Developed by: ReadySoft Incorporated
CD-i Version by: ICDI
Published by: Philips Interactive Media Benelux
Original release: 1997
Genre: FMV Interactive Cartoon
CD-i type: Digital Video on CD-i; Digital Video Cartridge required
Original price: 100 NLG
Catalogue: 8100309 (Europe)
Releases: Originally released in a standard jewelcase (audio cd format), European exclusive release
Language: English only, the boxart of the European version is multi-language. The game is english only.
Emulator: Not working in CD-i Emulator v0.53b5
Description from the developer:
Lance Galahad has a problem. The good news is that you get infinite lives. The bad news is: you’ll probably need them. This incredibly animated frantic action game will make you laugh dying!
Game Facts:
After the initial success of Dragon's Lair creating the Full Motion Video Adventure genre for video games its successor and spin-offs including Space Ace offered little innovation to the gameplay. As a late arrival Brain Dead 13 reworked the genre with a simple refreshing approach, infinite lives and multiple ways to die! This addition to the games mechanic removed the frustration typically associated with these games and served up a fun and varied gaming experience. See the boxout below for a few examples of the multiple deaths and resurrections inflicted upon the games hero Lance Galahad pushing the boundaries of cartoon violence to the limit!
Review:
Ever have just one of those days? Our hero Lance is having several of them.... all today. The premiere computer repairman for the region, he's summoned to the mysterious mansion of Dr. Nero Nurosis to repair his super-computer. Not too bad right? Most of these egg-heads have alot of money. Well, the doctor isn't exactly an egg-head at all. In fact, he's just a brain in a jar... with dreams of world domination. So, now instead of paying for the repairs, and... after a few cheap shots from Lance, he's sicked Fritz, his hooked hand psychotic sidekick to take Lance out. Can Lance elude Fritz, defeat Dr. Neurosis and escape? Will he fall prey to the Doc and his many co-horts? Will he get paid for the job?
Being a huge Dragon's Lair fan, it's one of the reasons I bought the CD-i initally, especially after seeing the pathetic, heavily (and poorly) edited editions of Dragon's Lair & Space Ace that Readysoft did for Sega CD & 3DO. So, when I first heard about BRAIN DEAD 13, I can honestly say, my hopes weren't very high. However, being an FMV game fan, I just had to give it a try, and to my surprize, there was ALOT to love about this one. Being one of the only games developed by Readysoft themselves, they weren't limited by keeping the rigid structure imposed by the original games and were able to tailormake the game game to fit the console environment it ran on. A major step up from where they were heading.
Unfortunatly for the financially strapped Readysoft, alot of technical glitches arose right at the time of release, and after they had already begun a rather hillarious print advertizing campaign, so that by the time the game finally released, it was too late and the company went under not soon after. The visuals on this one are what it was all out about, and they do not fail to entertain. With an eye toward the macbre, each of the villanous characters have a personality thats very hillarious. Intermixing them with heavily detailed backgrounds, this one does not fail to be pleasing to the eye. Even the most monsterous things like the iron maiden (rock on!! heh), vampiric blood sucking, etc, just seem so hillarious, it's more like crossing over into the classic Bugs Bunny horror cartoons.... sans the rabbit.
The biggest drawback to this one is the lack of obvious route sometimes. Often times with no real cue to know what to do next, you'll die 3 or 4 times in one location... .so the death animations get really old really quick. Even though there are a variety of them unique to each area... there are really just too few to make them tollerable. Most will want to find a strategy guide after a while, just to beat certain puzzles. The character voices in this one were over the top. With so much emphasis on the cartoony aspect of play, it needed some good work done both in scripting and casting to make the characters really memorable and enjoable. Thankfully, they did a great casting job for ALL the characters. Lance, who we listen to for the whole game has a definite root in Bugs Bunny-esqe acting... for both the quips and the way he talks. Easily, this could have been a Warner Bros. licence, it's just that good.
Great lines from characters like the sports fanatic monster 'Moose'"Ok, punk. Third Down, Bases are loaded, and we're pullin' the goalie!!", and even some subtle visual jokes for the adults (look at some of the stuff Fritz drops later in the game), add to the myrth and overal experience of the game. While with most FMV games, once you're done, theres little reason to replay... this one does offer a bit more as some of the cheap jokes and subtle humor are easy to miss. Control is really where this one shines. Out-doing the control input for other games like Dragon's Lair, ICDI's port brought over the impressive control scheme and kept it really tight and refined. Playing more like the Dragon's Lair arcade game of old, you're given the dull tone for unaccepted commands, and the ping for accepted ones. Very helpful, and not nearly as hit & miss as the others. A major step up!
Overall, this one is a great FMV game. Alot to do, not as linear as other titles in the genre as you do have a choice as to where you can go and how you get there and inifnite lives.... all adding up to a really fun game. Fair warning : Some parents might be put off by the violence level in this one, and occasionally adult-ish humor. But for the most part, it's nothing you haven't seen similar events of in classic Bugs & Daffy cartoons. Still supervision is advised for the real youngsters.
From the Disc
Most CD-i Games have "Abstract", "Bibliographic" and "Copyright" details on the softwares disc itself, any interesting information in these files can be found below.
Abstract: Brain Dead 13.
Deep in the bowels of the sinister castle, evil is brewing...
As Lance, the world's hippest computer repair guru, you're called to the mysterious castle of the disembodied brain, Dr. Nero Neurosis. You learn of the Doctor's master plan... There's no turning back now! Race through the evil playground of the demented Doctor's twisted castle and battle the ultimate mishaps of science: Moose, Vivi and Fritz, the half-human half-pet of Dr. Neurosis.
Bibliographic: CD-i Version of BrainDead developed by Int'l CDI.
Project Manager and CD-i Development: Thierry Walrant.
Technical Manager: Bruno Rahir.
Additional Graphics: Nathalie Aughuet.
Int'l Creative Digital Image.
130 Bd Tirou, B-6000 Charleroi, Belgium.
Tel: +3271300910
Copyright: Copyright 1995 ReadySoft Incorporated. All Right Reserved. Copyright 1996 Philips Media Games. All Right Reserved.
