XIII

Overview

XIII is a First Person Shooter based on the 1984 Belgian comic of the same name. The game was released in late 2003 on a variety of platforms. The player takes control of XIII, an amnesiac attempting to discover his identity and uncover a conspiracy which threatens the democracy of the United States of America.

Plot

Explosions in XIII

The story of the game is based almost entirely on the comic with a few changes for gameplay reasons. The game starts out in Brighton Beach where XIII awakes with amnesia and is badly wounded. He is taken to medical center by a lifeguard who finds all he has on him is a key and tattoo on his neck. Shortly there after, the lifeguard is murdered and groups of thugs attempt to kill XIII causing him to flee to the bank he believes the key is to. From here XIII learns that he is being targeted by a hitman called the Moongoose and he is wanted by the FBI for the murder of The President.

Through a series of flashbacks and introspections, XIII discovers that he is actually one Jason Fly, a special agent who, through surgery, took the identity of Steve Roland in order to infiltrate the ranks of a secret brotherhood called XX. XIII attempts to uncover the conspiracy throughout the game and learn the true identity of I the leader of the brotherhood. However, it must be noted the game ends at Volume 5 of the comic series and as such the game is left at a cliffhanger.

Gameplay

Comic style panels

Staying true to the comic book formula XIII has cel-shaded graphics and various gameplay elements which the player can use to their advantage throughout the single player portion of the game. As you play through the game various actions you take bring up comic book style panels, adding to the illusion that you are really playing a comic book.

XIII is also able to obtain various abilities found in briefcases around the levels, for example you can sense where enemies are by the "tap tap" of their feet displayed on screen which players can use in stealth situations. Other abilities include dual wielding weapons and regenerating more health.

Multiplayer

XIII features various multiplayer modes for up to 16 players and 3 modes are exclusive to each console. The modes are as follows:

• Deathmatch-Classic deathmatch (i.e. free for all)
• Team Deathmatch-Classic team deathmach
• Capture The Flag-Players run around the map trying to capture the enemy team's flags
• Sabotage
• The Hunt-Players get a shotgun and chase a creature around the map. With each shot the creature gets smaller and faster. It can kill you,and you can also kill the other players
• Power Up

Weapons

• Knife
• 9mm Handgun
• 44 Special
• Hunting Gun
• Shotgun
• Harpoon
• Simple Crossbow
• Three-Arrows Crossbow
• Uzi (SMG)
• Kalash
• Assault Rifle
• Mini Gun
• Bazooka
• Sniper Rifle
• Grenade

Voice Cast

• XIII - David Duchovny
• Major Jones - Eve
• General Carrington - Adam West
• Mongoose - Ken Starcevic
• Walter Sheridan - Eddie Crew