XIII

To be honest, if this game didn't have such a unique visual style, i would've gone with a 3 stars. There are annoying moments, there are "stop spawning, dammit" moments, there are cheap shot moments and overall the gameplay is rather bland. But when you add the comic book style, never recreated in this manner before or after this game, you start forgiving most missteps of the game. The very fact that you can SEE the footstep sounds is awesome by itself. And i'm not even talking about the headshots with various weapons, explosions and shooting, which always looks great. Fels, not so much, but looks great. And the biggest disappointment with XIII is not the game itself, but rather the fact, that Ubisoft never got to make the sequel and finish the story, so you have to find the original comic book if you want to know what happens next. As it is, the game's unique visuals should not be passed by for this low price. Even if the gameplay is more often CLICK! CLICK! than RATATATA.

When the game was first released way back when, it wasn't received very well at all. I'll be open and say that there probably isn't a chance in hell that I would have played this game if it weren't for the fact that I got it free with a computer I bought once. Wow, what a freebie. Though the level design can be pretty poor in spots, particularly with some of the stealth sections of the game being pretty irritating, XIII offers great action, a great story, and with some fine voice acting. The look to the game is something you'll be hard pressed to find elsewhere, with cell-shaded graphics and a user interface that looks like it's been ripped straight out of a comic book. XIII is fantastic, and definitely worth your time and money...especially at this price!

No native widescreen support and mouse issues in the menu. This may help: https://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/XIII#Patches

I must say, in a genre that's plagued by generic titles and horrid little 12 year olds, this game is quite a breath of fresh air. The existence of an actual plot as well as very interesting and unique graphics (though as shooters go, that's not hard, simply using colours other then brown and grey'll do it) make for a highly enjoyable game. However, that's not why you should buy this game. That would be simply for what happens when you pull of a successful headshot with the sniper rifle. I won't spoil it, I'll just let you discover that little gem within a gem for yourself.