Review #495: XIII

 A living comic book.

Unlike journalists we do know how to pronounce the game's title, thank you very much.

 What is XIII? It's the codename of the hero from the comicbook of the same name, XIII. It's also the name of a videogame based on said comicbook. Incredibly unique, XIII is a first-person shooter with a fantastic comic-book inspired look, a design that makes it so that comic book bubbles pop when characters talk, comic-book styled panels appear onscreen to highlight certain actions and onomatopoeias appear on screen, like 'Tap tap' for steps. It's truly a sight to behold, and its beauty isn't just skin deep.

 The story follows XIII after he wakes up on the beach, heavily wounded. It's not too long before thugs attempt on his life, and following the only leads he has goes on a quest for his identity. Initially, because he discovers who he is pretty early in the game and is soon tasked with stopping the conspiracy of the XX members. The story is relatively interesting, and there're a ton of black and white, playable flashbacks that not only look stylish but add a lot of personality to the game. Sadly, being based on a on-going comic book(to this day!) means that it ends on a cliffhanger... and one that happens after a brilliantly set-up plot twist. I finished the game feeling both praise, for how well they pulled it off, and frustration, because it will, probably, never be resolved! Not in videogame format anyways.

The art-direction is truly a sight to behold.

 The game is divided into 30-something missions. It sounds like a lot, but most of them are relatively short. That said, some missions are connected, so your inventory, life and armor carry over to the next. While I was a bit turned off at first, the set-up works relatively well, and some missions are a bt longer than others. Missions themselves offered a nice variety of objectives, there was stealth, shootouts, boss fights and other one-off objectives like turning off a missile launch while under a time limit, and you even get nifty spy tools, like a grappling hook and a long-range microphone. The checkpoint system was a bit lackluster, since a few missions would have you replay somewhat tedious segments if you died or screwed up. You see, the game is a bit slow-paced, so having to sit still while conversations take place or what not isn't very fun, so it was a bit annoying having to sit through those unskippable 'playable' cutscenes until I got it right.

 The game is unlike most modern shooters, because stealth plays a big part in it. Some missions require you to go through unnoticed, others will result in failure if you fail to stop an enemy before he turns on an alarm, etc. Sometimes you'll even have to hide bodies and what not. Stealth is very important, and while I don't think they got it quite right, it was overall relatively fun. On the other hand, full-on firefights where a blast, circle-strafing around baddies while unloading bullets felt really satisfying. It's probably thanks to the shooting feeling very tight, while the art-style makes everything pop and as fun to look at as to play it.

The online servers are dead, but you can play split-screen multiplayer!

 The game is old, so there's not regenerating health here, either you find healthpacks and armor or go bust. It also came before 'Iron sights' aiming was a thing, which will probably take a bit of time getting used to, as well as a suboptimal control scheme, another victim of its age. I found it a bit hard to grab ammo and items, it seems like the collision detection is a bit off, so if at first you don't grab it, try moving the camera around until XIII picks up whatever's lying on the table. Another quirk was with fallen enemies, who don't drop their weapons immediately so you have to wait a few seconds before you go fetch your newly found source of ammo.

 I don't know how faithful the game is to the comicbook, but what I do know is that it's a fantastic game on its own right. The gameplay is tight, even if there's a few issues here and there, and while I wasn't a fan of the stealth sections I can appreciate the variety. Its artstyle is something completely unique, I don't think any other game took the comic book aesthetics this close to heart. XIII is worth every second, even if the game ends on a cliffhanger.
 8.0 out of 10