XIII

I remember XIII getting mediocre reviews when it first came out. I even remember playing a demo before it launched and distincly recall being unimpressed. The game became a bit of a cult hit though in the years thereafter. So I figured maybe I had missed something and recently gave the game a fresh new try. Unfortunatly I still don't think I would've missed much had I never played it. It's a long (too long even if you ask me), mediocre FPS game with too many stealth missions that fail you instantly the second you get spotted. The story is convoluted for no good reason and even has the audacity to end in a cliffhanger which, we know now, never gets resolved. The cell shaded comic book style graphics are a nice touch though, I'll give it that. But it's been proven time and again that good graphics and good art style is not enough to warrant a playthrough and XIII is no different. Skip it.

Der Artstil, das Gameplay und Story slles fühlt sich so an wie früher. Grafisch ist dieser Port jetzt nicht der schönste, vor Allem da ich mit Widescreen spiele und die Maus im Menü ist ungenau. Ebenso fehlt mir die Controller Unterstützung für die ultimative Nostalgie

I don't know why, but the product page does not mention the extras that the game comes with. Aside from a couple of avatars, a nice (non-scanned) copy of the manual and three different wallpapers of various resolutions (up to 1920x1200), the game has an upbeat, funky soundtrack that's a pleasure to listen to — if you're into that sort of thing. It consists of 13 tracks in mp3 format using a variable bit rate. This game is often on sale, and when it is, I'd say it's worth getting just for a listen.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm weird for liking these not-so-popular, or maybe not "good enough", games that, for some reason, never took off and became popular enough to get a sequel or two. I remember getting hooked on the story, the fantastic-looking cel-shading graphics, and, of course, the awesome gameplay. Nowadays, the multiplayer mode is, of course, non-existent, but it was fun back in the day too. For me, this game was a total blast, and I replayed it quite a few times. It was unlike any FPS I had played before, and I'm glad I experienced it back in the day. From what I remember, the comics used to be quite popular, so I wonder why the game wasn't as much. Anyway, we got a remake that somehow gets trashed all the time, but I haven't played it, so I can't say why. The classic XIII is good enough, and honestly, even in 2024, this game is totally playable and enjoyable on all kinds of PCs. Some mechanics might feel outdated, but it's not so bad, honestly. Definitely worth grabbing if you see it on sale.

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