In between sleepless nights and too hot days (Sweden has a great summer right now) I've acctually found some time to play the demo last evening. And to the M:R team I can only say this: damn fine job! I would pay for this I tell you, that's how good it is.
From the eerie start in arrival (Pfhor to the left of you, Pfhor to the right 
) to the frenzy of blaspheme, it was a feeling of delight and joy seeing the old ship marathon once again populated by our favourite bad ass aliens.
The pfhor looks great I think, the fact that they now can dodge grenades and fire when running is a plus (given the fact that they invented the FTL drive I belive they also recognise the fact that dodging a grenade is good thing) and it makes the game a bit more difficult. The energy bolts fired from the staffs is a step up I belive from the old ones.
The compilers are very good animated! Yes, I like the fact that you now can see what they are flashing 
. Maybe the only thing I thought was odd about them was when they started angling up, in my mind they are supposed to move either up/down or left/right but that's only a matter of getting used to. The invisible ones are really difficult to see but I think you should keep them that way. The M1 was not an easy game to play .... and it shouldn't be!
And to whoever made the hulks... good job!! They now look like a berserk belgian blue with a bad day! But why can't they kill eachother? It's easy to make them fight their overmuscular pals but it seems like they don't do them any damage.
All the three levels included in the demo is looking great. I especially like the lightning effects used. They really add to the feeling of a spaceship under seige. I can't wait to see what the Pfhor-levels looks like when you are done with them.
So far (I've only played it through twice) I've not found any bugs not reported before. But didn't you miss a secret in arrival? The hidden Bob...Oh, I know it was not in the final game but there was a secret in the demo.
I also tried the mp briefly yesterday. Love to be able to overcharge the fusion now. Gives you a better chance against invincible shielded guys. And that skin looks way better then the old one now! The new apperance of the alien weapon in the hud is also sweet. And thank you Wolf for the Thrud!!! Liftjumping extraordinary mode is now on . That together with Vulcan was one of the best infinity maps ever done. There's something for everybody in that map I think.
I can't even imagine how much work has gone into this relese by team:unphorgiven but it has paid off. Give yourself a huge pat on the back and follow up with a slap on the shoulder! And then take a break from this for a while. You more then deserve it.
Well, I better stop ranting and get out in the beautiful weather now. I'm gonna tell my daughter and my son a new bedtime story today.. "Once upon a time there was a spaceship called Marathon..."
/SilentMan
