XIII

aka: Shashou Shisan, Thirteen, XIII: Classic, XIII: le jeu vidéo
Moby ID: 11251
Windows Specs
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Description official descriptions

XIII is a cel-shaded first-person shooter based on the popular Belgian cult comic created by Jean Van Hamme and illustrated by William Vance. The game is loosely based on the first five comics. The main theme of the game is based on Robert Ludlum's book The Bourne Identity, and features a man who is suffering from amnesia and quite possibly involved in the recent assassination of the President of the United States. The hero knows almost nothing except that he must be important, since everyone is trying to kill him. Gradually uncovering the mystery, the hero, learns more about his secret agent past and his curious name: XIII.

The player unravels clues, trying to solve a conspiracy set in an environment that breathes a comic book ambiance. Footsteps and shots are visualized in text and actions: for example, head shots are shown in a series of still images. Aside from that, the game has all the typical FPS elements: both stealth and action, more than fifteen weapons (shotguns, crossbows, rifles, ...), interaction with environmental objects and plenty of enemies in levels spread all over the world. During the game, the player can learn a number of skills such as silent walking, lockpicking and dual weapons handling.

Spellings

  • 杀手十三 - Simplified Chinese spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (Windows version)

380 People (324 developers, 56 thanks) · View all

Producer
Co-Producer
Data Managers
Associate Producer
Game Marketing Manager
Junior Game Marketing Manager
Localization Manager
Project Closer
Online Moderator
Lead Artist
Artistic Director
Lead Character
Lead 2D Artist
Character Textures
3D Artists and Special Effects
Pop-up Windows
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 78% (based on 66 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.5 out of 5 (based on 120 ratings with 6 reviews)

A fantastic FPS. Blew away all my expectations.

The Good
I didn't even know this game was released until recently. According to Mobygames, it was released in the beginning of October? I found that very strange, since this game was hyped to Hell and back during developement, and yet when it was finally released I heard absolutely nothing about it. That really led me to believe that the game was a huge flop. And I read some rather unsettling reviews on top of that, and a lot of people complained about terrible stealth missions. Oh, and the lack of a savegame feature...ugh. Everything I heard of this game just made me think more and more that it wasn't worth it. But thanks to online game trading sites, I managed to get ahold of a copy quite easily, and I must say that after finishing the game, I'm just astounded that this game isn't getting more attention.

This is the first cell-shaded game I've played, and boy did they take the time to make it absolutely perfect. The comic book graphics, the panels that appear on-screen, the three-panel still shot when you kill someone from a distance, in particular, is just wonderful. I've never been a big comic book fan, but I just love the style in this game. In almost any part of the game, were you to take a screenshot, you may not be able to tell whether it was in-game or part of an actual rendered comic book. Bravo, Ubi Soft!

XIII is a first person shooter. Despite its comic book style, it's still just a first person shooter, but it doesn't fail there at all, either. Plenty of guns to keep you occupied, head-shots (almost always) are instant-kills, walking makes you quiet, and lots of vents to crawl through. You sometimes take on enemies one at a time, sometimes you take down fifteen at a time. Lots of things you hide behind, and you can even use parts of the environment (knives, chairs, bottles) to aid you in combat. If you're not a first-person shooter fan, the game probably won't entertain you, but if you are a FPS fan, this game is great.

Also for use in your arsenal is a grappling hook, which, unlike many other games, works wonderfully. You can't use it anywhere, and in fact, it's only used in key parts of the game, but it works. You might have to use it to swing to a ledge, and you'll find that it works great. You won't be surprised by some strange force of physics that throw you around like a rag doll in the wind. Using it to sneak down to some bad guys talking about their evil plans was great fun.

There are about thirty-five levels in all. The levels are varied enough, although the sequence of advancing through each level doesn't change much. Outdoor areas tend to lead you through the environment, up hills, through swaps, accross snowy fields, etc. Indoor areas lead you through vents, computer rooms, smashing windows. What I mean is, you pretty much know what you're going to be doing in any level based on what kind of environment you find yourself in. Call this a good or bad thing, if you want.

The storyline is also intriguing. The whole "d00d I can't remember who I am!" thing has been done to death, but thankfully the story isn't really about that, so much as it is about the "Number" guys and their evil plots. Learning about yourself and regaining what little of your memory you can was a lot better when it wasn't the main focus of the plot. XIII is one of the few first-person shooters I've played lately which really had me glued to my seat. I didn't beat this game just to beat it, I beat it because I wanted to see the entire story.

It helped that the game isn't very hard at all. Bosses are tougher than normal guys, but not THAT much tougher. You won't spend an hour trying to beat a certain spot. At least, I didn't. I found the game to be very easy, and I liked it that way. I'm tired of realistic "die in one or two hits" FPSs, just because they make you exercize the quicksave/quickload buttons until your fingers bleed. No, this game isn't realistic, it's a run-and-gun game that's loads of fun to play.

I heard a lot of people complaining about the stealth missions. I can only think of one level in which took me more than three tries to beat because of the stealth elements. Seriously, I don't get what the big deal is. Yeah, if you want to just run in and kill everything, then you're probably going to really suck at the stealth missions...but heck, you don't even really need to be that stealthy. All you have to do is knock out the guards before they can reach an alarm, or hide the bodies well enough that a passing guard won't find it. I loved the stealth missions. They were easy, they were exciting, at times very tense. Bring on more stealth missions like these!

