"Have Faith in the Revelation"

Uplink gives you the chance to become a hacker in 2010, but without any of the risks of actually being caught and sent to jail. You start off the game as an unknown hacker working for the Uplink corporation. As you play the game and you do more jobs your hacking reputation will increase, giving you access to more better-paid jobs. In the beginning you are only given jobs which involve copying or deleting one file, but soon you can get jobs involving hacking central mainframes and banks.

Gameplay 9
In general Uplink is a very fun game, but it can get frustrating at times if you keep getting caught by the admin when you are halfway through your mission. The game is one of these games which is easy to learn, but really hard to master. There will be some types of mission that you will probably never get to grips with, but you can go through the game without doing these missions.

Story 7
The story of Uplink starts off very small and seemingly pointless, but quickly builds up into a deep and complex state of affairs. You pick sides between a group of good or bad hackers (and if you play along with the storyline you will see quite a clear distinction between the two groups). If you don't like the story, then don't go along with it. Just don't accept the storyline missions (even though they are worth a lot of credits).

Graphics 8
The game's graphics are futuristic in style, and at the same time simple to understand and use.

Sound 10
The sounds that you get really add an edge to the game. The music, while not maybe to everyone's taste, suits the style of game very well. When you're on a mission and you have the trace tracker active, the tension builds up inside you as the beeps on the trace tracker get closer and closer. The futuristic theme of the game is helped strongly with the futuristic beep sounds.

Playtime 10
I love this game because as long as you never get arrested by the police, you may never end up completing the game. The game only ends when you get caught and Uplink close your account down, and on one other occasion, but I won't tell you what it is because that would be me adding a spoiler into my review.

Replayability 10
To see the whole story, you MUST play through the game at least twice. Even if following the story is not your style, the replay value of this game is enormous, as no two games will ever be the same.

Final Recommendation
I believe that this is a really fun game, which you MUST at least try out. Download the demo from introversion's website, and if you like that, just remember that it only gets better :)

Final Score
Gameplay: 9
Story: 7
Graphics: 8
Sound: 10
Playtime: 10
Replayability: 10
Total: 54
54 divided by 6 is exactly 9 :)

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/09/03, Updated 04/09/03