XIII (2003 video game)

Gameplay of XIII, illustrating the insets that pops up when a headshot is performed.

XIII is a first-person shooter with elements of stealth and action in certain missions.[4] The game centers on the main character, named XIII, who has awakened with amnesia. He uses a variety of weapons and gadgets to uncover the mystery of his identity throughout the 13 chapters and 34 missions. The characters and weaponry in XIII are cel-shaded, giving a deliberately comic book style appearance, including onomatopoeic words contained in bubbles for sound effects. It uses Unreal Engine 2[5] because it was "really strong for level design" and allowed development "across all platforms using one engine".[6] The graphics were compared with Jet Set Radio Future and Auto Modellista.[7] The developer felt that the appearance reflected the comic book and innovated in its portrayal of violence; blood splatters are shown in a cartoon manner.[8]

XIII includes 16 weapons, from a knife to a bazooka, an Uzi to an M60. Objects such as bottles, chairs, or brooms may be used as weapons.[6] Kevlar gear, helmets and first aid boxes are scattered throughout the map. People can be taken as hostages or as human shields, preventing enemies from firing on the protagonist. Lock picks are used to unlock doors and grapnels to climb on walls. Through the "sixth sense", XIII can hear enemies behind walls with the aid of "tap-tap-tap" signals. Stealth operations include strangling enemies or hiding dead bodies.[8] Comic strip-style insets pop up at the top when a headshot is performed or serve as clues or tips for the player.[6]

David Duchovny voiced the protagonist.

Ubisoft announced on March 13, 2002, that it would be working on a game called XIII. Based on the comic book of the same name by Belgian Jean Van Hamme.[7] The game debuted at an event in Montreal,[12] and was submitted at the 2002 Electronic Entertainment Expo in May 2002, with such games as Doom III, Max Payne 2 and Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.[13] On November 22, 2002, Ubi Soft announced a delay of the game. Justin Calvert of GameSpot guessed that the time would be used to thoroughly check the game and implement additional features on other platforms.[14]

On May 7, 2003, Ubisoft announced that singer, actress and model Eve would be the voice for major character Jones. Ubisoft's vice president of marketing, Tony Kee, stated that she was the perfect choice for the role, admitting that she has "a combination of style, sexiness, and attitude—perfect attributes that describe the Jones character."[15] Two months later, two other major voice acts were revealed: David Duchovny would play Jason Fly (XIII), while Adam West, General Carrington.[16] The official site was launched on August 19, featuring videos and information about the gameplay.[17] Ubisoft implemented a pre-order on September 4, promising a free demonstration version with multiplayer and soundtrack.[18]

The game was promoted at the Fall College Tour from September to October. Beginning at Cornell University and finishing at the University of Southern California, the tour featured demonstrations of games, playable via the 50-screen GamePort system.[19] Another demo, multiplayer-only, was issued on October 2, but the discovery of a bug led to its removal. A different fixed demo was released a day later.[20] Xbox players had the opportunity from December 15 on to win one of 50 copies of the game. The campaign was dubbed "13 Days to Xmas": those who spent not less than 13 hours playing until Christmas were qualified for the contest. The winner was randomly selected on January 9.[21]

The Thirteen Soundtrack was composed by several artists from the San Francisco-based music label Future Primitive Sound. 13 tracks were produced, all of which were initially unnamed. According to the booklet, the DJs are connected with the characters, such as DJ Faust and Shortee with XIII, DJ Zeph with Carrington, or J-Boogie's Dubtronic Science with Mongoose. The album opens with an introduction and then includes songs in the likes of typical 70s-era music such as soul, funk, jazz, but also hip hop. According to founder and creative director of the collective, Mark Herlihy, the soundtrack project began with Herlihy's friend, Pete Jacobs, whom he met at a gig, five or six years previously. After studying the characters and the story, the group decided on a noir and futuristic style that would reflect the espionage theme. Its rhythm ranges from 105 to 120 bpm.[22][23]

