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Top Gun easter eggs are highway to funny zone

by Justin McElroy { May 13th 2009 at 1:10PM }

Yeah, that's the headline we picked. Deal with it.

In case you need another reason to purchase Top Gun on iPhone besides our glowing praise, we've got the nugget that's going to put you over the edge: Easter eggs. For example, by inputting the right codenames, you'll be able to transform your fighter jet into a starship or the car from Days of Thunder.

More importantly though, you'll be able to play volleyball over Goose's grave with the disembodied heads of Maverick and Iceman. No, really. If there's ever been a better way to blow two bucks, we haven't heard of it.

[Thanks, Gemini Ace]

Gallery: Top Gun (iPhone)

iPhone It In: Top Gun

by Justin McElroy { May 12th 2009 at 2:30PM }

Listen, as the writer of Joystiq's only iPhone-related column, I do my fair share of playing licensed garbage. For example, I played a Land of the Lost-themed game that makes "Punch the Monkey" look like The Orange Box. I'm not even going to link to it, for fear that you'll play it. Seriously, it was the game equivalent of watching my immediate family die in a house fire.

You can imagine my confusion then when I say that Top Gun is shockingly good. No, don't laugh, it's true.

Gallery: Top Gun (iPhone)

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Marathon 2 map pack thrown up on Wednesday

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Jun 17th 2008 at 2:25PM }

Yes, we know, you've been clamoring for more multiplayer maps like an irate, "plz sir can I hav sum moar" Oliver Twist. You yearn for more of Bungie's first-person shootery, dreaming of running and gunning down corridors you haven't been through countless times already. It'll genuinely make your day to see new downloadable content pop up on the Xbox Live Marketplace, but until a new Halo 3 map pack is announced, that day is still quite a ways off. But here, have some Marathon 2: Durandal stuff in the meantime.

For 250 MS Points (an awkward $3.125), the Jjaro Map Pack will net you 12 new multiplayer environments, playable in King of the Hill, Kill the Man with the Ball and Tag modes, and two achievements worth a combined 30 gamer points. If the game's infamously sickening motion doesn't make you throw up, be sure to grab the content just in case Marathon gets thrown off Xbox Live Arcade.

Marathon DLC (Jjaro Map Pack) hitting tomorrow

by Terrence Stasse { Jun 17th 2008 at 8:30AM }

We here at X3F love our old-school FPS's just as much as the new-school ones, and at a price of 250MSpts, the upcoming DLC for Marathon 2: Durandal looks to get us back into the archaic swing of things. The new Jjaro Map Pack will hit the Marketplace tomorrow and includes twelve multiplayer maps, two Achievements (worth 30pts total) and three new multiplayer modes (King of the Hill, Kill the Man with the Ball, and Tag).

For those obsessed with such things, the Achievement details can be found after the break. Oh, and according the post at 360sync, the devs will be Live and playing on the night of release.

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Marathon: Durandal DLC video blowout

by Richard Mitchell { May 8th 2008 at 2:00PM }

Looks like 360Sync decided to turn the drip feed of Marathon: Durandal DLC info into a full torrent. There is now video of seven more maps in addition to the two that were revealed already. According to 360Sync, they also have video footage of one more, making ten maps so far. Here are all the maps currently revealed:

Duality
Thick and Chunky
Melatonin
Mime Target
Fortress Lh'owon
Arena
Mars Needs Women
Vulcan
Beyond Thunderdome

Not only that, but Bruce Morisson, project lead for Marathon at Freeverse, has left a comment stating there are "several" more to be included with the upcoming DLC. That's a lot of maps. Check out video of all of the maps revealed so far embedded above. Once the first video is over, the next will automatically load (alternately, you can skip to the next video using the navigation buttons).

[Thanks, StLouisRibs]

New Marathon maps and achievements on the way

by Richard Mitchell { May 6th 2008 at 12:15PM }

It's kind of strange when you think about it. Here we have Marathon, a very old game getting DLC thanks to the magic of Xbox Live Arcade. 360Sync got a look at the new DLC (complete with new achievements) including some super spiffy videos. The first video, embedded above, shows off the map Duality (originally from the Marathon series and remade as Gemini in Halo 2). Fun fact: Duality was named for a game being created by Double Aught, a company comprised of former Bungie employees. Duality the game, sadly, was never released. The second video (embedded after the break) showcases "Thick and Chunky." The primary feature of the level is the large lava pit in the center, which also happens to be where the hill is located in King of the Hill mode. Ouch.

