XIII

"This is no ordinary comic."

This game came free with a graphics card upgrade needed to play Doom 3. All I really have to say is that I have no clue why this is ridiculed by so many.

From what I've heard, this game is based off of a french comic. The story begins with you waking up on a beach, not remembering who you are. A woman finds you and takes you to a facility close by to identify you. However, before she can do this, she is murdered by some mercenaries. After a while, you find out that you are Steve Roland, and you are being accused of murdering the president. Since you're the hero, you can't possibly be the real culprit, can you? Working with a small group of allies you must find out who the real murderer is, and discover the conspiracy that killed the president. The story is almost always showing itself in flashback cut scenes, and it's paced beautifully.

The graphics are cel-shaded and nothing special on the surface. The casual gamer would be put off by it's cartoonish look, but what I love about it is the style. Since this is based on a comic, a lot of the story is shown in panels. It also does this in the game. When you shoot a guy in the head, it does panel close ups of the head shot. It also imitates the comic with the classic "Noooooooo" and stuff like that. The graphics themselves are good, and everything is detailed well enough.

The controls are kind of questionable. Some like the wasd way of moving, some don't. The controls can be configured to your liking, but they are hard to get used to no matter what.

The game play is what I suppose people don't like. Everyone is wanting something revolutionary from every first-person-shooter out there, and they only go for that. XIII doesn't give anything completely new to the generation, but it is still great. You start out with almost nothing. But every time you find a document on number 13, you gain a new ability. After the first one, which ability you get is random. These skills range from upgrades like breathing longer and recovering more health, to almost necessary things like using two weapons at once. It has a over 30 levels, all ranging from assaults, defence, and stealth. The only thing I don't like about this game is the stealth, as I've never been a fan. The game has your standard weapons, such as a pistol, shotgun, and other generic weapons. As I said before, while nothing revolutionary is here, what is is very good.

In terms of difficulty, the game is mixed. Some missions are pretty simple, but others, especially the stealth missions, are just downright nasty. Also, once you beat the game, which should take a week or two, there's not much to come back for.

In conclusion, this game is great. While it is rough at times, and has a kiddie look, it still brings out many great qualities.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/07/05