Back in 2020, we failed to cover the release of the XIII remaster by Microïds and it was probably for the best as the game was plagued with bugs and different sorts of problems. This week finally saw the release of the Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X|S update. From what we've seen, the issues the game had when it first launched have indeed been ironed out and the game now runs at 60 fps. We haven't noticed any slowdowns yet but the choice to keep a rather low resolution (1080p from the looks of it) is disappointing on current hardware. Image quality takes a bit of a hit as a result, which is a shame as cel shaded games can look pretty good in 4K. The publisher and devs mentioned improved AI and though we can't compare with the 2020 version, don't expect it to be smarter than in the original 2003 title. The game is a remaster after all, so it's quite normal that it should be a bit stiff when compared to today's first person shooters. It certainly shows in the video but some might like this old school feel. As for us, we really enjoyed the original game back in the days, but today it really has aged in terms of gameplay and voice acting, but also in the way the different scenes are staged. Check out the video to see if there's still a chance for you to enjoy this video game adaptation famous comic book series.
All comments (5)
I have the Gamecube version and it's even running nicely in progressive scan (480p). For a long time this was not possible but since 1 or 2 years one can force it with a software called Swiss.
Now I can't say if it's a real improvement over the original as I haven't played it in 20 years. It probably makes it easier to play because it's a bit difficult to play old games without a CRT screen, but what I've felt playing this remaster I would probably feel the same on GameCube, Xbox or PS2. I find it a bit of a shame that the remaster doesn't have better image quality because of the resolution, but I haven't seen any specific issues in this version gameplay-wise (other than the old school feel I mean).
Among the consoles PS2, Dreamcast, Gamecube and Xbox interestingly the Dreamcast has the easiest solution to get progressive scan (480p). You simply need a VGA-Box and for some games an Utopia Boot disc. One of my favorite games on DC is Ferrari F355 Challenge. Normaly widescreen is only available with 480i but there are hexcodes available to get it working in 480p too. One only has to remember that the hex codes only work when the Dreamcast is set to English in its system menu.
Some months ago I softmodded a PAL Xbox and changed the console via hacker software to NTSC. Only that way you can force progressive scan on PAL Xbox systems. You can even do this softmod without replacing the dashboard. There are lots of softmod tutorials on Youtube but they all replace the original dashboard. This didn't make things easier.
For PS2 one needs to install GSM Selector on memory card with FMCB and you have to buy the HDTV Player Disc and still then lots of games are not playable in 480p. PS2 is the most difficult console to get 480p working.
For Gamecube I have a special memory card which has a slot for an SD card. That way I can load the Swiss software to force 480p.
Last but not one needs high quality cables otherwise the best video processor is useless. For PS2 HD Retrovision is the best address. For Xbox there is something called XOSVP and for Gamecube you need an expensive component cable. I imported mine from Japan and I only had to pay 180 bucks without taxes and customs ;)
As you can imagine all this is quite some hassle but it was also lots of fun :) So much for "it's a bit difficult to play old games without CRT screen" ^^
If you need some info on this topic I have quite some knowledge here so don't hesitate to ask me :)
By the way the best Forum for this topic is https://shmups.system11.org/.
thanks @dc_coder_84 😀