XIII

"XIII is not unlucky"

Story: 10/10
Lack of story is a problem many FPS’s have. I’m glad to say XIII does not have that issue. You start out waking up on a beach. You have no idea how you got there or why. Apparently you murdered the president but you have no idea why and you don’t remember doing it. The story is enough to keep you playing until your thumbs are bloody stumps.

Graphics: 9/10
WOW! Best describes the quality of the cell shading done in this game. I know what you’re thinking- a cell shaded FPS? Oddly enough, it works. The characters and weapons look great. It really makes you feel like you’re in a comic book.

Gameplay: 8/10
Everything works pretty well here. The auto-aim is OK but could be improved. You can do other things like take hostages and use just about anything as a weapon. There are some interesting elements added, such as the really comic book like feel to it. When you kill someone, the words “NOOOO” or “ARRGGH” appear on top of their heads like in a comic book. If you fire a bazooka the word “BAOOM” will arch across the screen.

Sound: 7/10
The sound is about average. Screams when people die, bullet noises. The voice acting is not that great.

Multiplayer: 7/10
The multiplayer is mostly average with some big ups and some big downs. The bots almost never miss. This game does support system link and Xbox LIVE! So if you don’t have any friends you can still play multiplayer. There are a few different modes- Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, and the Xbox exclusive Sabotage. In Sabotage, one team has to plant bombs at 3 different locations and the other team tries to stop them. Overall the multiplayer is fun but the flawless bots subtract from it.

Replay Value: 7/10
There are three different difficulty settings for XIII- Arcade, Easy, and Realistic. I’m planning on playing them all. The multiplayer offers some replay. Overall, the replay is above average if you have LIVE!

Buy or rent?
Rent first but in my opinion this is a game any First Person Shooter fan should own. If you don’t have LIVE! or friends who will play XIII with you, don’t get it. The story mode is over to quickly to buy it just for that. It could easily be completed in one five day rental.

This is a neat game with some neat graphics and themes. Even if you hate cell shading and FPS’s with all of your heart you should still at least rent this game.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/29/03