egg....the GameCube logo. You may need to use a pistol or Sniper Rifle, but its there. This doesnt mean that Halo has any future on the gamcube or anything, its just an easter egg. I think they put all of the Marathon things in there for all of the fans of Marathon to find them, and some memories as well.... The Bobs in Marathon -do- look a lot like Spartans in MJOLNIR armor, but Master Chief's name is John...

Somewhere in an Halo level, you can hear a Myth Music...

Somewhere in an Halo level, you can hear a Myth Music...

WHO GIVES A FLYING FUCK?!? THE PEOPLE AT BUNGIE WOULD LAUGH THEIR ASSES OFF IF THEY SAW THIS POINTLESS SHIT!! WHO FUCKING CARES IF HALO IS A SEQUEL?! IT STILL EXISTS EITHER WAY, SO WHO GIVES A FUCK?!?

WHO GIVES A FLYING FUCK?!? THE PEOPLE AT BUNGIE WOULD LAUGH THEIR ASSES OFF IF THEY SAW THIS POINTLESS SHIT!! WHO FUCKING CARES IF HALO IS A SEQUEL?! IT STILL EXISTS EITHER WAY, SO WHO GIVES A FUCK?!?

WHO GIVES A FLYING FUCK?!? THE PEOPLE AT BUNGIE WOULD LAUGH THEIR ASSES OFF IF THEY SAW THIS POINTLESS SHIT!! WHO FUCKING CARES IF HALO IS A SEQUEL?! IT STILL EXISTS EITHER WAY, SO WHO GIVES A FUCK?!?

ok... FreekShow... +5 Troll... If I had a rocket launcher....

To the few of us that actually played thru the Marathon series, Halo is an extension. To the PC folk who mock Marathon simply because it was on the Mac, you don't know what you missed. Doom sucked. Even Doom 3 sucks compared to Halo. I wouldn't classify Halo as a Marathon sequel, but it's the same universe with the same toys. Think Star Trek TNG and Voyager and DS9. Different cast, different parts of the same universe, but a unified, coherent, similar feel. To the guy who asked about Halo's vehicles... ok so the added new features. Good for Bungie. Thats not enough of a difference to nullify the similarities. Halo 2 now includes support for dual-weapons. Halo-only players are like "wow thats way cool yo", Marathon players are like "been there done that". Marathon's graphics look crappy by todays (read, Halo's) standards, but break out your copy of Doom from 1994 and compare. You'll see a world of difference. Marathon introduced looking up and down, dynamic lighting, sound, and physics, intelligent enemies, and a wicked story. Doom = see demon, shoot demon. Perhaps amusing to the kids, but by no means captivating. There's a reason Marathon is as talked about as it is. It was ahead of it's time and defined what a good FPS was all about, up to Rainbow 6, then Halo. TOZT with your SPNKr anyone?

Stay off u pc losers.. stfu.. u aint noe shyt.. though my 66mhz mac is stored away in the basement for years. i now use a penitum 4.. but marathon is tite as fuk... marathon 4ever!!.. marathon used the dual weapons and it was awesome.. Eric..u have good point :) .. MARATHON RULES! MAC RULES!.. why yal jus hatin Macs cuz everybody says it.. its so stupid

I don't know if anyone else noticed this because I didn't read all of the comments, but in the book "Fall of Reach" there is a class of ship called Marathon.

also, in marathon there is a level called "I wish i had a rocket launcher" and in halo there is one called "I wish I had a super weapon"

actually, halo is like a souped-up marathon with different names for all the characters. I use a pc but I still like to play marathon on my mac. Why don't you people who say marathon sucks get a clue. You have no idea what brilliant ideas bungie came up with before halo. I bet you never even heard of Rock'n'Roll Racing.

did anyone think that maybe, forerunner is what the humans/covenant called the ancient race and "jarro" is what they called themselves?

Just got Halo 2, and hadn't played Halo 1, but I played all of the Marathons (Marathon 2 is on PC AND Mac, BTW)...

First things I noticed were the logo, the spnkr, and (was this in Halo 1)? The HUNTER creature, which is lifted DIRECTLY from Marathon. Looks like and acts like the Marathon hunter. So if they are in different universes, this creature knows how to travel between them ; )

I can't see why people would be so resistant to the connections... they are both excellent, story-driven action games with a lot of similarities... Marathon players know, this is the same universe...

First of all, the reason Bungie added things from Marthon into Halo, is too attract people who had been Marathon gamers!
Secondly, THE FLOOD!!! Finally, you MUST CONSIDER THE FACT THAT BOTH GAMES ARE MADE BY BUNGIE,SO THEY HAVE TO BE SIMILIAR IN THE FACT THAT THEY HAVE THE SAME CREATORS!!!!! It is the same thing as WARCRAFT and STARCRAFT both are made by BLIZZARD, thus they are VERY simialar!!!!!

HALO IS DEFINATLEY NOT A SEQUEL TO ANY GAME!!!!!

Something that i was thinking about playing halo 2, is that the covenant is attacking earth and possibly aiming to destroy it, which would definately warrent the colony ships that were in the marathon series to start being produced and sent out to attempt to keep the human race alive.

why are you so angry that someone thinks halo is a sequel? i dont get it. and stop posting the same thing so much its annoying.

Many of the employees at Bungie now were not at Bungie at the time of Marathon, so your argument that similarities between the two games are due to them having "the same creators" is invalid. Any resemblance between the two is certainly NOT coincidental.

Many of the employees at Bungie now were not at Bungie at the time of Marathon, so your argument that similarities between the two games are due to them having "the same creators" is invalid. Any resemblance between the two is certainly NOT coincidental.

The so-called Marathon symbol is also the shape of the control room(s).

Download Aleph One (part of Microsoft's Open-Source Initiative). It plays on Windows and OS X (a Linux version is reportedly in the works). For me, it's like Halo with a better frame rate.

Okay, kinda late, but I just gotta say somthing. no one really thinks halo is a sequel, she just wants to see all you dumb ass noobs get bent about mac's (because they kick more ass 'n stuff). as I type this on my my iBook, I have all three Marathon games on my hard drive, and the first halo. Marathon was an awsome game back in the day, and anyone who disses it should be kneecaped. in '95 i was 9 years old and back then it was THE SHIT, so stuff you ass with a cork M$ whores cuz your talking out of it. everyone looks back on something I their childhood fondly, and for me one thing is marathon. (sad? mabey, but now my imagination soars.) it had somewhat less action, but what halo has in action, marathon had in story. as for the similarities, the reasons are obvious: marathon was GOOD. the symbol. just look at it. come on... its cool, huh? and spnkr? thats l33t speek before l33t. and, oh yeah, when you get hit with it, you...get...spanked. in reality halo is a collection of things origionally made for marathon, but up-graded (excepting the plot, but then again, I'm partial to marathon) hey... why not reuse genius?

P.S. M$ stole bunjie from the free world because they needed a kick ass game, and after reveiwing their past record, they knew halo would be good.

Anyone else notice that on the mission were your on the halo for the first time on halo 2 that the other spartans look exactly like the 'bobs' from merathon?