XIII: Lost Identity, is a pretty straightforward hidden objects game. What struck me as both different and likeable was the interesting story that kept me wanting to play to find out what 
happens next. I also didn’t mind being tossed right in. When the game starts, you really don’t have any idea who you are (the main character, obviously, but who is that?), where you are, how you got there, nothing. It’s all revealed as you play. There are twists and turns in the story, that, if you’re not following, could leave you very confused in the end. It’s hard to know who is friend or foe, and my guesses were often wrong, and then right, and then wrong again.
XIII: Lost Identity Story
The story is told through “text boxes” by the characters who move on and off the screen when it’s their turn. There are no voices, but you can hear the sounds of the environment in the background. In the opening scene for example, you can hear the calming sound of waves crashing on the beach. The music throughout has a western feel, appropriate to the emotion inferred by the art of the game.
As the name implies, you’ve lost your identity somehow. You learn more about who you are, and what’s happened to you through meetings with people, both friend and foe. It’s not always clear who’s who; the writers like to keep us guessing. All that’s clear is that someone wants you dead and it’s your goal to find out both who and why.
As you move through the world, there are “cut scenes” that forward the story, interspersed with periods where you need to find a list of object, found at the bottom of the screen, and the occasional puzzle. The list shows only a few items at a time, and as objects are found (sometimes multiples of an item), they disappear, and more items are added. There’s no glow or any other indication of “rightness” when things are moused over, and in some cases the items are very hard to find. There is no time limit, and so no rush, which means there’s plenty of time to hunt around for things.
