Unlucky for some?

 

Product Name: Braindead 13 Publisher: ReadySoft Contact: http://www.readysoft.com RRP:  £49.99 Requires: Jaguar CD Pros:   Brilliant graphics, amusing animations Cons:     Appalling gameplay, poor aliasing Score: 47%

 
 
 

Xav flips the lid on his Jaguar CD and discovers, like many reviewers before him, graphics alone are not enough...
 

'Dr. Neurosis... Dr. Nero Neurosis!' 'You ain't one of those mad, disembodied scientist guys, bent on taking over the world, are you?' 'How did you know?' 'Man, I've played a lot of video games.'

So speaks Lance, the hero of 'Braindead 13.' Unfortunately, while he may have played a lot of video games, it seems his creators haven't - well, not highly playable ones, anyway.

Taking over the world would be easy if real heroes were as hard to control as Lance

For those of you with previous experience of them, it will suffice to say this is a ReadySoft game. For the uninitiated, or those with poor memories, ReadySoft were responsible for ST tiles such as 'Dragon's Lair' and 'Space Ace'. These are also available for the Jaguar CD, and plotlines and graphic details aside, this review of 'Braindead 13' would do for all three!

This seems a little unfair but, from the player's perspective, it is essentially true. The gameplay in all three games is identical, consisting of a series of cartoons linked through the player's actions. This would be fine if the player had some choice over the actions to take, but in any given circumstance there is only one 'right' way to escape. The game boils down to little more than a test of memory and timing, and is made even harder by the inability to bale out of a particular situation, forcing you to repeatedly watch Lance being killed whilst you try each of the combinations in turn.

Fortunately for Lance, death isn't much of a limiting factor in his dash around Dr. Neurosis' castle, because he has infinite lives which turns the game into a test of endurance rather than skill. It can be hard to tell whether you are actually getting nearer to the finish, or just running round in circles. Fortunately you can save your position in the game at any time - IF you have the Memory Track cartridge, don't even think about buying any of these games if you haven't for the cartridge because these are not the kind of games you can enjoy playing from the start each time.

Dr Neurosis - the bad guy in case you're in any doubt!

The aim of the game is to make your way around the labyrinth of rooms and passages which make up the castle, avoiding Dr. Neurosis' henchman, Fritz, and a host of other beasties and demi-humans who are intent on killing you in the most imaginative of ways. Ultimately you should find yourself one-on-one with Fritz, before moving on to do battle with Dr. Neurosis himself. Hardly the most novel of storylines, but actually quite a refreshing change from the over complex ones which seem to accompany most games these days.

Not quite Tom & Jerry

So is there actually anything to commend 'Braindead 13' to the game starved Jaguar CD owners out there? Well, actually there is. For a start, there are the graphics; when I described them as 'cartoons' earlier on, it was not without good reason. They are beautiful to look at, despite a case of the jaggies due to lack of aliasing, and the introduction alone is worthy of a space on 'Rolf's Cartoon Time.'

Even the gameplay is bearable in most parts - although there are a few sections where you need to remember far too many steps to complete them. My main criticism here is that the moves you have to make are not necessarily those that seem sensible given the layout of the room, and with the exception of some junctions in passageways, there is no real choice of moves.

Despite such things, the real fun of 'Braindead 13' comes from the myriad ways in which Lance (who bears a disturbing resemblance to myself) can be killed. Each monster or situation has its own method of finishing him off, most of them amusing and imaginative, and all gloriously animated. Whilst the violence is stylistically of the cartoon variety, it is a slight step above 'Jerry hits Tom with a frying pan,' and often includes decapitations or bones being unceremoniously extracted. It's not that disturbing, but if you expect the game to be played by a young child, it may be worth checking it out for yourself first.

Having said that, I would suggest doing your best to try out this, or another ReadySoft game before buying it. It could be said that everyone should own at least one of their games, as they represent a unique genre that really shows, graphically at least, what can be done with modern technology. Of course, it also represents a rather expensive and frustrating way of watching a cartoon, so try it out and decide for yourself whether 'interactivity' is really worth the price of three Disney videos.