''Ubik'' is a 1998 video game by

Cryo Interactive Cryo Interactive Entertainment was a French video game development and publishing company founded in 1990, but existing unofficially since 1989 as a developer group under the name Cryo. History Cryo was formed by members of ERE Informatique ...

, based on the novel ''

Ubik ''Ubik'' ( ) is a 1969 science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. The story is set in a future 1992 where psychic powers are utilized in corporate espionage, while cryonic technology allows recently deceased people to be maintain ...

'' by

Philip K. Dick Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, 1928March 2, 1982), often referred to by his initials PKD, was an American science fiction writer. He wrote 44 novels and about 121 short stories, most of which appeared in science fiction magazines during his ...

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. Shooting is a key aspect of the gameplay. The missions include killing all enemies, rescuing hostages and stealing corporate secrets.

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 ''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, and written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick ...

'' 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. The PlayStation conversion was difficult due to the hardware not supporting z-buffering.

Critical reception

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

References

External links

*{{moby game, id=/ubik, name=Ubik 1998 video games Cryo Interactive games PlayStation (console) games Strategy video games Video games developed in France Windows games Adaptations of works by Philip K. Dick Video games set in Los Angeles Video games set in 2019 Video games set in the future