Tinker Terrible Remake Spy.
Hailing from both Malta and Ukraine, is indie game studio: PlayMagic with their controversial stride into remake territory with XIII (later replaced by French developer: Tower Five). Being a remake of the 2003 game of the same name, XIII launched in November 2020 to an overwhelming assault of negative reviews from both critics and players, citing changes to the original game’s iconic art style alongside a swath of audio and technical issues being the main reason for the backlash. Two years, a public apology, developer switcheroo and several patches later, XIII released for current-gen systems on 13th September 2022, with the promise of improving the remake’s quality across the board. As usual I’ll be detailing my time spent with the game, detailing the good, deconstructing the bad, while ultimately discussing whether the game is worth your time and money at the £33.49 asking price (UK Xbox/Microsoft Store).
Whether it’s the glory days of Sean Connery or Roger Moore as the super-spy: James Bond, or the counter-espionage stylings of Tomas Alfredson’s excellent cold-war thriller: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011); Espionage as a genre has never been more popular, producing some of the most iconic movies, TV shows and video games for as long as the medium has existed. In terms of gaming, beloved franchises such as Metal Gear, (having recently passed its 35th anniversary as of July this year) only reinforces the idea that the Spy is a tried and tested beast that has stood the test of time, and will likely continue to for decades to come. Other franchises have branched out into stealth and subterfuge as explorative themes; classics like Splinter Cell (holding down some excellent VO work from the legendary Michael Ironside) and XIII (2003) are strong examples of this, with the latter having somewhat of a strong cult following that has endured in the nineteen years since the game’s initial release. Of all the games that would be ‘worthy’ (I use the term subjectively) of a remake, XIII was a unique & strange little title when it released in 2003, opting for a comic-book narrative & cel-shaded art style that made the game stand out against it’s contemporaries, but did very little else to mark its territory. Following launch, the game sold poorly, receiving mixed reviews and no sequels, one could argue that the game fell somewhat into the realms of obscurity, receiving nothing more than a couple of dodgy mobile games over the years until word of a remake surfaced in April 2019, much to the surprise of many within the gaming community.
Based on Jean Van Hamme’s 1984 Belgian graphic novel series of the same name, and being a remake of the 2003 game of the same name (there’s a lot of repetition here) XIII places you in the shoes of XIII (confusing I know) an amnesiac secret agent who is on the run, for being framed for the assassination of the President of the United States. Washing up on an unknown beach, XIII is quickly forced into a tense game of cat and mouse; uncovering a top-level conspiracy to overthrow the government, whilst simultaneously trying to piece back together his mysterious past, all in an attempt to stop the plans of the shadow group from coming to fruition, ushering in a new age of control. The game is comprised of 34 missions that take place on various fronts, and while the range of environments is definitely nice, it highlights the biggest problem I had while playing XIII: It’s pacing. Despite having all the familiar trappings of the genre it draws influence from, the narrative in XIII can be a bit hard to follow sometimes, opting to remove the excellent 2D comic-book cutscenes of the original game in favour of janky in-game cinematics that do little to add exposition and context to the game’s story. Further to this, following cutscenes there are sometimes no explanations to where you are or why you’re there, planting you in random locations that is reminiscent of waking up on a park bench after a heavy night on the white lighting (I was fifteen, don’t judge).
It’s important to note before going forward that this review is regarding the current state of the game (the most recent release from Tower Five) and not the launch product that was developed by PlayMagic (Tower Five was brought in to fix the mess of their predecessor) so there won’t be any direct comparisons between the two within this review. It’s been well over a decade since I played the original version of XIII on the PlayStation 2, but one thing that made the game stand out was its cel-shaded aesthetic (think blocky shapes and thick, bold, black lines) something that is oddly absent from the remake. The game doesn’t look bad at all, and it does resemble the likes of Borderlands (if looking for a comparison) in terms of aesthetic, but for a remake of a cult-classic game, it’s hard to fathom what PlayMagic were thinking when it came to the game’s development. As aforementioned, the game has a robust selection of environments across 34 missions, which will take you anywhere between 8-11 hours to complete depending on how much of a completionist you are. The gameplay has been updated somewhat, with the inclusion of ADS (hip-firing for days in the OG game) and the simple (yet effective) stealth mechanic of an enemy vision bar, which definitely helps with some of the game’s annoying stealth sections. Gunplay feels different by the inclusion of ADS, which indirectly makes the game a bit harder (not a complaint) as the original game’s emphasis on hip firing (coupled with some very generous aim assist) made it somewhat easy; however, the remake also has the original game’s problem of none of the weapons having any weight to them; whilst the weapon system is perfectly functional, it won’t be winning any awards for creative game design anytime soon.
In terms of performance, the game plays relatively smooth for the most part at 60fps, at a resolution up to 1440p depending on your monitor/TV (running on a 1080p monitor for reference of the review). Enemy AI has been overhauled for the remake, featuring enemies that will actively roll out of the way of incoming fire, take cover and try to flank you where possible, but they ultimately fall short to the game’s many shooting galleries where they’re just too easy to mow through (take it from me and play the game on Hard difficulty, you’ll thank me later). The number of bugs that were present at launch are apparently a distant memory as there wasn’t much to detract from the experience aside from the occasional ragdoll going through the floor, or body placement causing a constant restart during stealth sections (admittedly that last part may have been my fault, as smacking people with hardwood furniture is still as fun as it was in the original). One pretty major issue that I noticed also was the game’s sound mixing, which was all over the place. For a game that had such a unique soundtrack, it’s rather muted in the remake, and completely absent in some sections altogether. Dialogue and weapon fire blow through speakers like they’re in the same room (much to the detriment of my better half’s hearing) and the overall balancing levels need to be brought in line with each-other (hopefully be addressed in an upcoming patch). The game also features a multiplayer mode that’s rather limited in scope (first to get thirteen kills) which could offer some additional playtime, but due to the game’s negative press, it’s nigh on impossible to get into a game due to the fact that there’s next to no one matchmaking for the mode (I gave up at the 5-minute mark).
Even with all the new bells and whistles that Tower Five’s updates have brought to the table, XIII is the kind of remake where it’s actually more beneficial to go back and play the original game (kudos if you’ve still got a copy, a PlayStation 2 and a CRT TV to go ham on) as the original experience is far more enjoyable with what’s on offer here, as for £33.49, your money is better spent elsewhere.
An Xbox Series S/X review code was provided by Microids.
