XIII

Characters

Not all the enemies in the game are pure fantasy. The look of at least two of them is based on real persons. One of them is Niels Bogdan, German PR-guy from Ubi Soft, the other one is more interesting: In cooperation with the German games-show NBC GIGA GAMES, the designers gave the viewers of the show the chance to get themselves into the game. They just had to send pictures - and the other viewers decided, which was the meanest looking villain, you could imagine.

Well, in the end, they didn't choose some mean looking guy - but a very, very mean, in a strange way, looking, young, ultra-nerdish guy. So, if you come across some really questionable villain who looks a bit like Bill Gates, you know why...

References

In the Canyon level, you can find three deserted graves. Unlike the tomb in the garden of the mansion, later on in the game, the names written on them do not refer to in-game characters, but to members of the development team: Olivier Dupin (2D), Marc Chevalier (3D Artists and Special Effects) and Nath Moschetti (Artistic Director).

Soundtrack

The groovy seventies music is composed by artists associated with the San Francisco's Future Primitive Sound art collective. The soundtrack has been made available exclusively in a XIII game bundle that could be ordered from the Ubisoft site. There are no song titles, just 13 unidentified tracks that flow one into the other in one continuous mix.

Awards

• 4Players
  • 2003 – Best PC Story of the Year
  • 2003 – Best PC Innovation of the Year
• Computer Gaming World
  • March 2004 (Issue #236) – Special Achievement in Art Direction

Information also contributed by Felix Knoke