XIII hits the golden number

Ubisoft is hoping that XIII will be its lucky number, now that the game has been sent to the factory. Rated 'M' for mature and retailing for $49.99, it will ship for the PS2 and PC on November 18, and for the Xbox and GameCube one week later.

Based on the Belgian comic book series, which is a phenomenon in Europe, XIII is a first-person shooter with two innovative twists. First, its gameplay incorporates the same cel-shaded visuals of the comic book, making the game a de facto interactive graphic novel. The second is the game's story, which profiles an anonymous hero who wakes up to find himself accused of perpetrating a JFK-style presidential assassination. The game's air of conspiracy is enhanced by the voice talent of X-Files star David Duchovny, who plays the amnesiac protagonist. To uncover more secrets about the game, investigate GameSpot's preview.

XIII also offers multiplayer play, and the first 300,000 Xbox versions of the game will come with two months of free Xbox Live.