The Bad
The only thing I really didn't like about this game was the voice acting. Everybody does a fine job except for David Duchovny. I don't know why they spent the money to hire the guy to do the voice acting, considering he has about a total of ten lines in the entire game that aren't "Oh" or "Unf!" or "Who am I?"

Also another thing that annoys me is that there is no lip-syncing. When a character talks, it looks like they're chewing some bubble gum.

The Bottom Line
XIII is one of the best first-person shooters out there. The storyline is great, the graphics are breathtaking, and the style is everything it's hyped up to be. Don't believe the poots that found the stealth missions too hard, because honestly, they're not hard at all.

Aside from Duchovny's voice acting ability and the "bubble-gum chewing" lip-syncing, I find this game almost flawless.

Windows · by kbmb (415) · 2004

It looked great and played terribly.

The Good
XIII's graphic novel look is brilliant. It looks beautiful (though a generation or two behind other shooters released around the same time) and the game play's smooth as one could ask for. The first 15 minutes met the high expectations I had set for the game...

The Bad
...but soon after I found that my hopes were MUCH too high. When the developer's of XIII announced that it would play like a comic book, nerds across the nation began salivating over what looked to be the ultimate "Hybrid of Nerdities." But soon after it's release fan's realized that by "comic book structure," the developers meant a linear bore of a traditional shooter, stuffed with panel intro's and outro's, and the irritating sound effect text's (a la batman) to give it a comic books feel. The gameplay is average, offering nothing extraordinary. I would like to know how a developer can make a FPS that has more in common Blake Stone than modern shooters of the time, and expect it to blow the mind's of gamers around the world. The story begins with a cool introduction to the world of Agent XIII, who seems to have forgotten everything about his previous life. Had the game kept the intriguing story as it's foremost concentration, I would have enjoyed it much more; but alas, it seems that shooting soldier after soldier with an M-16 is the proper way to regain one's identity. Pshh. The game doesn't even include region sensitive damage on an enemy besides the head. Pass this one up; the occasional flash back might have been cool if XIII delivered a story that pulled you in through the game play, but an intelligent game like Farcry or Doom III is a better way to spend your money.

The Bottom Line
Shoot, shoot, bang, kill, flashback, story information, shoot shoot shoot, bang, kill, blood, text, panels, end game.

Windows · by Ricky Pugh (6) · 2004

Best attempt at a playable comic book yet

The Good
The graphics were what first attracted me to this game. The comic book style is not only visually pleasing but also integrated into the gameplay elements. For example if you wait by a door the words "TAP TAP TAP" represent the presence, and also the location and direction of any guards moving on the other side. Also panel overlays often show views of important items or dangerous situations. Hopefully a sequel will expand on these elements.

Underneath all the comic book gloss is a solid story and some good gameplay elements. My favourite sections were the stealth sections which are done very well even with the absence of a MGS style enemy view cone. The AI on the average soldiers is quite good which makes up for the disappointing AI on the boss characters. This is not a game where running in and blasting away will get you very far.

The ability to knock-out guards with things you find around you is a nice idea. Unfortunately, the tedious throw aside animation means that if you miss you'll have to stand there in a hail of bullets before you can perform a follow-up attack.

The music tracks help to complete the mood of the game and are in keeping with the overall style. The idle chatter of the guards are also an amusing diversion when you have to play the same section several times.

The Bad
I didn't get off to a good start with this title. Firstly I couldn't install from the discs - I had to copy the files to the hard drive first, and then install from there. Secondly, the copy protection system wouldn't let me play the game even with the disc in the drive! I contemplated cracking the game but eventually found out that the copy protection data doesn't exist on the install disc and you have to use the first game disc. I regretted my decision to persevere with the legitimate system later when it turned out you still had to disc swap even if you installed the entire game (what's the point of having the option if you still have to disc swap?) These pathetic anti-piracy efforts are only annoying for legitimate customers of course!

While most of the levels are well balanced, the boss levels are another story. They aren't hard because they have better AI or skills than the normal bad guys: they're hard because you have to hit them so many times. For example a direct hit with a rifle grenade will barely touch most of the boss characters, yet the splash back from this same grenade could well kill you! You are more likely to fail these levels through lack of ammunition than through lack of tactical skill. Only persistence will eventually get you through.

The save game system is quite flaky too. Several times I had to play the same level two or three times because the game didn't save properly.

The Bottom Line
It is an interesting twist on the first person shooter, with a distinctive graphical style, and well designed plot. But beneath the style it brings very little new to the genre.

Windows · by Paul Sinnett (502) · 2004

[ View all 6 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Game with MSI! Fred VT (25953) Feb 19, 2014
Cine14.bik Daniel Saner (3503) Aug 12, 2007

Trivia

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

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Related Sites +

  • Official Webpage (Mac)
    The official product page for the Mac version of XIII on the publisher's website, which provides trailers, an overview of characters and weapons within the game itself, desktop wallpapers, a demo, and purchasing information, among other such particulars.
  • Treize
    Official comic book site
  • UBI Soft XIII site
    UBI Soft website for XIII
  • XIII - le site non-officiel
    Unofficial XIII comic book site

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 11251
  • [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Sciere.

Xbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube added by Corn Popper. Macintosh added by Kabushi.

Additional contributors: Unicorn Lynx, jean-louis, Stillman, Zeppin, Patrick Bregger, Plok, 64er.

Game added December 8, 2003. Last modified March 7, 2024.