Very fun first-person shooter with an excellent story, unique presentation, and a few more features that set it apart.
As far as gameplay and controls go, it plays like every other FPS on the PS2. So, if you played Red Faction or Half-Life or anything like that on the PS2, you'll be right at home here. Reviewers criticized XIII for the fact that it plays like other first-person shooters and doesn't set itself apart in the gameplay department. The gripe I have with that is, that statement also describes pretty much all first-person shooters around then and now. Most first-person shooters play very similarly to each other. It's not like in other genres. When you think about it, even the best first-person shooters only have a small handful of features that sets them apart from every other FPS.
One area where XIII is a little bit different, is you can pick up objects like chairs, bottles, brooms and whatnot which are lying around the levels, and use them for one-hit kills of enemies (the object breaks after one hit). Although you need to be right up close to your enemy, so it's really only effective when sneaking up on your enemy or in a level where you're not allowed to kill certain enemies. Also, the accuracy for these hits can be a tad unforgiving at times. Still, it's nice feature. Other FPS games have similar features, but it's used much better in XIII.
Another feature in XIII that sets itself apart is the fact that it features a lot of stealth missions. Although, this is also the biggest flaw in the game. The stealth missions are kinda boring compared to the levels where you just blast enemies. Luckily, the difficulty of the stealth missions is pretty forgiving. The stealth missions are a pretty good concept and are executed pretty well, but stealth just doesn't work too well in first-person, and the stealth missions are overused in this game, especially towards the end of the game.
I liked XIII though, because of what it does right. It's a fun game to play. The controls are smooth and responsive. It's fun killing the enemies, and the weapons feel very powerful. This is also one of the few first-person shooters I've played that manages to capture how powerful assault rifles really are. This one's tough to explain, but just play it, and you'll feel the weight and power of the assault rifle, which is different from many other FPS. I also like the James Bond-style grappling hook, which lets you change to a weapon and shoot while you're hanging, which is fun. Fun is the way I'd describe this game. It has its frustrating moments, but they're way overshadowed by how fun it is.
The best thing about XIII, however, is its storyline. It has to do with a presidential assassination at first, but the conspiracy turns out to be far bigger than that. I'm not going to spoil the storyline here, but the identity of your character will also be called into question. The story is told with cutscenes between missions, as well as flashbacks during missions, and it's also told as you're playing, through the mission objectives themselves. The narrative is constantly moving, which makes it a very exciting experience. The story never slows down until the ending.
XIII is based on a European comic book series. With that in mind, the game uses cel-shaded graphics and an excellent comic book presentation. While many reviewers say the visuals themselves haven't aged well, personally I still like the look of the game because it's so unique. They could've had more variety and polish in the visuals, but ultimately I enjoyed the look of the game. The sound in XIII adds a lot to the atmosphere. The voice acting is very well done, the guns sound nice and powerful. The music is great as well.
Overall, XIII was a lot better than I was expecting. It's definitely one of the more underrated first-person shooters on the PS2. Of course there are a lot of little flaws you can nitpick, but ultimately, that's just what keeps the game from being perfect. If you can look past the little flaws, you'll find a very fun first-person shooter with an excellent story, unique presentation, and a few more features that set it apart from other shooters. It's also a fairly lengthy game for an FPS. For me, it clocked in at about 25 to 30 hours on the first play-through. That, combined with online play with servers that are still up and running, make XIII a great value if you're looking for a solid first-person shooter on your PS2.
Scoring:
Gameplay: 8
Graphics: 7
Sound: 8
Value: 10
Tilt: 10
Overall Score: 8.6