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XIII Review
Chris Leyton
11/12/2003
We take a look at Ubisoft' stylish but fundamentally flawed political fps...
Based around the cult comic strip created by Jean Van Hamme and William Vance, âXIIIâ places players ingeniously in the role of a man who wakes up with amnesia on a beach and is quickly embroiled in the assassination of the President of America.
Using a cell-shaded look the game perfectly captures not only the look but also the feel of a crime-noir comic book, but unfortunately some sever fundamental flaws stop this game from being the classic political thriller it could have become.
Without wanting to spoil any of the games plotlines, which are essentially the games strongest aspect, XIII finds himself awoken on a beach with no memory as to how he got there or who he is. As you progress through the game, certain scenes allow you to play through his flashbacks, allowing the player to grab important insights into who you are and what everything is all about. Itâs touches such as these that make you want to enjoy âXIIIâ, but sadly the outdated gameplay will soon have you ditching your control pad.
âXIIIâ plays like an old fps, with uninspiring mission objectives, simplistic level designs and atrocious enemy AI â“ at times itâs like being back in 1997. The enemy AI has to be the worst element in this game, almost bordering on embarrassment; youâll certainly find yourself questioning why guards always go and seek their fallen friends, leaving you to gun them down with no response. Unfortunately the collision detection is also slightly off, with only headshots accurately calculated, thanks to the comic-book style boxes that pop up to show the shot in close detail.
The game is full of little touches to give it the comic-book feel, from its use of bold and stark cell-shaded visuals to the visualisation of noises in visual words. Whilst many of these are merely gimmicks, some have an effect on the gameplay; certainly Ubisoft should be congratulated for creating a unique visual experience different to anything weâve played before.
One of our major grievances with the game comes from its sloppy control system; quite frankly you have to struggle with the erratic analogue set-up just to begin going anywhere, let alone shooting anything.
Sadly the mission objectives mainly revolve around getting from Point A to Point B, occasionally with a team-mate, however theyâre usually more problems then what theyâre worth. With the subject material we were hoping for a slightly more involving game subject then simply shoot everything that moves. Occasionally the game brightens up, the use of a grappling hook provides brief moments of enjoyment, but sadly itâs far too little to make the overall experience enjoying.
To its credit the game features a wide range of weapons, plus itâs possible to pick up a further range of objects such as chairs and ashtrays to use as secondary weapons or grab hold of a hostage to use as a human shield. But sadly none of the weapons feel very satisfactory in use, whilst shots tend to be very hit-and-miss. The end result misses the authenticity of realistic fps but also the sheer action fuelled enjoyment from fps such as âQuakeâ or âUnreal Tournamentâ.
Featuring online support for the Playstation2, Xbox and PC along with 4P split-screen for the GameCube, âXIIIâ features a wide range of multiplayer modes. Bizarrely each version offers different modes to the other alongside the standard deathmatch modes and variations:
Playstation2 Online Modes
PlayStation 2 players will benefit from five multiplayer modes including "The Hunt" and "Power Up" with up to four players online, in addition to the two-player split-screen offline.
The exclusive PS2 multiplayer mode, Power Up, is a custom Deathmatch multiplayer mode, which includes various pick-ups â“ some classic pick-ups are replaced with funnier ones, such as "Frag Instant Death" (ability to kill opponent with one shot) or "SuperGnome" (character becomes deformed). Additionally, pick-ups are chosen according to the player's score position. The best player will receive the worst pick-ups and vice versa.
In the Hunt, players chase a running target throughout the map. Points are scored depending on how much damage is afflicted each time the target is hit. The more times the target is hit, the smaller it becomes, so scoring becomes more difficult. Players gain extra points by killing the target, but touching the target results in death!
Xbox Live! Modes
Xbox gamers can dive into four-player split-screen offline multiplayer or enter into online battles with up to eight players. The exclusive Xbox Live mode is "Sabotage," where two teams compete to take control of different strategic points in the map. One team must defend the control points, while the other team must sabotage them within a certain time limit. The defending team wins if time runs out, while the attacking team wins by destroying all of the defense points.
Additionally the PC version boasts 8P online multiplayer and a map-editor, whilst the GameCube version allows 4P split-screen in âDeathMacthâ, âTeam DeathMacthâ, âCapture the Flagâ and âHuntâ modes.
