One of the better FPS' on the PlayStation 2.
Graphics: The unique cell-shaded look is refreshing and well done. It is all done in a comic book-es que style. For example, when you shoot someone off a cliff, a trail of letters describing a scream such as AHHH! will follow him down to the bottom. Also, when you score a head shot, there is a mini-panel that pops up depicting the bullet's "travels". Pretty cool. While the cell shaded look has little detail, the game does sport a very clean look to it, and that is enough. XIII succeeds in this category.
Sound: Great music accompanies the action and the celebrity voice acting is very good. They have many actors and actresses as the voice of characters, which is cool. In the end, XIII excels in this department.
Gameplay: The gameplay is a straight forward FPS. There are bad guys. You have an assortment of weapons. You use the weapons to kill the bad guys. However, there is a cool rappelling tool that you get to use to shoot a spike way up with a rope attached and then pull yourself up. This is pretty cool. Now, XIII does have some stealth levels, but they are not that hard at all. Also, the stealth portion does not last that long during the missions. There is also environmental interaction in the game. You can pick up chairs, bottles, ashtrays, and other objects to use as a makeshift weapon. The game also supports online play (lag free, little players available) and split screen multiplayer. Also, bots are available so if your by yourself or want more opponents, you can still play. There is a good amount of modes available and the maps are nice and large. XIII is a very good FPS.
Story: The story, although convoluted, is very good. I won't give anything away, but the premise is that you wake up on a beach with amnesia. You find out that you are wanted for the murder of a President, and the story takes off from there. As I said before, there is a great number of celebrities that lend their voices to the game. XIII is really great in this category.
Polish: I did not find one bug or glitch the entire game. However, some of the names of the multiplayer maps are mixed up, which is odd.
Overall: XIII is one of the best, if not THE best FPS available for the PlayStation 2. I highly recommend it. While the competition is few, XIII is truly a great game with clean visuals, good gameplay, and a fantastic story.
*Disclaimer: I only play FPS' on PlayStation 2. I don't know how good Xbox FPS' are or PC FPS'. This score is for a FPS on the PlayStation 2, not all FPS'.