Four years or so have gone by since the launch of the Wii and yet the console still doesn’t have even one good FPS. Sure, Nintendo have made attempts with the aforementioned Conduit, but nothing that’s ever been good enough. Sony’s PS3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 have their own flagship FPSs in form of their Halos and their Killzones, but what does Nintendo have?

Where is Nintendo's answer to Master Chief?

Needless to say, in terms of first person shooters, Nintendo have been left behind. But all of this could change. If there was any first person shooter that needed a sequel it would be XIII. Not only was the original brilliant, it also ended with a cliffhanger, leaving room for a sequel anyway. In an age where FPSs all look and play the same, the comic book stylings of XIII would set it apart from the crowd, a true alternative, one that was on the Wii for a change.

Alas, this will likely never happen. After all, Ubisoft owns the XIII license (or at least did) so if a sequel were to ever be made it would probably be available on all formats, just like the original was. For the moment at least, lets forget about such misery and instead allow me take you back in time and talk to you about the original XIII; a game that was made for a sequel it will never get.

The opening to XIII was, and is still, one of the best opening scenes to any game I’ve ever played. The president is dead and you are the number one suspect. Problem is… you can’t even clear your name as you are suffering from amnesia; you cannot remember a thing. You awake on a beach, badly injured; you don’t know who you are, where you are or why you’ve got a mysterious tattoo of the Roman numerals for the number 13 on your shoulder. Sounds like your average night out to me.

The plot to XIII is like your average Friday night out... minus the assassinations, shoot outs, spies and corrupt government organisations

Immediately you’re thrown straight into the deep end, which despite its age is still somewhat refreshing alongside contemporary FPSs. Modern entries into the genre take far too long to get going, making you sit through drab tutorial after drab tutorial. XIII kicks off the action right away with gang members out to get you from the off. It draws you straight into to an intense, exciting world full off espionage and betrayal, giving you the necessary tutorials as you progress, thus ensuring the controls are fresh in your mind and that you are properly equipped to take on any challenge at any time.

Speaking of controls, the GameCube controller itself is somewhat of a strange beast (I’ll assume you’re playing XIII with the GameCube controller on the GameCube itself or the Wii, like I did). It’s not really designed to play any game, let alone a first person shooter, with its odd shape and its many, many buttons. However, the way XIII uses such a strange controller is brilliant. Every button, every flick of the joystick, feels extremely intuitive and accessible.

The GameCube controller is somewhat of an alien entity in itself

What makes XIII really shine is its unique graphical style. I’ll admit, at the time the game looked stunning on the GameCube; I can’t think of any game that looked better, but after recently firing XIII back up in my Wii, I can safety say it hasn’t aged well graphically. This is something you will have to look past in order to get maximum enjoyment out of the game. But whilst time has not been kind, the uniqueness of XIII’s graphics is still unparalleled.

In today’s gaming environment, graphics are at the forefront of game design (Crysis anyone?). It’s a true testament to XIII that, whilst cell shaded, comic book style games have been done to death. The game’s edgy, gritty, comic book visuals continue to set it apart from games of a similar style, let alone your generic, copy and paste shooters we have to live with today. Everything from the beautiful looking cutscenes to the actual gameplay itself is highly stylized (taking huge influence from the comic book series XIII is originally from), and utterly unique.

XIII is such a multifaceted shooter, not only does it have a brilliant story, “pick up and play” controls and a unique graphical style, but it boasts a variety of gameplay elements that help set XII apart from other shooters. Whether it be a skill/cheat system you unlock throughout the game, brilliant cover and hostage systems or gruesome skill shots that display head shots and the like in gory detail with the clever use of some comic-book-esque panels.

The game rewards players for skillful shots with some brutal, comic book panel inspired effects

A standout moment from the game is the awesome (and my personal favourite) second level in which you must escape from a bank after being framed for yet another crime: this time, setting off a bomb in one of the vaults. Of course you are innocent, so you want to escape as quickly and as quietly as possible without seriously hurting anyone.

Rather than running around shooting the place up, the game forces you to think more carefully; by using chairs and other objects you can knock out the armed police and security guards (as opposed to killing them and/or taking them hostage) which will enable you to escape without injuring anyone. The way the game effortlessly shifts between a shooter and some sort of a stealth game gives you the sense that you are in the starring role of a James Bond film… or something.

This level of variety is something which runs through the game as a whole. Whether it be the 34 singleplayer levels, the 6 multiplayer modes, playable on 14 different multiplayer maps (including up to 4 player local, en or over the internet via Xbox Live 1.0 and PS2 Online, on the Xbox and PS2 versions), or simply the huge range of weaponry at your disposal ranging from melee weapons such as ash trays, and glass bottles to AK47′s, Sniper rifles and Magnums, each with their own comic book inspired “POW!”, “BOOM!” and “”BANG!” imagery. XIII is chock full of content and variety.

There's no better way than to kill an enemy with a rocket that goes.. BAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

And that’s not all! XIII also sports brilliant use of sound, coupling a cheesy, 80′s inspired soundtrack with an awesome voice cast including Adam West (insert Family Guy reference here), and David Duchovny aka Mulder from The X-Files.

Unfortunately, whilst XIII is a brilliant example of game that has all bases covered, it’s another game that time seems to have forgotten and a sequel is about as likely as pigs flying… with wings and all that. However, if you do find yourself getting bored with the same old, generic FPSs, why not give XIII a shot? (no pun intended). Once you look past its age, you get to experience its real beauty.

- Kieran Roycroft