XIII - Classic

XIII - Classic is the cel-shaded first-person shooter based on the popular Belgian cult comic created by Jean Van Hamme and illustrated by William Vance, loosely covering the first five albums of the source material. The story opens hard — the President of the United States has been assassinated, you are the world's prime suspect, the FBI and CIA and a gang of murderous killers are all hunting you down, and you wake up with no memory of who you are. All you have is a safe deposit key, a mysterious tattoo, and a gun.

The game's signature aesthetic is the comic-book treatment of action. Cel-shaded graphics put the entire world inside a moving comic page, with thought bubbles, panel transitions and onomatopoeia accompanying gunshots and footsteps. Headshots are punctuated by inset still images. The whole experience is structured like reading the comic that inspired it. Top-notch voice acting comes from David Duchovny and Adam West, among others, bringing the noir-conspiracy story to life with significantly more star power than typical FPS releases of its era.

The gameplay covers fifteen weapons including shotguns, crossbows, rifles and unconventional improvised objects, with both stealth and direct action approaches viable. Skills picked up across the campaign include silent walking, lockpicking and dual-weapon handling. Across multiple international levels, you unravel clues, dodge pursuit, and try to clear your name by catching the true assassin before he strikes again. The conspiracy holds together as a genuine espionage story, not just window dressing for the shooting.