Braindead 13

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Fancy being chased around a castle by a freak?
by Gregory D. George

June 6, 1996

Yet another in the long line of Readysoft full motion video games, Braindead 13 departs from the standard Dragon's Lair formula. For the first time in such a game, the player has more control over where they go than ever before. You aren't forced to see the same sequence of events in a predetermined order, rather, you choose which mini-story you wish to play.

Braindead 13 is the story of Lance, the computer repairman lost in the castle of the disembodied brain, Dr. Neurosis. Not only is he lost, but he is constantly being chased by Fritz, the Doctor's comical pet. There are loads of laughs to be found when Fritz displays his stash of weapons (look for the copy of "Bigguns" when he falls!) or when Lance shows him what for. "Hiyah, freak!" he shouts and runs away early in the game. As you would expect, there are tons of death scenes Lance would be best to avoid. Many of them disgusting, and good for a laugh. This game actually reminds me of a Scooby-Doo cartoon with it's dark castle motif, kookey characters, and slapstick humor. (Watch the bats at the opening, and tell me you don't think of Scooby-Doo!)

This is a CD game, so naturally the music, sound, and voice are superb, but I did catch a few grainy spots. And at times, the crashing noises can muffle Lance's dialogue. But the music lends itself well to the comedy of the story. You also can't have a good cartoon without "bonks", "whacks" and "zings", and this game delivers.

Not only does Braindead 13 contain some of the best full motion video I've seen on the Jaguar CD (MUCH better than Dragon's Lair), but also doesn't pause in between scenes like DL does. The game flows from scene to scene with only the slightest of delays, however it can get frustrating when you can't figure out what the correct sequence is. This is typical of this type of game. Thankfully, your lives aren't limited, and it is Memory Track compatible. Unfortunately, mine didn't seem to want to work. Oh well.

As mentioned, gameplay is somewhat more entertaining than Dragon's Lair. It's still a full motion video game, but you aren't forced to complete the same scenes in the same order each time. Very often during the game you're faced with a choice: Should you go out on the balcony, or continue down the hallway? Turn go north, south, east, or west in the maze? Go up the stairs or wait for Fritz to slice you to pieces? It's totally up to you.

I was surprised how much I liked this game. Being from Readysoft, I wasn't expecting too much. But the characters really made the game for me. Fritz has to be one of the coolest characters I've seen in a long while and is a total riot. In addition to the game's 4+ minute intro, intros for Dragon's Lair, DL2, and Space Ace are also included. So if you're looking for a CD game with great FMV, hysterical characters, with better-than- average- FMV-game gameplay, pick up Braindead 13. Fritz would want it that way.