Herlihy later stated that they "wanted to capture the essence of XIII in this soundtrack by showcasing its nostalgic style while giving the beats a modern twist" and their intention was "to tell its story through the music and create a seamless head-nodding mix that would complement the energy of XIII and get gamers hyped."[24] One reviewer of IGN gave the album 8 out of 10 stars, stating: "It's an album that works expertly as a chill-out slice of background groove, yet it also doubles as a dance floor jolt of exuberance perfect for spinning at a small party", but also stated that the player, understandably, quickly forgets the music while playing. He concluded that the album is "jazzaphonic electronic tripped out funkuphoria".[22]

XIII received "mixed or average" reviews, according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[27][26][28][25]

Reviewers often praised the game's graphical style and presentation, while criticising the gameplay. GamePro called it a "rejuvenating, jaw-dropping experience".[35] IGN said "XIII has a great story-driven sheen, but at its core, it's weighed down by some occasional bewildering flaws, in addition to the lackluster weapons and simple combat".[34] GameZone also criticised the combat, stating "If not for the graphics to carry the game through, XIII would have been a boring game. Gunfights are the best part of the gameplay. It also happens to be the most unbalanced part".[33] Edge said XIII had "true artistic merit: it never gets stale; every episode has been drawn with minute care and attention. It would have been an incredible achievement if the gameplay had matched the outstanding art direction".[36] GameSpy criticised the graphics and the multiplayer mode, and concluded "When it comes right down to it, XIII is a fine game...Just don't expect the FPS of the year because, sadly, this isn't it".[32]

GamesTM said "It's one of those mixed-bag situations – flashes of genius and genuinely enjoyable moments of success, occasionally mired by unbalanced weapon damage, clumsy AI and the odd bit of unfair level design that requires astounding feats of memory".[37] Eurogamer called XIII "a flawed masterpiece. A game brimming with variety and a freshness lacking from most of the factory farmed franchise exercises that pass through our offices with crushing regularity".[30] Game Revolution complimented the game's story, graphical style, voice acting and soundtrack, while criticising the gameplay as "about as straightforward – and in some cases boring – as it gets for an FPS".[31] Electronic Gaming Monthly scored the game 6.5/6.5/6.5: Joe Fielder, the first reviewer, said, "You'd be hard-pressed to find a more visually stunning game than XIII", but complained that "numerous frustrations pile up to make XIII more chore than thrill". The magazine's Greg Ford, who provided the third review, said that its "style, cut-scenes, and story are all great, [but] the actual gameplay is pretty mundane"; he concluded, "But if all you need is a solid shooter fix, XIII will do just fine. It has no fatal flaws, and the conspiracy-laced story should keep you going".[29]

Sales performance for XIII was lower than expected.[38] In 2010, UGO ranked it #7 on the list of the games that need sequels.[39]

At the first Spike Video Game Awards in 2003, XIII was nominated for the "Best Animation" category and "Best First Person Action" category, but lost to Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball and Call of Duty respectively.[40] XIII also received a nomination for "Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition" during the AIAS' 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards.[41]

While the anticipated sequel on major gaming platforms remained unrealized due to poor sales of the original title, Gameloft released a follow-up on mobile phones titled XIII²: Covert Identity in October 2007, which was a side-scrolling game rather than a first-person shooter.[42]

A re-imagining of XIII, called XIII: Lost Identity, was released by Anuman Interactive for Microsoft Windows, iPhone and iPad on November 15, 2011. The game is not a shooter, but a hidden object game.[43][44]

On April 18, 2019, a remake of the original game was announced for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One, which was developed by PlayMagic Ltd and published by Microids. It was originally scheduled for release on November 13, 2019,[45] until it was delayed to 2020 for further development.[46] It released on November 10, 2020 and was received extremely poorly by both consumers and critics, with Metacritic naming it the second worst game of the year, behind Tiny Racer for Nintendo Switch.[47][48][49] Nearly two years after its release, Microids released an overhaul update of the remake by an entirely different studio, the France-based Tower Five, replacing PlayMagic.[50]

• XIII at MobyGames