XIII: Covert Identity

Some franchises shouldn't die. The first XIII game, released by Ubisoft back in 2003 for the home consoles, was a great game with a truly original comic book look, but sadly it didn't set the game charts alight. Presumably that's why it never got a follow-up on console. Luckily for us, Gameloft has recognised it's a series that should be kept alive and has therefore provided us with a mobile sequel.

Appropriately, it's the visuals that stand XIII out from the competition. It's actually quite a generic shooting game and is much like many other side-scrolling mobile shooters. But it's a really pretty, colourful game with a distinct and appealing cel-shaded look.

In a genre in which far too many shoot-outs occur in dingy warehouses and gritty, realistic car parks you can't help but love the look of this game, with its bright, cartoon style and comic book speech bubbles which pop up with a satisfying "Aaarggh" when a character has been lamped one with a fire extinguisher. For example.

True, XIII 2 doesn't always feel hugely dissimilar to play from a lot of similar games (even from Gameloft's own recently released Beowulf), but it does include sections that are quite different and work well to break up the gunning down of bad guys. Like a level where your character takes to a jet-ski, leaping off ramps and moving up and down to avoid sea mines. Or the many boss fights, which are all very well done – in one early example, you sink a ship by throwing the activated mines a diver is lobbing at you onto the vessel, rather than allowing them to explode in your face.

In fact, the only time we stopped having fun with XIII 2 while playing through it was during a dodgy jumping level on a yacht.

The game's controls are mostly a complete success. You can use the thumbstick or the usual keypad keys, and '5' takes care of shooting, or kicking and punching when you're close to an enemy. Best of all, a lot of interactions are dealt with automatically, so if you're standing next to a potted plant and there's an enemy nearby, hitting '5' chucks it at the enemy.

The only thing that doesn't work so well, so consistently is jumping and climbing down ladders. The aforementioned yacht level has both, meaning we were forced to play through it about 15 times because XIII (the protagonist's actual name) kept missing platforms or seemingly falling through them to his death. Which, for no apparent reason, reminds us that there are also some problems with not being able to see land mines until it's too late and you've stood on them.

It's a shame because the rest of the game is exceptionally good. With only two playable characters and both being near identical to experience, there's not quite the inventiveness of a game like, say, Heroes. But what is in the game is instantly fun to play and those graphics make it an experience that feels both very fresh and unique. Indeed, everything ties into the comic book world perfectly – there are even written sound effects that pop up on the screen when you fire your gun or leap from a ledge to accompany the audio cues.

The game's 14 levels and multiple difficulty levels make it a fairly lengthy experience, too, and there's hidden depth provided by the in-game 'shop' which enables you to trade in hidden coins found in levels for new skills and equipment. It's a worthy investment because re-visiting levels can reveal areas you couldn't previously get to without a newly bought rocket launcher, for instance, offering some incentive to play through the game again.

So we're delighted Gameloft is resurrecting the XIII franchise because the action spy adventure with a cartoon twist on offer here packs in a lot of fun. It's intuitive to play, lovely to look at and has enough unique set-pieces throughout to keep you gripped. Thoroughly recommended, if only for an unusual injection of colour while you're blasting bad guys.