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In November of 2020, Microids released a remake of their 2003 cult classic shooter XIII. The remake received overwhelmingly negative reviews, to the point that developer PlayMagic and publisher Microids issued a joint apology blaming the COVID-19 pandemic. Reviews criticized the game's poor technical performance and several changes to the game design, including a weapon limit and a worse A.I. Chief among the complaints, however, was the altered art style. XIII is based on a Belgian graphic novel and its cel-shaded art was meant to emulate the comic book look, but the remake went with a more standard look. (This Tweet that circulated around the time of the game's release provides a good image comparison.)

Now, Microids has entrusted French developer Tower Five (Lornsword: Winter Chronicle) to completely overhaul XIII. The update has been in the works for over a year now and Microids claims that "the development studio reworked the entire game from the Art Direction to the AI and added numerous technical improvements." Some of the promised improvements include a "refined art style," better A.I. and sound design, new HUD, 60fps on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, and a new online multiplayer mode. This update will be free to owners of the game on PlayStation, Xbox and PC and will release on September 13.

XIII was originally supposed to receive a Switch port, but that version was continually delayed. Now, the Switch version is expected to launch on September 13 alongside the free update. While Microids did not show any screenshots or footage of the update running on PC or other consoles, the new Switch version did get an announcement trailer which shows off some of the improvements.

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[Jayro]

Switch version better be on cartridge. Sick of these digital only releases bullshit.

 

[eyeliner]

Mad respect to the developers that just press the reset switch on a release in order to appease paying customers.

Like Square did with its infamous FF XIV launch.

 

[Osha]

Mad respect to the developers that just press the reset switch on a release in order to appease paying customers.

Like Square did with its infamous FF XIV launch.

Definitely impressive, but the rush to release ARR means that the foundation for the whole game up to now is really shaky nowadays. I really hope they rework it at some point, despite all their claims that they won't.

 

[Ericthegreat]

Was this the game with "the mongoose" I wonder if they'll finally make a sequel.

 

[NeroAngelo]

gotta ask, does this game have a niche fandom? even when it was released back in the day I never got what was so interesting about it apart from the cell shading.

 

[LainaGabranth]

Black is a generic shooter?
Best FPS of it's generation a generic shooter? You're probably one of kingdom hearts or smash players.

If Black came out like two years later it would have been considered one of the most generic games on the market. It's every hallmark of a bad shooter: bullet sponge enemies, magazines far too large, constant depth of field and bloom bullshit, and a story that straight up has nothing to do with the gameplay.

Don't use hilarious terms like "Best FPS of its generation" when Timesplitters' entire trilogy existed, Metroid Prime, Halo 1 AND 2, Red Faction, Call of Duty 2, and so on. Black is a forgettable speck that's barely remembered because it's like interactive ambien. Just because you are easily wooed by explosions and large magazine sizes in a game doesn't mean that the game is good, it just means you have extremely low standards for video games. I implore you to play any of the above games.

 

[LainaGabranth]

gotta ask, does this game have a niche fandom? even when it was released back in the day I never got what was so interesting about it apart from the cell shading.

It does, it didn't get much notoriety back then but years later it's gained something of a cult following in niche communities because of the unique art style.

It's a game sold on presentation. You either love it or hate it.