XIII

" Ubisoft's lucky number"

Gameplay can define games, and it can wreck games. Games can be over-hyped, and sell just on that. Graphics can sell games. Sometimes a company dares to try something new, and in the end releases a brilliant game. UbiSoft can claim each of these factors in their latest Cel Shaded venture into the FPS genre. Sure Xbox is home to the best shooters on the Xbox, but UbiSoft found its way around the gems, and built its own fan base based on its online play, and radical look. With such a stellar concept put to good use, XIII was an almost guaranteed success.

Waking up on a beautiful deserted island can be a confusing thing for a man. You've got to be hungry, dazed, confused, and miserable. Thoughts rushing through my head with each pounding beat of my heart, rendering me to buxom beach dwelling babes. This kind of thing happens to the most of us quite often, but for me this is quite obscure. Luckily for me UbiSoft elaborated on this hangover of sorts, giving me a hottie within a few minutes of my consciousness. She helps me across the sand bringing me into her expensive beach side crib. Just when she heals me and things start to heat up, her house is ransacked, and bullets are drilled into her back. Running for my life, I leaped for the front door and made my narrow escape. Unfortunately for me life couldn't end there, and now I must recover my past, find out what exactly happened, and hopefully wind up on a better beach next time. Anyway, folks are saying I shot the president, but I'm not so sure. Although there are witnesses and I was spotted with a gun snipping out of a window, I will prove all accusations incorrect, even if it kills me.

Much of the game is built on the premise of exploring a level from point A to point B, and often times you'll be looking for someone, trying to rescue someone, or trying to kill someone. XIII is a somewhat linear experience which can be forgiven with its easy to control gameplay, and thoughtful gun-fights. Sure XIII isn't Ghost Recon, Return To Castle Wolfenstein, or Counter-Strike but it provides you with a quicker paced straight-forward FPS. This game tends to be for the most part dark and unforgiving. You will use hostages as human-shields which will often times make the enemy afraid to fire. There is a fair amount of strategy to be used in XIII, not to mention its amazing level design, and multiplayer complexity.

Cel Shading is now as abundant in gaming as hentai is on your computer. It is obvious that UbiSoft was struggling to maintain a look here. They wanted to look badass, still make their game look fun, but not make it too mature at the same time. The result is a fast paced, mind-blowing FPS. Straight from the pages of a gritty 90s' comic book-the enemies are vibrant, shady, and intimidating. The environments are curvy and gorgeous somewhat like a Wonder Bread girl. Levels range from the lively Winslow bank, to the SPADS military site located in South America. The characters all look freshly outlined, and detailed to a reasonable extent, while still looking good. If you are big on Cel Shading, that right there should warrant the purchase of XIII.

Fine, so XIII isn't that deep of a game. It will last you around 10 hours max to complete everything, but will still be a worthy asset to your Xbox collection, as you'll want to play it over-and-over again once your done. If you don't enjoy shooting games, the attractive cartoonish look of XIII isn't about to sway you any other way, but if your already a fan of shooters, you will so realize that there is still room for innovation after Ghost Recon. Many people already play XIII online, though that number has dramatically decreased since its release, there is still a strong community backing its favored Deathmatch mode.

Cel Shading, and UbiSoft bias put to side, XIII is an exceptional shooter at heart. The voice-overs were well casted but come off sounding quite a bit forced at times. If you aren't big on shooters than I don't know if I could properly recommend buying it, but you should look into it if your looking for an innovative sleeper hit that should have sold more than Valve's counter-strike. Thirteen isn't a lucky number for most people, but this doesn't hold true for UbiSoft.

9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/28/04