Uplink

Uplink is a rather innovative hacking game. It gives you a job as a hacking agent at Uplink, one of the leader companies in hacking services.

You then have to complete various hacking tasks for the company and particular clients, pursuing your own goals as well.

The game provides you with a computer system and access to Uplink's servers so that you can start hacking. The game is not very hard, but it has a bit of a learning curve. There are three tutorials available, though. I took the first two. They teach you how to use your computer and hack a test machine to get a file off their file servers.

In the first mission, I had to complete some tasks like cracking a login password and connecting through several proxies so that I couldn't be tracked. To do so, I had to fire up a connection with the Uplink servers and download a password cracker and trace detector. Then I installed them in the system and proceeded to do the hacking.

As you progress in the game, your computer will become loaded with different types of software and will receive upgrades. You will also become a better hacker, since you will start learning some tricks. In future missions, you are asked to launder money, steal trade secrets, frame innocent people, and do some good Samaritan stuff like that. The graphics are pretty old-fashioned, but the game is all about the fun of being in the underground, hacking your way to the top.