Marathon: Durandal, the classic first person shooter from Bungie Studios, is seeing new life as an Xbox Live Arcade game for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 video game console, thanks to the efforts of recently rebadged Freeverse.
Marathon: Durandal is a recreation of the sequel to Marathon, Bungie’s legendary first-person shooter series for the Mac (and later, for Windows 95). The game puts you in the role of a human who has been awakened after a 17-year cryogenic slumber. You’ve been sent to the an alien world by an artificial intelligence called Durandal, in order to discover the secrets to their advanced technologies.
Marathon: Durandal recreates the game using high-definition graphics playable on HDTV sets, and includes the game’s entire story — more than 13,000 lines of text (now translated into nine languages). The game features multiplayer support for up to four players, Dolby 5.1 surround sound support, cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes, voice messaging and other features.
Marathon: Durandal will be available for purchase and download to Xbox Live Silver and Xbox Live Gold members upon release through the Xbox Live Arcade service sometime this summer. The service enables Xbox 360 owners to purchase and download playable games without having to use a DVD disc, like games they buy in the store.
Microsoft notes that Marathon: Durandal will cost 800 “Microsoft Points.” Users can purchase points in retail stores using cards, similar to Apple’s iTunes Store cards, or online using a credit card. A 1600 point card costs about $20 at retail stores, so Marathon: Durandal will cost about $10.
Editor’s note: Updated with price and availability info.
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