XIII

[mangoseed_89]

REVIEW BY GAMESPOT
XIII is a cel-shaded first-person shooter based on a long-running French comic book of the same name. The game definitely plays up its comic book roots, complete with readable sound effects and comic-book-like panels that pop up while you're playing. While it definitely has a certain sense of style to it, the game itself misses its mark, and the total package isn't one that will hold the interest of most first-person shooter players.



It's natural for the amnesiac lead character to sound a little confused, but David Duchovny's voice work just doesn't capture XIII in a compelling way.
XIII, or "Thirteen," is both the name of the game and the name of the character you'll play as, though there's definitely some question about your character's identity. The game opens with you waking up with a gunshot wound after washing up on a beach, unable to remember anything at all. As you proceed through the game, you'll begin to piece together your past, which is an interesting one, to say the least. As it happens, you have the face of a man accused of assassinating the president with a sniper rifle. But are you, in fact, that man? Or are you an agent given a new face in an attempt to get to the bottom of the assassination conspiracy? The game attempts to answer these questions with prerendered and in-engine cutscenes, as well as slightly interactive flashbacks that occasionally burst out in the middle of a level. While none of these devices are particularly effective storytellers, the story has enough to it that you'll at least be interested in seeing it through, even in the face of XIII's rather rudimentary gameplay.

XIII may have a unique look for a first-person shooter, but the game behind the cel shading really doesn't go out of its way to distinguish itself. The objectives are basic, the weapons don't pack much of an audiovisual punch, and the AI is pretty bad. For example, guards will run into a room and bump their way past you to bend down and look at a dead soldier instead of just firing at you immediately. Or soldiers will somehow manage to hit you with gunfire even though they aren't facing you. The game does have some idea of location-specific damage, but this is really only noticeable with headshots, which slap three comic-book-style panels on the screen each time you land one. Some enemies will be wearing helmets, giving them some protection against players with good aim. But the game is largely about getting from point A to point B. In some sections you'll have to escort an AI character along the way, and you'll have to use a grappling hook from time to time to move forward. The level design isn't especially complex or interesting, but the game does effectively transition between indoor and outdoor environments.

The game starts you off empty-handed. You'll quickly find a throwing knife, which you can use to get a pistol, which you can use to get an assault rifle. You'll also encounter a sniper rifle, a different assault rifle with a grenade launcher attached, a submachine gun, two types of pistols, grenades, flashbangs, and so on. The game rewards short bursts over wildly inaccurate fully automatic fire, but even short bursts from the rifles aren't terribly accurate. The pistols and, of course, sniper weapons are far more accurate and far more useful for simply landing headshots and eliminating enemies without much fuss. Aside from gunplay and maneuvering, you can also pick up items, such as shovels or ashtrays, and bonk people over the head with them. Since some of the levels put you up against innocent bank guards and other people who have you confused with the enemy, you'll have to use this sort of nonlethal force from time to time. You can also take people hostage, which will prevent these guards from taking shots at you. All told, the single-player campaign's 13 chapters will take the average first-person shooter player somewhere between eight and 12 hours to complete on its default difficulty setting.

XIII on the GameCube lacks the online multiplayer found in the other versions of the game, but it does contain a four-player split-screen mode and the ability to play against bots, though the bots don't really put up much of a fight. The multiplayer certainly works and the split-screen performs reasonably well from a graphical standpoint, but the maps, most of which come from the single-player campaign, aren't very exciting. Also, an abundance of health and armor on many maps, combined with a general lack of punch from the weapons dulls the excitement.

XIII is a cel-shaded game, which effectively plays off of its comic book roots, but it certainly looks less than impressive. The models and environments are really quite basic, and the animation, particularly the facial animations for the speaking characters, is bad. The game's style covers up some of its shortcomings, but the problems stick out enough to mar the experience.

