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PH3@R My L33t 5k1L5, N0OB. 1 w1|L 0wnzoR j00r ph3eb|E bOx0r! 1 4M t3H M4d H4X0R WH4+ R0X0Rz! WO0+!I needed to get that out of my system. I really can't help it. Uplink is infectious that way. In case you haven't heard of it, Uplink is the popular hacker simulator for Windows and Linux created by Introversion and currently being ported to the Mac by Contraband Entertainment and published by Ambrosia Software. The year is 2010. You play a NO0B agent for the Uplink Corporation, a clearing house for corporations looking for people to perform various jobs of dubious morality. The company provides you with the jobs and the resources to complete those jobs. As you gain proficiency, you rise in notoriety. As your rating improves more difficult and dangerous jobs become available to you. Of course, those jobs are worth more cash if you can pull them off. Whatever you do is up to you. Just don't get caught. The first thing that struck me about Uplink was its level of immersion. The first time you launch the program, you are taken through the initialization and registration process with the Uplink Corporation. The game exists within its own interface and operating system. As you entrench yourself within the reality of Uplink, you can play the stock market -- and influence that stock market, upgrade your computer, buy more hacking tools and even steal bank funds. Eventually, if your rating improves enough, you are presented with a plot filled with intrigue. You can play the story line or do your own thing. It's up to you. There's even a built-in IRC module (once you can afford to purchase it within the game). Yes, real Internet Relay Chat -- internet connection required. What's a game about hacking if you can't access IRC? The genius of this game lies in the level of immersion it attains. Let me supply an instance before I explain what I mean: After you launch the game, you log in to the system. What if you were able to somehow attain another agent's username and password from the game? Can you log in with that other "user's" information? Try it and see. If you become proficient at hacking banks, you can redirect funds at you leisure. No more worrying about finishing jobs to upgrade your system. You only have to worry about maintaining your "Neuromancer" rating. From the beginning of the game you are drawn into the reality set forth by the game. I would go as far as to say this is the perfect execution for an RPG. You are presented with a metaphor so easily accessible, you can't help but be sucked in to the sense of power generated by bringing down a corporate server. Increasing your rating becomes easy and fun. Rebuilding your rating if you get busted becomes an enjoyable challenge, as you learn new skills that make the jobs easier and easier.
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