Ever wonder what it would be like to hack your way into a mega-corporation's database and sabotage important files? Well, now you can (without fear of imprisonment) in Uplink: Hacker Elite, a strategy title that puts you in the shoes of a corporate hacker working anonymous jobs for different companies. Uplink: Hacker Elite manages take a very interesting spin on the strategy genre, although it does falter on a few fronts.
From the beginning, Hacker Elite shoots for a high level of immersion, much like Majestic for those who've heard of it. When you first start it up, you are welcomed into the main company for whom you work and given access to your Gateway computer, which allows you to retain anonymity and still work from your home computer. A few loading screens come up and then you are connected to the system. From here you can run the tutorial mode or just begin hacking away. Your role in the game is pretty much a freelance one, as you can work for any company that's currently requiring work from your field. As you do more missions, your rank in the company goes up, and you can take more lucrative (yet more difficult) jobs. Mind what jobs you take however, as they can effect your "Neuromancer" rating. The "Neuromancer" rating serves as a morality meter, which will drop if you accept missions that are dodgy in nature. This can damage your reputation, as corporations won't hire you if you are untrustworthy.
The gameplay takes a while to warm up, as you keep doing pretty much the same job over and over again. You'll bounce a signal, break a password, steal or manipulate a file, and then do it all over again. This redundancy could shy away all but the most hardcore hacking fans. Even when you get into more challenging missions, you are basically doing the same thing as the early missions. This is not to say the game can't be fun. It can be very exciting at times, like when you are tracking a trace and trying to hack your way into a mainframe with only seconds before you get caught.
Speaking of getting caught, the game is very unforgiving if you do. The game abides by a strict "one strike and you're out" policy. If a corporation catches you in the midst of hacking their files, your employer will destroy your Gateway and disavow all knowledge of your existence, thus ending your game making it so you have to start again from scratch. This really sucks because the game automatically saves as you go along and you can't save, so when its over its over.
The game doesn't really have much in the graphics department. There are some menus and the occasional picture, but don't expect any muscle flexing from your video card. The menus do serve their purpose, however.
The sound effects are fairly simple. The Trace Tracker has a little radar bleep sound as a trace narrows in on you, and there are quite a few other simple sound effects. The music is pretty nice and fits the mood of the game, as seamlessly mixes over the action.
Uplink: Hacker Elite is a great concept, but the execution is muddled by redundant and extremely unforgiving gameplay. Also, the experience will only be appreciated by a select few of the population who can actually enjoy a game without amazing graphical capabilities or intense trigger-finger action. However, the action can be quite suspenseful and engaging and shouldn't be missed by anyone who wants to legally try his or her hand at corporate espionage.
Reviewer's Scoring Details
Gameplay: 7.0
The game can be intense at times, and boring and redundant at other times. Plus, it can be terribly unforgiving, given the "one strike you're out" rule. True, this raises the stakes for the player, but losing everything after playing the game for several days is downright frustrating.
Graphics: 6.5
Not too much in the field of graphics. The game consists of several menus and the occasional photograph of a target, but that's about it. What more do you need?
Sound: 7.5
The sound effects are simple, consisting of various bleeps and computer noises. The music is appropriate and mixes nicely with the action.
Difficulty: Hard The game starts out simple enough, but the stakes are very high. One false move and its back to the start.
Concept: 8.5
The game has a great concept, as there is a great amount of suspense and intensity in the field of hacking. Some may balk at the subject matter, but in the era of Grand Theft Auto and BMX XXX, nothing is too shocking.
Overall: 7.0
Uplink: Hacker Elite is a great idea, that loses a bit in its execution. Plus, only a few gamers would necessarily be interested in the idea. However, for those that are, Uplink can be a very suspenseful and engaging experience.
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