Based on a popular French comic book, Ubi Soft’s XIII drops gamers into the middle of a global conspiracy, where nothing is as it seems and just about everyone is out to get you. Here’s the skinny on the game’s main characters to help you separate the heroes from the villains.
Major Jones She’s not one for small talk, but Major Jones is the best (and, at times, the only) friend that XIII has. From the moment she arrives on the roof of the bank level, Jones puts herself at risk to help XIII, exchanging gunfire with the enemy, covering XIII’s escapes, and providing valuable mission intelligence. Voiced by recording artist Eve, Jones is a confident, no-nonsense kind of soldier who knows when to fight and when to get sneaky. A brilliant student at the military academy in Fredericksburg and a top-gun pilot, Jones has been General Carrington’s most trusted operative for decades. Now that President William Sheridan has been assassinated, Carrington’s main objective is to find out who did it—and he knows his best chance of success is to have Major Jones make it happen.
Walter Sheridan The brother of assassinated president William Sheridan is an up-and-coming politician in his own right. A successful lawyer with several sensational, high-profile cases under his belt, William also keeps some dangerous company in private. He is a gifted public speaker, but his lust for power makes him unreliable and possibly dangerous, as he doesn’t seem to care who gets hurt as he claws his way to the top. Is this Sheridan complicit in the murder of his brother, the president? Or, is he just another slick-talking politician, who stands ready to capitalize on this national tragedy?
Mongoose A high-ranking member of the mysterious organization known as the XX (or Twenty), Mongoose has a long and bloody history in covert black ops. Trained as a spy and assassin by the KGB, Mongoose worked for the Russians until the Soviet Union collapsed. He then opened his own assassination-for-hire service and became the Twenty’s lead field agent, organizing the hit on President Sheridan and then (seemingly) disposing of the shooter. When XIII turns up alive and starts investigating, Mongoose must track down this loose end and see that it’s taken care of … permanently.
Meet Major Jones.
General Carrington A career soldier that never plays by the book, Carrington currently holds one of the highest positions in the U.S. Military. Carrington quickly learns who pulled the trigger on President Sheridan, but that doesn’t help him discover who’s really behind the conspiracy. Famous for aggressively seizing the initiative, the maverick general conducts his own unofficial investigation into the assassination, relying on his top assets (Jones and XIII) to flush out the conspirators and stop them from achieving their long-term goals.
XIII This game is so full of secrets and betrayals that you can’t even trust yourself. As XIII, you start the game with a bad case of amnesia and a gang of thugs trying to ventilate you. As his memory returns, XIII recalls that he has been a covert-ops commando in the service of one General Carrington. Voiced by X-Files star David Ducovny, XIII also remembers bits and pieces of his most recent mission, along with a handful of secret drop-site locations that are full of cash and weapons for his use. He doesn’t really know if he killed the president or not … but he means to find out.
There are plenty more twists and turns in the plot of XIIIand many more characters trying to earn the gamer’s trust. The only way to truly tell who’s on your side is to play the game and see which of your peers tries to help you—and which tries to stick a knife in your back.
