Moving on, I present to you, the PC game (yes, I actually play PC games. Wut is the world coming to…) that had me obsessed for a good portion of my pathetic life;
Uplink: Hackers Elite
“Trust is a weakness”, ah~ so true. I should make that my tagline too. What with all the backstabbin and shit that I’ve been goin thru. (And people wonder why I’m so detached from human contact. Pfft!).
The Cyber World is Your Playground
Aite, so, this game doesn’t involve you controlling a character around a virtual world. You yourself play a hacker, and your computer (i.e. the one you’re using in real life) is the interface that you’ll be using to crack the cyber world open. Think of Uplink as a software, rather than a game.
Make Your Pick
Basically, your main goal in the game is to earn money as a hacker (real life shit, really). You accept “missions” that are listed in the Uplink Main Server. There’s a plethora of missions to pick from. Low-level mission require only a few softwares at your end, with relatively low security (i.e. You can practically hack in and out of the target server without a care in the world).
However, higher ranked missions require much more sophisticated softwares, hardwares, as well as more powerful Gateways. Also, a handful of skill is required to keep yourself from getting caught by the Feds. If you get arrested, your Gateway and account will be revoked by Uplink, and it’ll be as if you never even existed to them. So, you’ll have to start over (and believe me, it is a PAIN!).
What’s the storyline? There’s no conventional “save the world” scenario here. You play an anonymous hackin little freak, minding your own business; minding other people’s lives. But hey, if you receive suspicious e-mails about weird Cyber shit, then Uplink might just start to get just a tiny bit interesting.
Academic Records
Yup, higher ranking missions also include “ruining other people’s lives”. You can do this by changing their academic records, modifying their criminal records, steal their cash straight from their account(s), and even frame them for fraud. What could be more fun than the complete destruction of a person’s life?
Stock Markets
I’ve never hacked into the Stock Market Systems. So, I’m assuming it’s a relatively high-ranked mission. Uh, yea, that’s right, I haven’t been able to beat this damn game yet. I keep getting caught, apparently. Lol.
LAN hacking, I believe
I only managed to try hacking LANs a few times. It baffles me, but it looks cool regardless. Kekeke. Navigating your way thru LANs can be a pain. Since, there are encryptions and monitors that block your path. But hey, if it were all too easy, things wudn’t be as fun, rite?
Internet Relay Chat (IRC)
I think one of the features of Uplink is this little toy; the Internet Relay Chat. It allows you to…well…chat. Duh. It doesn’t affect your gameplay, but it does look hot. Never tried it, don’t ask.
So yeah, it’s an awsum game. But, I admit, it might not be everyone’s cup of tea. There aren’t any fancy-shmancy graphic effects to impress you. But it kinda makes you feel like you’re in one of those hackers you see in the movies.
It’s a mess, but a cool-lookin mess
Oh, Uplink apparently enables multi-monitor viewing. Not really sure what it’s called. But it lets you set up and link multiple monitors (PCs, if I’m not mistaken) together. This lets you view different interfaces at once (i.e. Trace Tracker on one monitor, and Eliptic-Curve Encryption on the other). Its kinda pointless, but like I said before, it looks hella cool. Yes sir.
