bit-tech Shopping: UbiSoft XIII (GC)

Rating: 4

Time with product: 1 Days

Strengths: Cel shaded graphics are nice

Weaknesses: Control scheme is poor

Summary: 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.

Rating: 6

Time with product: 8 Months

Strengths: Stylized cel-shaded graphics are nice

Weaknesses: Dumb enemy AI

Summary: 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.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 2 Months

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

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

Summary: 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.

Rating: 6

Time with product:

Strengths: Art style really is like a comic come to life.

Weaknesses: Not enough to seperate it from the rest of the FPS pack.

Summary: I want to explain why I game this game three stars. There is certainly nothing wrong with it, it is in fact, quite a nice, fun game. The problem is the plethora of FPS's in the console market. This game is simply not an A-level FPS. With the eight or nine games I would consider an A level FPS, it is hard to recommend the puchase of an also ran, even though many, like XIII, are still quite good. I do have to say that the visual style of the game is very good, and if I were to intentionally choose a B level FPS to play, the artwork would definitely seperate this game from the rest of the pack.

Rating: 6

Time with product: 3

Strengths: Nice graphics, good gameplay, expansive multiplayer

Weaknesses: No one bought it

Summary: Although a commercial flop, XIII is a good FPS with a graphics twist, looking more like a comic book/cartoon than real-life. There are a number of different multiplayer modes (deathmatch, capture the flag, etc), which utilizes the split-screen (up to four players) pretty well. The control scheme is pretty standard for FPS. Overall, a worthwhile budget purchase.