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Ubik (video game)

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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

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

Plot

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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

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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

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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

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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

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  1. ^ a b c "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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