Get Into: XIII

XIII isn't exactly a perfect first person shooter, but damn, when it shines, it really shines.

But let's get the negatives out of the way - first off, if you're buying this boxed (for the PC), you'll be treated to 4 CDs... yeah, this one should be downloaded (don't worry, you can find it on gog.com or getgamesgo.com - no need to be a pirate, yarr?). Secondly, it's far from the most original playing shooter, with some linear bits and big arena bits on top of what could be considered some fragg em up fests - that, or be sneaky. Thirdly, dual inventories... ehh, sometimes, they can be the death of you when you want to use the grappling hook, especially when some could be confined to an action button. Believe it or not, less buttons being pressed can mean the difference between using the hook and getting shot to death. Finally, Intermediate Y U NO GIVE US SEQUEL!?

Now onto the positives. First off, it has a very neat art style. It's cel shaded, but unlike Wind Waker, it's not to be bright and colorful - it's to go along with the comic book stylings of the cutscenes, and that's not to mention the fact that by the way it's done, it manages to look cool while you kick ass. Secondly, the story may feel like your usual amnesia story, but after a little bit of time, it's about conspiracies and other potentially interesting things, and each time a scene pops up, it develops the story further and keeps your interest as you learn more about yourself and about the people you're fighting against, especially with some excellent voice acting (for the most part - some are a bit "eh") backing them up. Thirdly, the soundtrack consists of jazz, which is different from what you usually get (from midis to upbeat techno and now epic symphonies) and sounds very, very cool... in fact, everything about this game is cool: the art style, the story and especially the music. And finally, the AI is actually pretty good. In an age of scripted AI and just generally mediocre/derpy AI (and it's still like that today, I'm afraid - actually, I think it's worse because they should know better at this point), it's amazing that you can actually get challenged by the enemies, especially on the hardest difficulty setting. It's like they know what they're doing and can respond adequately to what you're doing. It's great!

So yeah, it's not the best shooter ever, but it's certainly the coolest. :3