The first XIII: Lost Identity screens have been unveiled, leading shooter fans around the world to ask, “What the hell is this?”
Shooter fans may recall XIII as an unusual, flawed but still very cool cel-shaded FPS released by Ubisoft back in 2003. Not only did it sport a unique visual style, it also featured the voice talents of David Duchovny [who sounded bored to tears by the whole thing] in the lead. It was a lot of fun but apparently not successful enough to warrant a sequel – until a few days ago, that is, when French developer Anuman Interactive announced XIII: Lost Identity.
But wait. What… what is this? The screen shots released today do feature a guy who looks very much like XIII, but the screens themselves don’t seem quite right somehow. They look very… casual adventure-y? I think I even see a hidden object scene in there. Hidden objects? In my XIII game? Apparently it’s more likely than I think.
Not that this is a total surprise. Ubisoft’s XIII was based on a Belgian comic book of the same name that came out in the mid-80s, after all, so there’s nothing saying that a different game based on the same IP will necessarily be a shooter. It’s sort of a reverse Syndicate; it began life as an FPS and then was turned into a… well, a hidden object game. Not quite the same thing after all, I suppose.
XIII: Lost Identity is slated for release in November for the PC, Mac and iOS, which probably should have been our first clue.
