Genre Action -> FPS
Today's Rank 0
Date 2003-10-09
Publisher Ubisoft
Date 2003-11-28
Publisher Ubisoft
North America Retail Box ArtAs stylish a game as you'll see, XIII is a virtual testament to why you can have both style and substance under the same roof. Adopting a comic-book style throughout, from the wonderfully compiled cut-scenes through to the cel-shaded in-game graphics, it follows the adventures of agent XIII, finding him initially stranded on a beach with no memory of what went before. As the game progresses, he keeps getting flashbacks to help fill in some of the blanks, no doubt part-inspired by the number of people interested in killing him. The gameplay itself takes the form of a first-person action-adventure, and a thumping good one at that. There's nothing particularly original about mixing in action, puzzle solving, exploration and stealth, but rarely has it all hung together as well as it does here. Put simply, XIII is a delight to play, with well-thought-through levels, generally fine enemy AI and, when the tempo is racked up, plenty of guns a-blazing and a healthy dose of tension to boot. On the visual side, we've seen cel-shading as graphical style in games before, more often than that leading to some bland visuals once the novelty has worn off. Not so here. The level of thought and care that has gone into the look and feel of XIII is there for all to see, and for it to be married up to such a compulsively addictive game is just the icing on a really rather delicious cake. Should you buy it? Most certainly, you should. If you don't, then the next time you lament the lack of care and adventure in your collection of games, then you really will have brought it all upon yourself. --Simon Brew

- The President of the United States has been assassinated. The day this happened, you woke up on a beach with no memory, and the Roman numeral XIII tattoooed across your chest.Your only clue is the key to a safe deposit box in New York.
- Your identity, the President's death and America's future are all shrouded in mystery, but somehow intertwined -- it's up to you to figure out how
- Your internal sixth sense detects enemies when they come -- use your cleverness and fighting skills to take them out
- Work with a dizzying array weapons, from silent crossbows to furious automatic weapons -- you can even use chairs, bottles. even enemy soldiers as human shields
- Innovative new multiplayer system with new game modes like Barfight and Cover Me
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