XIII [GOG] [adamantalias]

XIII is a first-person shooter video game developed by Ubisoft Paris and published by Ubisoft for most platforms except for the OS X version, which was published by Feral Interactive. Loosely based on the first five volumes of the 1984 Belgian graphic novel series XIII, the protagonist Jason Fly (XIII) is a confused and amnesic man who searches for his identity throughout a comic book-style, cel-shaded world. Found stranded on a beach by a lifeguard, Fly is accused of having killed the President of the United States. The accusation later transpires as mistaken, as Fly finds himself facing a gang of 20 conspirators ("The XX") who aim to overthrow the government.

The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, and OS X. A reimagining of XIII, the point-and-click adventure game XIII: Lost Identity, was released on 17 October 2011 for PC, Mac, iPhone and iPad.

XIII is a first-person shooter with elements of stealth and action in certain missions. 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 54 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 the Unreal Engine 2, the most recent engine at that time, as it was "really strong for level design" and allowed development "across all platforms using one engine". The graphics were compared with Jet Set Radio Future and Auto Modellista. The developer felt that the appearance reflected the comic book and innovated in its portrayal of violence; even blood splatters are shown in a cartoon manner.

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. 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. Captions pop up at the top when a headshot is performed or serve as clues or tips for the player.

The story begins with an introductory sequence depicting the assassination of the President of the United States, William Sheridan. The protagonist, Jason Fly (voiced by David Duchovny), awakes on Brighton Beach in Brooklyn, New York City. Badly wounded, he is rescued by a lifeguard and is brought into a beach house. He has lost all his memories and all that he possesses is a locker box key. He also has a tattoo with the Roman numeral XIII on his right shoulder. He is then attacked by unknown assailants, led by a hitman known as The Mongoose, with whom Fly does battle several times throughout the game. However, he is later instead arrested by the FBI as a chief suspect in the murder. A photo proves that he resembles the murderer. XIII succeeds in escaping the headquarters with the aid of a female soldier, Jones. One of Fly's few other allies is Ben Carrington: an old war veteran and superior to Jones, Carrington knows valuable information about the President's death and is willing to help XIII. However, he is arrested and brought to a military station in the Appalachian mountains to be silenced by the conspiracy. XIII must infiltrate the base and free Carrington if he is to learn about his past.

In the following story, the player learns that the protagonist adopted the identity of the murderer. The murder is part of a conspiracy that aims to overthrow the American government. The twenty conspirators have numbers to mask their identities, and collectively name themselves "The XX". XIII was one of them, but was later betrayed and murdered by The XX. With the objective of preventing a coup, one of the members took on the appearance of XIII to confuse the opposite side and force it to make errors. The protagonist, in the guise of the early XIII, is successful in uncovering most of the conspirators, killing them and hindering the conspiracy. The game ends with a cliffhanger, when Fly confronts Walter Sheridan—brother of the assassinated President and apparent (though unconfirmed in the game) leader of the conspiracy—on a ship, followed by a promise of a sequel.



Developer(s) Ubisoft Paris
Southend Interactive (Xbox)[1]
Zonic (OS X)
Publisher(s)
WW Ubisoft
JP Marvelous Entertainment
NA Feral Interactive (OS X)[2]
Director(s) Elisabeth Pellen
Producer(s) Julien Barès
Designer(s) Jean Zappavigna
Programmer(s) Dominique Duvivier
Artist(s) Nathalie Provost
Writer(s) Elisabeth Pellen
Composer(s) Alkis Argyriadis
Engine Unreal Engine 2
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, OS X
Release date(s)
NA 18 November 2003
NA 25 November 2003 (GC)
EU 28 November 2003
NA 2004 (OS X)
JP 5 August 2004
Genre(s) First-person shooter, stealth
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer