The stolen art (which the entire games art direction was clearly inspired by and the Art Director should have verified since that's his job) really doesn't matter to us as gamers in the end. The game just isn't interesting in its current state. It has a couple of strengths, but the core game just isn't that good. My friends and I hopped off after several hours to see if we would eventually get hooked, and we just didn't. We didn't return to the alpha after that. There's no "it" factor to the game like I previously mentioned.
If the game is going to fail, which is currently pointing to that it is, it's going to be because the game is nothing special and does nothing to steer you away from the competition. Not because some unknown artist (which I don't buy AT ALL that some dev that went rogue for a second and is an excuse no one should buy) stole art assets.
Arc Raiders, which I haven't played yet, looks far more interesting and enjoyable, and the tone online seems to lean that way as well.
It's saddening to think about what could've been if Bungie had made Marathon in the vain of the way they made Halo. Single player story with a multiplayer component. The art direction, lore, and atmosphere in the original Marathon trilogy of games is nowhere to be seen in this reboot, which both were the most memorable things about those games.
You called down the thunder, now reap the whirlwind
