Game Groups > Marathon series

Marathon is a series of sci-fi first-person shooters by Bungie, which share a common setting, recurrent characters, and an overarching story. It is considered one of the flagship series of the Macintosh computer. The events of the series begin in 2794 aboard the starship U.E.S.C. Marathon, near a colony on the planet Tau Ceti IV. A security officer must defend the ship against the onslaught of an alien race known as Pfhor. As the series evolves, the ship's AI Durandal begins to play an important role in the plot, interfering in the conflict with its own agenda.

The first Marathon (1994) introduced several notable features to the FPS genre, including the ability to look and aim up and down, dual-wielding weapons, health-recharging machines mounted to walls (instead of health kit pick-ups), and others. The games in the series retain common gameplay elements, such as mission-based stage progression and communication with computers, which is often necessary to acquire information about the plot.