Ubik (video game)

Ubik is a 1998 video game by Cryo Interactive, based on the novel Ubik by Philip K. Dick.

Ubik
Cover art
Developer(s)Cryo Interactive
Publisher(s)Cryo Interactive
Composer(s)Eric Los
Platform(s)PlayStation, Windows
Release1998
Genre(s)Action, Strategy
Mode(s)Single-player

Plot

In the year 2019, Joe Chip is working for Runciter Associates in Los Angeles, where he is tasked with preventing enemy companies from spying on his clients.

Gameplay

The player has to lead, train and equip a team of five combatants (including Joe Chip) and complete missions in 3D-rendered maps. Though the backgrounds are prerendered, players can choose from a limited number of different camera angles for each scene.[1] Shooting is a key aspect of the gameplay. The missions include killing all enemies, rescuing hostages and stealing corporate secrets.[1]

Production

The developers thought long and hard about how to translate Dick's work into a video game. Fans of the time associated him with the world of the Blade Runner movie, so the team felt compelled to stick to this. However, they wanted to avoid a wholly science fiction route and instead stay somewhat true to the book. They thought that Dick's 1960s description of the future was more in the tone of Starsky & Hutch, whereas they wanted to update this with a Blade Runner or Total Recall dark cynicism.[2] The PlayStation conversion was difficult due to the hardware not supporting z-buffering.[1]

Critical reception

John Saavedra of Den Of Geek thought the convoluted plot wasn't suitable for a strategy game.[3] Brutoom of Hardcore Gaming 101 thought that the game merged different genres together, and pushed creative boundaries.[4]

References
  1. "NG Alphas - Ubik". Next Generation. Vol. 3, no. 32. Imagine Media. August 1997. pp. 61–62.
  2. Eric Los (2008-11-28), Making of Ubik - Cryo 1997, retrieved 2017-02-02
  3. "Why Aren't There Any Good Games by Philip K Dick?". Den of Geek. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  4. "Hardcore Gaming 101: Ubik". www.hardcoregaming101.net. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
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