Gaming Target - Xbox: XIII

Written by Leigh Culpin on January 16, 2003

First Impressions: A cel-shaded FPS from Canada, eh?

Jean Van Hamme, creator of the comic book series XIII, is having one of the ultimate honors placed upon him Ц a videogame is going to be fashioned after his vision. And not just any game Ц a cel-shaded game that uses the latest and greatest Unreal Engine technology, features online play, and is being brought to us from the creators of Splinter Cell.

While the game is appearing on all next-gen consoles, it is entirely possible that only the PC and Xbox will feature online play, and obviously these two platforms have the technological advantage over the rest of the bunch. However, the integral thing about this game, as per any extraordinary game, is looking to be the story: You wake up without a clue of where, or who, you are, with your only link a tattoo, XIII, on your shoulder, and a bank safe key. This game is a graphic novel, the best kind, and it does indeed look mighty impressive. Achieving just the right mix between cartoonish cel-shaded characters and semi-realistic environments; the movies and screenshots of the game look absolutely fantastic. Lights and shadows actually apply to the cel-shaded characters and weapons in the world, and it looks astonishing.

You'll find the game to mix stealth, which Ubi Soft has proven they can do properly with Splinter Cell, and action, and even incorporates cool moves like human shields and loads of Bond-esque gadgetry. Fine details are also being added into the game Ц the player will also theoretically be able to pick up glass shards to be used as weaponry by the time of the game's release. Furthermore, a widely varied arsenal will be at the hands of the player, from a long range and silent crossbow to a more crowd controlling automatic rifle. XIII is going after a new hybrid genre Ц a cross between the third-person action game and a first-person shooter, and it sure looks to be shaping up nicely.

Deus Ex is perhaps one of the best examples of an amazing hybrid genre game out there, and XIII shares more than just being a splice of more than one game type with Ion Storm's aging hit: XIII's story is also going to be about twisted conspiracies and piecing together who your character is. While not much is known yet about the various plot twists and turns you as the player are sure to take, they are certainly going to be interesting ones if Ubi has anything to say about it Ц a small internal Ubi Soft team located in France is dedicated to assuring the quality of gameplay and the game itself, despite the fact that Ubi Soft Montreal is developing it.