That's probably why I don't like Marathon, its everything Arc isn't.
I played a bit last night and a bit this morning, a bit over two hours total. I wouldn't say its a bad game, I think it could use some improvements, but overall the game seems pretty good. That said its not for me. Its just not a game I can play and have fun with, whereas Arc Raiders is. Which is ironic given they are both extraction shooters, but there are some very big fundamental differences between the two games, and those differences are why I love playing Arc but did not love my two hours with Marathon.
Here are my takeaways about Marathon after my first two hours:
+ Graphically I love it. I really love the look of this game.
+ The char classes feel distinct and better than I expected. I haven't tried them all yet.
+ Music is fantastic. I won't be buying the game but I might buy the OST.
+ Guns all feel great. Bungie gunplay magic is here in spades.
- UI doesn't feel good. Its not broken, I mean its serviceable, but it also feels like a graphical scattershot to the eyes. Its just not easy to use IMHO and I don't like it.
- While the game maps feel atmospheric, I was surprised how much LESS atmospheric they felt compared to Arc. I think most of that is due to audio really. Arc's gameworld just feels so alive while Marathon's felt very empty a lot to me.
- I die too fast. Literally felt like I had no time to react or engage, most of my deaths happened before I even knew what was going on.
- I played two trios with randoms, no one talked, they barely communicated. They were short matches ending in us dying quickly.
- Solo feels brutal. Like wow, solo feels tuned for trios or something, it just doesn't feel very solo friendly.
- There are a lot of "boring" moments in matches? In between the action, felt like a lot of empty game time. I was surprised by this. Arc has more atmosphere with lots of sound going on and AI roaming about, and I think that atmosphere fills in the "boring" moments, where Marathon felt very different.
- Is it just me or does anyone else have a hard time telling the difference between the AI and human players?
- I suck at this game, I think its too hardcore for me.
So, I don't think its a bad game and I'm sure a lot of people will love this, but it ain't for me. Arc Raiders just feels so much more my speed, its just so much more "fun" to me.
I'll still play a bit more during the slam just to see and experience more of the game, but I won't be buying Marathon. I'd rather keep playing Arc Raiders for my extraction fix. Congrats to everyone who loves Marathon though, enjoy and have fun!