XIII

XIII is a strange beast. It feels like a much older game than it is but one that has aged well. I'd recommend it to anyone with an interest in shooters but I couldn't recommend it as a particularly great shooter in its own right. Parts of it are still very fresh like the comic book styling which goes significantly beyond the cell shaded graphics (to which time has been less kind than you might expect but still looks nice enough) but other parts such, as the near complete lack of AI, feels extremely dated. This does not look or feel like a game that came out a month after Max Payne 2 and four months before Far Cry. It sits more comfortably alongside games of the Half-Life era than Half-Life 2 and its other near contemporaries. The plot is actually really pretty damn weak conspiracy theory fluff and, dare I say it, overrated… vastly overrated. I’d say it was no better than say Bad Company 2 so I have to disagree with anyone claiming they don’t make them like this anymore. Unfortunately, as with BC2, I couldn’t bring myself to care about any of it. I’d actually prefer Far Cry which at least knew it had a stupid plot and was willing to poke fun at itself. It was still fun to creep about and hit people with brooms and or take them out from afar with the magic perfectly accurate scoped crossbow. That was the solid core of the experience for me. I don’t need smart enemies or good plots in an FPS as long as the action is sufficiently amusing and it is. It is also worth noting how varied the pace is. This is a game which will at times insist on you taking a stealthy approach, at other insist on running and gunning and then spend a good deal of time giving you a choice between two viable approaches. I had fun with it as a shooter and found it interesting enough as a historical curiosity to want to spend half an hour reviewing it but I doubt I’ll replay it any time soon. Now I have to decide if I rate it as 3 stars or 4 stars. I’m leaning to 4 because it was good fun and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to you if you think it might be your sort of thing where as 3 might be taken as warning you off.

This is a very interesting fps game, mainly for the art style. I love how the entire game looks like a comic book. The story is also pretty cool, and goes well with the art style. Gameplay can be wonderful at times, especially when its an action packed shoot out. However, I did't really like the mandatory stealth missons. I thought that they were very bare bones compared to other stealth games. Also, the game is an older game, so it may have some issues with it's vizuales. The game can run in 1920x1080, but you have to do some work arounds in oreder to do so. Even then, the ingame ccomi panels can look really pixalated. All in all, it's a good game. However, because of it's age, I'd reccommend getting the remaster when it's out (if it's any good).

It took me 9 years to finally break down and buy XIII. I've always considered it, but there seemed to be another game shouting at me just a little louder, so I kept passing this gem up. Playing it has been pure 'fun'. The challenge level is spot-on, the FPS mechanics are well done, and there is a mix of lock picking, grappling and bashing with various objects to keep it fresh. It seems to have the old-school FPS characteristic of everything moving at 2x speed at times, but it doesn't cause any pain. Excellent art style, fairly intriguing story, Adam West, and great level design makes me wonder why there was no sequel. Highly recommended to shooter fans....

Overall I feel like this game is fun in its own ways but definitely, people have a bit of nostalgia glasses on when playing this. Is it better than the remake? Absolutely. Is it as good or as better than its earlier FPS/Boomer Shooter games/counterparts back then? No, I wouldn't say that. It's got clunky controls, terrible stealth mechanics, and a checkpoint system that'll make people not play anymore. I would definitely say play this whenever there's a chance to get it for free or at its current price.

Well, i got this game on a giveaway a months ago. Now, after a lot of hours played, i would definitely pay for it now. The comic book style adds a unique way to interact with things, and even the simple act of shoot is fun, since you can see a cute (but deadly) RATARATARATA while you kill enemies. The guns... they are normal. Nothing i can say about that, you have rifles, pistols and other guns. And yes, this game includes some stealth parts, which can be annoying sometimes, but nothing too bad. Its definitely a buy, especially for this price.