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Review: Uplink v1.3.2Reviewed By: Erica Marceau Review Computer: 400MHz G4 (Gigabit Ethernet) with 768MB RAM, ATI Rage Pro 128, Mac OS X Review Date: July 22, 2003
Hacking into a computer is a lot like baking a cake. You have to assemble the correct ingredients, use the exact amounts, combine them together in the right order, bake in an oven that's not too hot and not too cold, and always clean all of the dirty dishes after you're done. Failure to do any of these steps correctly and your cake comes out an uneatable mess and the dirty dishes mean you can't cook anything else. In Uplink, the same rules apply except with greater consequences for failure and much less room for error.
All of this is best illustrated by an example. Let's say I need to destroy a computer. First I connect to the Public Access Server of the target company and find the phone number of the system administrator. I run Voice Analyzer and call him so I can get a sample of his voice. Then I open up the Map and connect to the target computer through as many servers as possible since it will take longer to trace me. I then run both the Proxy Bypass/Disable and the Firewall Bypass/Disable and go to the "Voice Print Identification" and play back the analyzed voice. Then I go to the password screen and run Password Cracker which will give me access to the system. Once in, I go to the Admin section, open up the console, and type "cd usr" and then "delete" to delete all of the files, and then "cd .." "cd sys" and "delete" again to delete the operating system. Finally, I type shutdown to turn off the computer. I clean up my logs by using Log Deleter to prevent being arrested, then go to Uplink Internal Systems and look at the news until it is reported that the computer was destroyed. I reply to the e-mail I received from the company that hired me, and the money is instantly transferred to my account. Once you figure out the method to a type of mission, you can do them the same way each time.
If you don't like the large amounts of blue in the interface, you can use themes made by users, add selections of Gateways, LANs you can hack into (requires a new account after adding each one), graphics such as a new map, and others. Anyone can make add-ons which just a bit of effort. There are a lot of other minor quibbles with the interface. You get necessary information in e-mails, but, since there is no copy and paste, you have to type everything. To make matters worse, some of the fields have text in them already such as "Enter IP" and when you select the field, the text isn't highlighted so you have to press escape to clear it. You have to keep the field highlighted by keeping the cursor on the field or you can't use escape to clear it or have anything you type show up. If you make a typo, you have to start over since you can't use the mouse or arrow keys to move the cursor in the field. While this is probably designed to make Uplink more difficult, it is annoying and unnecessary.
Uplink is an interesting concept that is marred by a flawed interface and a lack of reason to continue after you complete the one and only story and have an fully upgraded Gateway. The interface flaws and the repetitiveness of the missions once you've figured them out add up to a game that's not fun and not interesting.  [an error occurred while processing this directive]
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Cool Mac Gear• iPod 1G-2G • iPod 3G • iPod 4G • iPod Mini • PowerBook-iBook • Keyboard Skins • Garageband
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You start out as a novice hacker working for Uplink with a basic Gateway, 3000 credits, and a tutorial which teaches you how to accept missions, buy software, and hack into a test computer. The first software you'll buy will be the Password Cracker which finds the admin password one letter at a time and the Trace Tracker which lets you know how much time you have left before you are discovered. With these two tools you then can start accepting missions which will be deleting files, copying files, and changing records. If you're successful at this, your rating will increase. This means you can accept harder and more rewarding missions which will require you to get new software or upgrade the versions of software you already have. For example, the Trace Tracker has four versions. At version 1, it tells you when you're being traced; but at version 4, it tells you how many seconds you have left before the trace gets to your computer. In most cases, you should buy the highest version of software even if you have to take other missions to do so because you get no rebate when upgrading. For example, if you bought a version 2 Trace Tracker and later want to buy a version 4 Trace Tracker, you don't get any discount. Once you've done a few simple missions, you will get tougher missions which require more software since the computers you have to hack will have a Proxy, Monitor, and Firewall which you need to disable or bypass. Sample missions include changing criminal records, destroy/copy a database, tracing a hacker, and ruining a life, among others. All of this software requires a lot of money, and, since if you don't have the right software you can't complete the mission, you will have to take lower difficulty missions to get the money to buy the software.
Sometime in April 2010 you'll get an e-mail from a dead guy, and the Arc/Arunmor storyline starts. You can't really ignore it because there's a good chance the game will end if you do. The first time I played I spent my money into trading in my old Gateway for the best version available, installing more processors, maxing out the memory, getting the highest speed modem, and protecting my investment with a Gateway Motion Sensor and Gateway Self Destruct. I had all of the software I needed (or so I thought), so, when a storyline mission involved hacking into a LAN, I didn't have the money to buy the software required since LAN software is the most expensive. I took other missions to earn the money, but unfortunately I waited too long and the game was over. If there were earlier missions that required hacking into a LAN, there would be no problem. But the first encounter I had with LANs was in the storyline. There is also no mention of LANs in the help system, and, since they are the hardest to hack into, it would have been very helpful for one to be included. This is also the only story, so, once you've played both sides, there's little to do aside from fully upgrading your Gateway and buying all of the software; both of which you can do easily. Even though the rating goes from 16 (lowest) to 1 (highest), none of the missions require more than a rating of 8 to automatically qualify for, and there are no new missions after you reach this point.
Another strange interface flaw is with computers you have valid access. On most computers, there is a list of names/passwords and all you need to do is select the one you want to use and the fields are filled in. For InterNIC, however, you have to type in the password manually. I think this was also designed to make Uplink harder because InterNIC is the computer most people use as the first connection and delete the logs there to avoid detection. Having to type in the password every time increases the chances of being detected, but I think it's unnecessary.
The map also has quite a few flaws that make it more difficult to use. The biggest problem is that the dots you click to add it to your connection, the names of the computers, and the text of the names of the server are all white. When there are many computers on the map, it becomes extremely difficult to find anything. While there are ways provided to get around this—such as zooming in on the map, using the pop-up window which has the IP address and name of the computer, and removing unwanted servers from the map—all of them are clunky. The best method would have been a search function in which you could enter the name or IP address and have that computer highlighted. Instead of having everything white, make them different so they are easy to see. And, when you select a computer, make the dot a different color too. It would also be great to have more than one saved bounce so you don't have to keep on making connection bounces, especially since you only hack into between five and ten computers.
Then there are the bugs, including slowdowns and unexpected crashes, especially in the final portion of the Arunmore mission. There's a Gateway which says you won't be caught, but it's broken and you can get caught. I was often unable to hack into LANs because I couldn't get the blue line that connects systems to show up. I was able to have it work by quitting and then restarting Uplink, which worked most of the time. Also annoying were the icons for the Bypassers that aren't hidden when you open an e-mail. Since you can't move the e-mail, they get in your way. You can pause Uplink, but you can't put Uplink in the background. And, when you restart, everything is reset including programs you had open and the saved connections you had on the map. I don't think Uplink should take over your computer.