We're not sure how many more maps could wind up in the upcoming DLC. Keep your eyes on X3F for the latest on what to expect and details on when the DLC will be available.

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Freeverse reveals Airburst screens

by Xav de Matos { Mar 12th 2008 at 2:00PM }

The folks at Freeverse, developers behind the XBLA port of Marathon 2: Durandal, shot over two screens of their upcoming revamp of the classic title Airburst.

Announced as an XBLA exclusive in October, Freeverse hopes to bring back the excitement of the 2001 Mac OS release. Developed by partner studio, Strange Flavour (who created the original), gamers can expect HD inverted pong-action, injected with insane color.

Gallery: Airburst (XBLA)

Freeverse discusses porting Marathon 2 to XBLA

by Scott Jon Siegel { Nov 22nd 2007 at 3:01PM }

Gamasutra's postmortems are excellent opportunities to look back at certain games, and hear with unabashed honesty what went right and wrong throughout the course of development. Such is the case with developer Freeverse's postmortem on their enhanced port of Bungie's classic Marathon 2: Durandal for Xbox Live Arcade.

Freeverse employee Mark Levin goes into insane levels of detail describing the arduous task of bringing Marathon 2 -- originally a Macintosh title -- over to the Xbox 360. He discusses the team's decision to re-work the graphics for HD, and the difficulty of bug-testing very old code, but somehow neglects to discuss the game's propensity for causing upset stomachs.

Regardless, it's a great and honest read, with some real insight into the treacherous task of bringing old games to new consoles.

Freeverse bringing Airburst to XBLA

by Richard Mitchell { Oct 25th 2007 at 3:30PM }

Freeverse, the company that brought Spyglass Board Games and Marathon: Durandal to Xbox Live Arcade (on the same day!), has announced a new title for the service called Airburst. The game is being developed by Freeverse's UK counterpart Strange Flavour and emphasizes the pick-up-and-play philosophy of XBLA and "promises to be one of the best party games on the platform." The game features characters riding platforms made of balloons, doing their keep the "chainsaw-bladed burster ball" from destroying their platform while simultaneously bouncing the ball back towards the opponent's platform. It sounds a bit like Pong, only the object is to not let the ball hit your paddle. Airburst promises multiple gametypes, character-specific abilities, and the requisite "crazy power-ups," so it looks like everything is covered. Well, almost everything: no release date has been announced.

Marathon motion sickness gets cured

by Richard Mitchell { Sep 6th 2007 at 3:00PM }

Freeverse sends word that a title update for Marathon: Durandal is now available. Among other things, the update gives players the option to choose a wider field of view. This option is supposed to help players that have experienced motion sickness whilst playing the game. We haven't personally experienced the alleged motion sickness, so we can't tell you whether or not a wider field of view fixes the problem. If you've fallen victim to the illness yourself, you may want to fire up Marathon and give the new setting a try. Once you're done, come back here and share the results with the rest of the class (unless the result is vomit; you don't need to share that).

Freeverse to offer advice on Marathon: Durandal motion sickness

by Jared Rea { Aug 4th 2007 at 5:30PM }

Perhaps noticing a few of his soldiers dropping like flies, Microsoft's Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb spoke with Freeverse regarding the fits of motion sickness caused by their latest release, Marathon: Durandal.

While they're not offering a technical solution just yet, they do plan on giving folks fair warning and a bit of advice. Within the next few days, Freeverse will "implement a [dashboard] message on the download screen to advise users on steps they can take if this affects them and are investigating other options to address the issue."

When we spoke to Marathon:Durandal's project lead, Bruce Morrison, he suggested a simple flip of the "camera bob" option and that seemed to work wonders. With so many folks -- many with no prior history of motion sickness -- getting ill from playing, it may still require an alteration of the game itself.