David Duchovny, Adam West, and Eve all lend their voices to the game. Adam West and Eve do reasonably well, but Duchovny, who plays XIII himself, doesn't come off sounding terribly natural. Beyond that, the sound effects and music are par for the course. The gunfire and explosions are satisfying without excelling, and the music fits the action pretty well.



The game has all the elements that you'd expect a first-person shooter to have. It just doesn't combine them in an exciting way.
XIII has a unique and potentially interesting premise, and some will certainly want to drag their way through the single-player campaign just to watch the story unfold, but the game doesn't really differentiate itself from the wide array of other first-person shooters on the market. The cel-shaded graphical style works in the context of trying to re-create a comic book, but the models and other graphical elements fall short. Given the large amount of competition in this genre, fans of first-person shooting are advised to spend their time elsewhere.                    

[KillZone]

i see the preview it look good to play                    

[Czar]

There's already a thread...in this very forum for this one --> http://www.gatt.co.tt/index.php?name=PNphp...viewtopic&t=865

6.4 from gamespot.com = not worth a try by me.                    

[mangoseed_89]

if it has a good multiplayer function
i wont mind playin it                    

[scwh]

Have any of you actually played the game? One thing i have learned over the years is that some game reviewers have a completely biased opinion. One of my favourite reviewers is Adam Sesseler, on X-Play, but he has one flaw, he gets the demo of some game and raves about it, tells everyone that he cant wait to play it, and when he finally does, he would think the game sucks. A lot of game reviewers suffer from this same over expectation.

I have played xiii and i was going to give it a teribble review, but then i realised that i was expecting too much from the game itself. I mean you play a game that raises the bar on graphics, gameplay, story, then your opinion would get skewered.

In my opinion xiii is a good game overall, i thought David Duchovny was a little dry for the role, but then, what else can you expect from him. He seems to have that flair, for lack of a better word, for the conspiracy theory schtick.
The controls are a bit sticky at times, and the aiming is a bit odd, but when you get used to the whole scheme of the game you can get immersed in it. The story is a bit thin, but it holds you like an old episode of x-files. Some aspects of the game have that Euro humor flavor, which falls on deaf american ears. Over all I would not buy the game, but i would definately get it rented, or borrowed if you have a friend who bought it. Or wait for it to hit the bargin bins in the U.S. because it may be worth 20 usd.                    

[zaibatsu]

yeah dread. i used to reel trust ign, but their ratings cannot be trusted. What you need to do is find a site where the buyers and players rate the game; then you will get more accurate results. Mario kart double dash got kinda low on ign, but everyone else gave it 9's and 10's. You have to really check.

Could someone post some more review scores for the game, from different sites? It looks quite interesting.                    

[mangoseed_89]

gamespot.com-6.4
rottentomatoes.com-7.5
gametab.com-7.2
gamers.com-7.0                    

[trinigamer]

What you need to do is find a site where the buyers and players rate the game; then you will get more accurate results.

See www.pcgamereview.com. Game are rated by players. Also useful to see what systems certain games were played on.                    

[Chrono-X]

Every review is someone or some groups overview and opinion on a game. Just because 1 person may not like it doesnt mean another may have the same outlook. I've been playing XIII all week and I think it's one of the most enjoyable games I've played this year. I'd recommend this fun fun fun title to anyone. As for the comment on Adam Sessler, that does not happen all the time bro, sometimes one can get hyped when they see a game and then the game really does end up being a pack of filt like "enter the matrix" *blech oough hack wheeze spit* A difference experience for each person I say, this is just my opinion on things.                    

[Exar_Kun]

The "big three' is generally considered to be ign,Gamespot and EGM.
EGM gives fair reviews.
Gamespot gives harsh reviews
IGN gives biased reviews.

Go to gamerankings.com
They compile lists of dozens of reviews and give a game a score that's an average of them all.
Or go to GameFAQs and check the submitted reviews.Always remember,when checking submitted reviews,always read the bad one especially carefully.