Proxy - Ultimate Hacker

This is not uplink. It’s a side grade. It’s not frantic at all. It’s not that deep and there is barely any lore or content. However if you want a computer “Hacking” game that isn’t out to overwhelm you this is it. It’s more about how you complete your missions than how fast you can do them as password hacking is always the same no matter the difficulty level. The interface is significantly more usable than uplink mostly due to the comparative simplicity. It is almost completely one button mouse controlled. It looks nice and retro. You never need to click and drag tiny bars to get things done as the commands are in a drop down menu. One of the key game element is simply not ever getting a trace on you while on the job. If you try to race the clock you are almost going to lose. Why? The game goes not let you multitask, your computer is decidedly not advanced which also means it does things slowly one. at. a. time. You are almost always better off disconnecting and aborting the job instead of trying to complete one racing the trace. Another very nice thing is not having to deal with proxies like Uplink does. You don’t have to string a web of proxies to build up time for your hac…

Man. Talk about underrated. This game has amazing puzzles and mechanics, a must buy if youre into puzzle/hacking games

A mouse-heavy hacking game with a brilliant sense of humor, achievements, and trading cards. My opinion is that the game starts easy to teach one the tools, and gradually gets more complex and dangerous as one levels up. (Hang in there - you will get arrested eventually! Note that while inconvenient, being arrested does not eliminate certain unspent monies.) The game presents opportunities to think laterally such as hacking the admin account instead of the (supplied) individual's account. While this would eliminate all trace of the hack and prevent any alarm, the admin has better security requiring expensive hardware and software. The in-game promotion/level-up messages will tell you what to upgrade in order to counter each new threat one will encounter at the new "level." I haven't made any spreadsheets, but I have taken notes/screenshots of accounts with huge sums of money. Most data is quite well-handled through in-game programs and in-game storage. While there is plenty of file-wrangling and log-deleting for fans of the genre, it is done by running programs with the mouse. Even the main hacking interface is a straightforward light-beam-routing puzzle. One reviewer notes that…

This is actually a really fun game. Simple yet engaging mechanics, and fun missions. It deserves more attention

I've enjoyed the mission-based structure of Uplink, and this game is possibly the most streamlined approach to this kind of experience since the UplinkOS mod. I really enjoy the major differences between the two such as the lesser focus on real-time desparation (with traces during a hack being a lot less common than simple passive traces), or the occasional moment of lore in hacked email accounts. There is a story campaign to follow like in Uplink, but much like Uplink, this can easily be left aside if you want to go about upgrading at your own pace. (UPDATE FOR THIS PARAGRAPH: The developer has made me aware of the presence of a tutorial, so that's alright) If there is one complaint I have, it would be that the lack of tutorial might be a turnoff to people not used to this kind of game, and a mild irritant to seasoned players who are coming across the changes this game makes from Uplink. Overall, if you really enjoy the hacking style of gameplay, or if you played Hacknet and wished it wasn't as linear, I highly recommend this one. 8/10

Humorous writing.