XIII

"Best cell-shaded shooter ever."

XIII, Steve Rowland. You wake up on a beach with no memory. The entire game is trying to regain your memory, and also trying to uncover the 20, or should I say XX conspirators trying to kill you. Oh, and another thing, you killed the President of the United States, or did you? Only General Carrington can prove your innocence, if you are in fact innocent. The FBI is on your tail and so is the Mongoose, the bounty hunter hired to kill you. While trying to hunt down your past, your past comes to hunt down you.

XIII has one of the most thoroughly thought out and complicated plots of any video game that I have ever played. 20 masked conspirators trying to kill you, as well as take over the United States. Throughout the game you have flashbacks as you encounter new characters.
Other than having a nice plot, its also a nice shoot-um-up game that everyone likes. From magnums to M-60s and Bazookas, you can also pick up chairs, ashtrays, and even shards of glass that you can use to take out an opponent. This game has pretty much every category of guns, pistols, explosives, throwing knives, sniping, automatics, and even some poisonous darts are thrown in there.

The only thing thats messed up in this game is the bots in multi-player. While in a gunfight with one bot and you both have to reload at the same time, and you both have the same gun, the bot somehow reloads about 5 seconds faster then you do. Also, the "hard" bots are more than just hard, they are near invincible! Also some of the arenas aren't as well thought out as they could have been. But, I have to say that "The Death" mode is wicked fun. You chase around this little guy and every time you shoot him he gets smaller until he explodes. He can't pick up any weapons, but if he touches you, than you die instantly.

Anyhow, the climax of the game will leave your heart beating harder than normal and you trying to catch your breath. Overall I would recommend anyone and everyone to buy or at least rent this game. Its one of the best out there.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/08/04