Computer Underground is another game trying to tap into the popularity of hacker games. The objective of the game is simple. You try to become the best hacker by performing a serious of hacks and defeating other crackers in one-on-one challenges. You can only complete your objective by earning enough money to upgrade your software and hardware. You do this through hacks into companies, bank raids, and taking money from other crackers.
The “hacks” themselves are monotonous but some can be challenging.
If you have a good enough computer and hacking program, you hack into an area. You then have a certain amount of time, usually around two minutes, to solve a memory-match game to finish the hack successfully without being traced. The memory-match game is just like card game we are all familiar with. It is easy with only a four by four grid. Once you have the formula for this particular game, you will probably do it flawlessly each time.
The bank raids depend completely on luck. You can attempt to raid for three different amounts of money, ($999 or less, $1000 to $1999, and $2000 or more). The more money you attempt to steal, the higher your chance of being caught.
If you are caught you will be fined and may have your computer taken away. Without a computer you can’t perform any hacks, a bank raid, or challenge another cracker. If you don’t have enough money saved up to buy a new computer, it's game over. I found it tedious to attempt bank raid after bank raid, reloading a saved game every time I lost, just to get enough money to buy the basic software I needed to try other areas of the game. But, that was part of the realism of the game, I guess, and part of the challenge. Sometimes even the best hacker gets caught, and so will you, so be careful of keeping some savings on hand unless you like to reload a lot.
The hacking challenges are also straightforward. You send a virus at your opponent and they send one at you. The person with the better virus shield and virus wins the challenge. Your opponents can range from level one to twenty, the higher levels requiring better protection and viruses to attack with. You can cut off a challenge at any time and try again later. Your opponent won’t have recovered their computer from the last attack, so it is easy to defeat any opponent with a few tries at the most. When you win you get a little money and sometime some software. The prize improves as you beat more experienced hackers.
Overall, there isn’t really a lot of complexity to this game, but it is certainly unique. The graphics in the game are simple, and most of the game is presented through text menus. The story line is nonexistent and the objective isn’t that enticing since you achieve it through a serious of luck and easy memory match games. The process of accumulating money and improving your hardware may present you with enough challenge to keep you going. But, like actual hacking, the motivation has to come from within and if you can find any personal satisfaction within this game, you are a true hacker.