Marathon causes loss of lunch?

by Richard Mitchell { Aug 2nd 2007 at 5:30PM }

While we have yet to enjoy such things ourselves (thanks to an unwelcome visitor), reports are coming in that the Xbox Live Arcade version of Marathon: Durandal is making people a little queasy. As many gamers know, first person shooter games can often induce motion sickness, and it seems that this effect is magnified by Marathon. Joystiq spoke to Freeverse, developers of the XBLA port, about this issue to see if they could get some answers. Freeverse noted that Marathon's popularity and the spreading internet rumor that it can make people sick is probably responsible for most of the outcry. Frankly, we find the idea of a gamer-centric, psychosomatic illness spread via the internet to be highly entertaining.

Freeverse isn't laughing the matter away however, and is investigating the issue. In the meantime, they suggest that players play the game with the "camera bob" option turned on. This should keep the game from appearing smoother than it should be. Furthermore, make sure you're not sitting to close to the TV (duh).

Out of curiosity, have any readers out there experienced motion sickness while playing Marathon: Durandal?

Marathon: Durandal's bonus feature: motion sickness

by Jared Rea { Aug 2nd 2007 at 8:01AM }

The first person shooter genre has always been synonymous with motion sickness, but when the ol' iron guts here at Joystiq started feeling queasy after playing Marathon: Durandal for Xbox Live Arcade, we knew something was wrong. Sure enough, threads began to pop up all over the place and even IGN noted in their official review that four of their editors felt ill while playing. To find out what's to blame for this poké-esque epidemic, we talked to Freeverse's Bruce Morrison, project lead on Marathon: Durandal.

"Marathon's obvious popularity, the sudden forum 'meme' of it making you sick, and the wealth of really excellent hurl jokes ... I think that explains a lot of it." teases Bruce. In all seriousness, he explains, "No one at Freeverse, Microsoft, Bungie, VMC or our testing and localization partners reported any motion sickness issues and many of us have logged hundreds of hours of playtime. So we really don't believe the problem is universal. However, a good number of people will experience motion sickness with any FPS."

While Freeverse is planning on investigating this matter, Bruce does have some suggestions. First, try playing with the "camera bob" option set to on as the lack of default motion tends to make things appear smoother than they already are. Also, if your mother never told you better, try adjusting your seating position. You may be sitting far too close to your set for this odd, stomach churning experience.

Having taken his advice, we can now enjoy this remastered classic with only a mild headache as the side effect. Thanks, camera bob!

Marathon and Board Games hit XBLA

by Richard Mitchell { Aug 1st 2007 at 9:30AM }

It's Wednesday and that means it's time for some brand new Arcade goodness. This week, you have two games from which to choose (which often seems to be the case these days). You can bring home a little slice of Bungie history with Marathon: Durandal, or you can enjoy some Vision Cam enabled chicanery with Spyglass Board Games. Both games feature multiplayer fun with Marathon offering splitscreen, system-link, and Live play (both co-op and versus), while Spyglass Board Games offers the aforementioned Vision Cam 1-on-1 play. Marathon will cost you 800 Microsoft bucks and Spyglass Board Games will set you back 400. Which will it be for you? Or, dare we ask, are you crazy enough to buy both?

Marathon and Halo -- Closer than ever before thanks to the gamepad

by Jared Rea { Jul 31st 2007 at 1:54PM }

With the 2001 release of Halo, Bungie proved that not only were high quality, console-centric FPS titles possible, but they could be controlled just as well with a gamepad as with a keyboard and mouse. Since then, just about every FPS title to grace a console has attempted to replicate the precision and familiarity of Halo's scheme.

So when it came time to bring a legendary Bungie title, Marathon: Durandal, to Xbox Live Arcade, the folks at Freeverse saw fit to keep it in the family.

"In moving the original, which was a keyboard [and] mouse game, we had to translate all the original behavior to the Xbox controller -- sticks and range of feedback instead of binary key hits." tells Ian Lynch Smith, president of Freeverse. "What we ended up doing is getting the actual curves and math that Halo 2 uses, so in those respects Marathon Durandal's controls have the exact same feel as Halo 2."

We can already hear the collective cry of the Marathon community. "Hold it! Doesn't injecting Marathon with bits of Halo compromise the integrity of the original?" Not so, according to Freeverse's Bruce Morrison as Marathon: Durandal still plays exactly the same.

"If it took 10 seconds to get from point a to point b on the original it will in ours."

Get a feel for the slick new controls yourself when Marathon: Durandal is released tomorrow on Xbox Live Arcade.