E3 2002: XIII preshow report

XIII, in development at Ubi Soft's Montreal studio, will be present in playable form at Ubi Soft's booth at the upcoming E3. The game is a first-person shooter based on the comic book work of Belgian author Jean Van Hamme, and its primary distinction is its cel-shaded visual style. You are put in the role of an amnesiac, whose only clue as to his identity is a cryptic tattoo on his body that reads "XIII." Over the course of the game, you will slowly put together pieces of the main character's identity by finding clues scattered throughout each level.

There will be 16 weapons in the game, ranging from crossbows and Berettas to knives. In fact, the weapon you use will play an important role in the game since you will be asked to use stealth in certain missions, requiring you to use only silent weapons such as knives and the crossbow. If enemies see one of their comrades fall, then they will become alerted and start to actively search for intruders. You will also have to pick up bodies for the same reason, but if you're caught by an enemy, then you can use that very same body as a shield against enemy fire. Objects in the environment will also play a role in firefights, though we have yet to see how they come into play.

Console versions of XIII will have a four-player split-screen mode, but the Xbox version will carry an online multiplayer mode that supports up to 16 players. In addition, the console versions will have an exclusive map not found in the PC version of the game.

We'll have detailed impressions of XIII from the show floor as soon as the show commences. Until then, check out our previous coverage of the game.