O.D.T. (video game)

O.D.T.
O.D.T.
Developer(s)	FDI
Publisher(s)	Psygnosis; Piko Interactive
Platform(s)	PlayStation, Microsoft Windows
Release	NA: 3 November 1998; EU: 1998;
Genre(s)	Action-adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player

O.D.T. (O.D.T.: Escape... Or Die Trying in North America) is a 1998 action-adventure video game developed by FDI and published by Psygnosis for PlayStation and Microsoft Windows.

Plot

The player assumes the role of a crew member on an airship charged with delivering a magical pearl to halt an epidemic. The airship is brought down by a horde of mutants who want to acquire the pearl, and crashes into a mysterious tower.^[2]

Characters

Captain Lamat: Protagonist of the story, despite being a non-playable character. Captain of the Nautiflyus, the ship which crash-lands in the forbidden zone.
Corporal Ike Hawkins: Second in command, with generally balanced abilities.
Cartographer Julia Chase: Generally balanced abilities, though one of the better magic users.
Chief Engineer Maxx Havok: High armor and weapon abilities, though a poor magic user.
Archbishop Solaar: The most powerful magic user, though has weak armour. Accompanied by a bird that occasionally attacks enemies or breakable objects.
Stowaway Sophia Hawkins: Unlockable character, with generally high and balanced abilities. Ike's sister.
Karma, the Ex-Deviant: Unlockable character, one of the enemy monsters in the game sympathetic to the heroes. Generally high and balanced abilities.

Development

Jean-Baptiste Bolcato told PSExtreme magazine that the core of the team was carried over from the development of Adidas Power Soccer, also published by Psygnosis for the PlayStation. He cited The Chaos Engine as a direction inspiration on the game, highlighting its "'futur-anterieur' look and feel a la Jules Verne" as distinctive among the more common cyberpunk aesthetic found in games at the time.^[3]

Reception

Aggregate score
Aggregator	Score
Aggregator	PC	PS
GameRankings	61%^[4]	51%^[5]

Review scores
Publication	Score
Publication	PC	PS
AllGame	^[6]	N/A
Computer Gaming World	^[7]	N/A
Electronic Gaming Monthly	N/A	3.625/10^[8]^[a]
EP Daily	N/A	5/10^[9]
Game Informer	N/A	5/10^[10]
GameRevolution	N/A	C−^[11]
GameSpot	4.8/10^[12]	5.3/10^[13]
IGN	N/A	5.5/10^[14]
Next Generation	N/A	^[15]
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine	N/A	^[16]
PC Gamer (US)	51%^[17]	N/A

The game received mixed reviews on both platforms according to the review aggregation website GameRankings.^[4]^[5] Next Generation said of the PlayStation version, "There are some neat things in the game such as the batwinged familiar that follows the mage around and the spellcasting interface, but in the end this game is a drag."^[15] GamePro called the same console version "a very accurate description of the entire product: a poor man's third-person shooter that manages to nail all the drawbacks of the genre's top gun, Tomb Raider, while cleverly missing all of the genre's high points."^[18]^[b]

Notes

^ Three critics of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the PlayStation version each a score of 3.5/10, and the other gave it 4/10.
^ GamePro gave the PlayStation version three 2.5/5 scores for graphics, sound, and fun factor, and 2/5 for control.

References

^ "PSX Nation News Story". 2001-02-25. Archived from the original on 2001-02-25. Retrieved 2023-10-06.
^ Air Hendrix (May 1998). "Sneak Previews: ODT". GamePro. No. 116. IDG. p. 59. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
^ "Excerpt: O.D.T." PSExtreme. No. 31. Dimension Publishing. June 1998. pp. 38–39. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
^ ^a ^b "O.D.T.: Escape... Or Die Trying for PC". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 14 February 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
^ ^a ^b "O.D.T.: Escape...Or Die Trying for PlayStation". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 1 May 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
^ Smith, Nick. "O.D.T. (PC) - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on 16 November 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
^ Johnson, Kenneth (March 1999). "(O)bvious (D)oppelgänger (T)itle (O.D.T. Review)" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 176. Ziff Davis. p. 160. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
^ Davison, John; Boyer, Crispin; Hager, Dean; Hsu, Dan (December 1998). "O.D.T." (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 113. Ziff Davis. p. 262. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 May 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
^ Grant, Jules (6 January 1999). "ODT (PS)". The Electric Playground. Greedy Productions Ltd. Archived from the original on 6 September 2002. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
^ "O.D.T.". Game Informer. No. 67. FuncoLand. November 1998. p. 80.
^ Hsu, Tim (December 1998). "O.D.T. Review (PS)". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on 15 September 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
^ Smith, Josh (14 December 1998). "O.D.T. Review (PC) [date mislabeled as "May 2, 2000"]". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on 4 January 2005. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
^ Mielke, James (29 September 1998). "Or Die Trying (O.D.T.) [sic] Review (PS)". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on 7 February 2005. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
^ Perry, Douglass C. (8 December 1998). "O.D.T. (PS)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 23 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
^ ^a ^b "O.D.T. – Escape or Die Trying [sic] (PS)". Next Generation. No. 51. Imagine Media. March 1999. p. 90. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
^ Rybicki, Joe (December 1998). "O.D.T." Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. Vol. 2, no. 3. Ziff Davis. p. 150. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
^ Poole, Stephen (March 1999). "O.D.T." PC Gamer. Vol. 6, no. 3. Imagine Media. Archived from the original on 6 March 2000. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
^ Boba Fatt (December 1998). "ODT [sic]". GamePro. No. 123. IDG. p. 190. Archived from the original on 30 November 2004. Retrieved 10 April 2021.