Brain Dead 13

Brain Dead 13 is an interactive movie game reminiscent of Dragon's Lair and Space Ace that uses full motion video (FMV) to present the story and gameplay, which consists entirely of quick time events, where players assume the role of Lance Galahad in order to defeat Dr. Nero Neurosis from conquering the world at his castle and its residents as the main objective. During gameplay, exploration is freer than in most previously released interactive movie games, with most rooms linked to crossroads that leaves the route for finding the Brain Chamber up to the players. Even crossroads are done as quick time events.

Failure to choose a path as soon as Lance reaches a crossroads and to use the other actions, as well as choosing the dangerous path, results in the game displaying the failure scenes, in which Lance is killed by Fritz or by other enemies or obstacles or he falls to his doom. The death scenes are often rather violent, but over-the-top in their cartoony approach. However, the player has infinite lives, and after the death sequence, there is a revival sequence, where Lance revives in ways that depend on which scene he was killed in.

Lance, a young computer expert, is called to fix a computer at a scary, dilapidated castle. After repairing a large super-computer, Lance learns that his client, the disembodied brain of Dr. Nero Neurosis, has a diabolical plan to take over the world. After calling Dr.

Neurosis an "average" mad scientist, he quickly finds himself in trouble, being chased around the castle by Dr. Neurosis' psychotic servant, Fritz. The player must guide Lance through the castle in order to defeat Dr. Neurosis and escape with his life.

Brain Dead 13 was met with mixed to negative reviews, with critics widely praising the animated sequences but bemoaning the trial-and-error gameplay. GameSpot's Jeffery Adam Young said that the game is "a skillfully animated cartoon that is almost entirely unplayable and fails completely as an interactive experience." He noted that the results of button presses are inconsistent and unpredictable. The Electric Playground's John Shaw praised the animated sequences and production value but regarded the gameplay as "tired and abysmal", criticizing the need to repeatedly rewatch sequences as the player figures out the pattern needed to progress. PC Joker's Martin Schnelle commended the audiovisual presentation but stated that its "concept was not well received years ago and is still a sure guarantee of frustration today".

The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly lauded the game as one of the best of the FMV quick-time event games, thanks to its non-linear gameplay and forgiving difficulty (in that it does not require split-second timing and gives the player unlimited continues). They particularly praised the 3DO version's high quality video and quick loading times, and said the game's one flaw is that it has no replay value. A review in GamePro, in contrast, said the game "is nowhere near as good as Dragon's Lair or Space Ace" and that the 3DO version feels like an unfinished game due to its glitches and control, though they concurred on the high quality of the video. Next Generation found the FMV quick-time event genre to be aging and unenjoyable.