Developer(s) FTL Designer(s) Dan Hewitt | Publisher(s) FTL Release 1987 & 2014 | |
Platform(s) Atari ST, Apple Mac, Commodore Amiga Genre(s) Multi-directional shooter | ||
Oids is a video game released in 1987 by FTL Games. The game was originally released on the Atari ST, followed by a conversion for the Apple Macintosh. A version for the Commodore Amiga was eventually released in 2014, due to reverse engineering the ST version. It is a straight port. The Atari ST, created entirely by Dan Hewitt, version was a cult favorite in the UK, where it received rave reviews.
The game follows in the footsteps of classics such as Asteroids, Gravitar and Thrust, with its inertia-based movement, controls, and shield. The main activity in the game is rescuing abused android slaves (the "Oids" of the title), and there is rather more emphasis on arcade action than the slower paced gameplay of Gravitar and Thrust. In this sense, it is similar to the Apple II game Choplifter.
The game included a level editor, allowing players to create additional content for the game.
Reception
Compute! praised the game's graphics and sound, calling it "a winner". The game was reviewed in 1988 in Dragon #137 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 5 out of 5 stars.