Creativity and innovation are the key ingredients in this amazing work of gaming art.
About a year ago, I saw a demo of XIII at GameStop, and I wanted it very badly. For countless months, I searched relentlessly but could never get a copy. But one day, luck was on my side. I was finally able to get a hold of XIII, and without delay, I sprinted to my room to play it. It didn't disappoint.
The premise of XIII is that you wash up on the shore of a beach with no memory, a bullet wound, and the number XIII written on your chest. You soon discover that your name is Steve Rowland, and you are a member of a bizarre conspiracy leading to the assassination of fictional president William Sheridan. And guess who shot da prez? That's right. You.
With the FBI on your trail, you will battle enemies with tons of unique weapons (a crossbow, a harpoon gun, throwing knives, etc.) and begin to unravel the secrets behind your identity. But the game takes another startling plot twist about halfway through; Steve Rowland is dead. So who exactly are you?
The real greatness is in XIII's core gameplay: it feels much like Halo 2 minus the ragdoll physics. Almost anything can be used as a weapon, including bricks, chairs, and glass shards (yikes!) The firearms are fun to use: you'll find a Mini-Uzi, an M16, a silenced 9MM pistol, a Dragunov sniper rifle, and more. XIII features a "parental lock" option where blood can be switched on or off - the game's violence tends to get out of hand.
The graphics are great, simply because they make you feel like you're really inside a comic book. It delivers the feeling of lying on your bed and chewing gum while reading a really good comic book. Well, at least, that's what I always do. The visuals aren't half bad looking on their own, either.
There isn't much to say about the multiplayer except that, while the single player is the game's strong point, it's pretty decent. If you don't have Xbox Live or are just bored, you can play splitscreen or a bot match. Bot matches are surprisingly fun.
All of these qualities combined makes XIII, in my opinion, the best FPS on Xbox, and an overall awesome game. Comic book fans shouldn't pass it up.
Truescore: 9.7