XIII

XIII is a cel-shaded first person...

Strengths: Good first-person shooter; quality voice-acting; inspired interface and graphics

Weakness: Comic book style sometime gets in the way of the story

XIII is a cel-shaded first person shooter styled like an interactive comic book. The graphics are great as long as you can appreciate the style they are done in, and the voice-acting is filled with emotion without being over-the-top. It's a short play at under 15 hours, but those looking for a decent shooter on the Gamecube have come to the right place.

By nwaugh - Jun 2, 2005

This game is one of the best 1st...

Strengths: Great 1st person shooter. excellent graphics and game play

Weakness: none

This game is one of the best 1st person shooters I have ever played. It has excellent graphics. The game shows you an extreme close-up of the kill. There are a lot of weapons to choose from like a bow and arrow. It also has a lot of levels to keep you entertained for a while.

By merwynp - Nov 24, 2004

Definitely not my favorite console FPS

Strengths: Cel shaded graphics are nice

Weakness: Control scheme is poor

While I am mostly familiar with playing FPS on the PC, I have enjoyed several games from this genre on the Game Cube -- Time Splitters comes to mind. When I was able to find this game at current bargain bin prices, I decided to pull the trigger and buy it. I can not recommend this game to anyone. While the cel shaded graphics are nice, I did not care for the control scheme at all. I played for...
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While I am mostly familiar with playing FPS on the PC, I have enjoyed several games from this genre on the Game Cube -- Time Splitters comes to mind. When I was able to find this game at current bargain bin prices, I decided to pull the trigger and buy it. I can not recommend this game to anyone. While the cel shaded graphics are nice, I did not care for the control scheme at all. I played for two hours, and gave up in disgust. I then picked up my copy of James Bond: Everything or Nothing, just to make sure that I wasn't mistaken. I was able to jump right in to the Bond game and was enjoying it again within minutes. While the Bond games was admittedly a third person perspective and not a FPS, I just found the controls much more intuitive. I may go back to XIII at some point, but with all the other games that I have waiting to be played I think it is pretty unlikely that I'll try this one again.

By njkrautk - Jan 3, 2007

XIII

Strengths: Stylized cel-shaded graphics are nice

Weakness: Dumb enemy AI

XIII is a first-person shooter done in a graphic novel cel-shaded style. The character models are amazing, while the backgrounds are slightly less so. The game has a fairly linear presentation and some very dumb enemy AI, making the game somewhat easy. Despite that, though, this is a change-of-pace game, particularly on the Gamecube, and worth a look especially as it can be found for...
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XIII is a first-person shooter done in a graphic novel cel-shaded style. The character models are amazing, while the backgrounds are slightly less so. The game has a fairly linear presentation and some very dumb enemy AI, making the game somewhat easy. Despite that, though, this is a change-of-pace game, particularly on the Gamecube, and worth a look especially as it can be found for bargain-basement prices nowadays.

By mojave - Jan 3, 2007

Now available for a price you might consider paying. . .

Strengths: Based on the comics/graphic novel series, neat cel-shaded graphics, huge weapons inventory, multiplayer support, decent enemy AI, budget price

Weakness: Confusing storyline, uninspired voice acting, limited replay value, no unlockables, save issues, cliffhanger ending

XIII has been popular as a comic and graphics novel series in Europe for many years now, but the series is just now making its way stateside. The video game was released on all the current systems (including PC and Mac), so pretty much anyone interested could find a copy for their machine. The game itself is somewhat of an acquired taste though. The cartoon-like cel-shaded graphics give it an odd...
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XIII has been popular as a comic and graphics novel series in Europe for many years now, but the series is just now making its way stateside. The video game was released on all the current systems (including PC and Mac), so pretty much anyone interested could find a copy for their machine.

The game itself is somewhat of an acquired taste though. The cartoon-like cel-shaded graphics give it an odd look for a first person shooter, and the underwhelming voice acting by lead David Duchovny and tired "lost my memory" storyline don't add much to the equation.

On the other hand, Adam West does a decent job here, and your weapons inventory is quite large. The AI can also be quite challenging as their weapons seem much more powerful than anything you get to shoot with. The fact that XIII can now be found new for $20 (cheaper used) makes it less risky as a purchase.

Some will dislike the cliffhanger ending and limited replay value, but a multiplayer mode gives it slightly longer legs. Don't pay more than $20 for this though. If you have any doubts going in, try renting it first.

By MaxBiaggi2 - Feb 6, 2006