I use its logo as my Twitter icon and the quote in my profile is from Durandal, who’s still the most complex and entertaining “rogue computer” in video game history. The SPNKR rockets are my favorite Marathon callback in Halo (Marathon’s rocket launcher was the SPNKR-x17) along with “wow, a Mark V!” (the player was eventually revealed in the third game to be the tenth Mjolnir Mark IV cyborg that Martian revolutionaries smuggled aboard the Marathon). You can play all three original games for free using the AlephOne source port. https://alephone.lhowon.org/

Destiny was actually quite fun if you played with a group. Once I exhausted everything I could do myself, I went on Reddit looking to find folks to do the Vault of Glass with. I got hooked up with a Texas teacher and his crew, and they let me into their clan immediately when I recognized that it was a Marathon reference (G4SB, short for G4 Sunbathing, the only Marathon 1 level where you have to watch your oxygen.) I had some of the best gaming experiences of my life with those guys, and I still miss them. We did everything – raids, strikes, campaign levels, multiplayer – and always had fun doing it.

I found the art style of this new Marathon game jarring right off the bat. All the blockiness and neon reminded me of some very early 3D games, which was not a great look. I was probably going to skip it regardless because it’s clear from Bungie’s actions that they’ve been hijacked by activists and are not the same company, as you noted.