XIII Remake, the new version improves the situation | Review
XIII Remake
XIII is considered by many to be one of the best narrative FPS ever, not so much for its (rather classic) gameplay, but more for the narrative component and a comic art style that has really left its mark on the gender of belonging. In 2020, XIII Remake was released, a "restored" version of the game that was supposed to convince the various players who have never had the opportunity to know the title, to try it. But unfortunately the game was a failure from all points of view, with bugs, glitches, poor performance and a decidedly ruined art style compared to the original, which led Microids to consider working on a new version in a short time, refined and improved by Tower Five after the Play Magic disaster.
And it is precisely this last iteration that I have had the opportunity to try over the last few days, finding myself in front of a remake that is clearly not distorted, but at least sufficient in each of its sectors. Which, I assure you, is already a more than positive thing considering the starting point.
What is XIII
Inspired by the first five volumes of the graphic novel created by Jean Van Hamme in 1984, XIII stars Steve Rowland, a man who remembers nothing of his past due to a mysterious memory loss to which he cannot answer. Forced to flee and fight in a situation unknown to him, Rowland finds himself involved in a conspiracy that sees assassinations and betrayals on the agenda, forced to waver between the will to recover from his amnesia and survive.| ); }XIII Remake, a new game?
Tower Five has worked hard to try to rebuild the game by going against user feedback. Not an easy job, since in addition to the numerous bugs and glitches of Play Magic's work, the team also had to face a complete review of the cel-shading stylistic sector, as well as improve I.A. and fix overall performances.The question you are surely asking is, did they succeed? The answer is yes, the guys from Tower Five have worked a real miracle, but I would like to point out that in my view, the original is still several steps forward from an artistic point of view. This does not mean that this version should be devalued, on the contrary, given the commitment of the software house to overturn an insufficient product, the final result is absolutely enjoyable.
First of all, the art style, considering too "realistic" in its initial form, has now returned to be more cel-shaded with a stylistic impact that is very close to the 2003 game Resolution and framerate have significantly improved (60fps on PS5), although on old gen and Switch the game continues to run at 30fps, while assets have clearly remained the same as in the first version of the 2020 remake.
The sound has also undergone an important improvement, rebalancing the volumes and enhancing explosions and shootings, with an important attention to the dialogues, now at least audible during situations and not hidden by firefights.
Other fundamentals upgrades have been made with regard to artificial intelligence, in which enemies try to avoid hits and run for cover, and with the HUD, redesigned to be bigger and clearer than in 2020.
One year Another novelty is certainly the introduction of online multiplayer, a choice that I honestly struggle to understand since it will certainly not attract players. I think maybe it would have been better to totally invest time and resources on further improving the product. In any case, this mode is present and allows you to play deathmatch games with your friends.
The general gameplay has remained the same, nothing particularly original or unprecedented, but functional, although perhaps aged a little 'bad compared to the rest and being a FPS, the woodiness of some moments left me a bit dumbfounded. I would have definitely preferred a more incisive refurbishment from this point of view.
The XIII remake has been remade with its latest update
Cel-shading and multiplayer return
The XIII remake, when it was released in 2020, was a disaster. Players complained of poor AI, bugs, missing multiplayer and an art style that abandoned the iconic, cel-shaded look of the original. After almost two years of further work by a different developer, the remake of the XIII remake is now live.
Here's a trailer of the new version:
Offered as a free update to the remake, this latest version aims to address each of the complaints and effectively represents a do-over. For starters, the art style now more closely resembles the thick-lined comic book style of old, as seen in the trailer above. Given the art style was just about the only notable thing about the original XIII, which was released in 2003, it makes sense to maintain the look even while making everything more detailed and higher resolution.
The update also re-introduces online multiplayer for 2-13 players, a feature of the original game but not the remake. The news post on Steam also promises that the update enhances the AI, reworks the HUD and revamps the sound design of the remake.
Watching the trailer above, the remake does look better than it did before, although I'm still surprised that so much effort has been put into revising a remake to a game that was just-okay when it was released nearly twenty years ago.
XIII, if you've never encountered it, is based on a 1980's Belgian comic series about an amnesiac with the skills of a government agent attempting to discover their identity and in turn uncovering their involvement in a conspiracy to assassinate the US President. The original game was developed by Ubisoft, the same year they also released Prince Of Persia: Sands Of Time, Splinter Cell, and Beyond Good & Evil. A different time.
The remake released in 2020 was published by Microids and developed by PlayMagic, and the reception was so bad that both companies made an official apology after release. This do-over is developed by a new studio, Tower Five. Whether it can reverse the 'overwhelmingly negative' Steam reviews remains to be seen.
