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Hacker Evolution: Reinsertion

Score: 91%
ESRB: Not Rated
Publisher: exosyphen studios
Developer: exosyphen studios
Media: Download/1
Players: 1
Genre: Simulation/ Themed

Graphics & Sound:

Expansions sometimes have a bad habit of weakening the original game. So with a game that I really like, I can be apprehensive about any add-ons to it. Rest assured that this is not the case with Hacker Evolution: Reinsertion. Another added bonus about this expansion is that it now comes with the purchase of the original game. All I had to do was delete and download the game with my code and I had access to it. Download a great game and the expansion; you can't go wrong. Carry on from where you left off in a battle against time and the machine. Crack and hack your way past more securities and defeat more security systems than before, until you can infiltrate the Xenti Corporation and take down the machine.

The format for the graphics is the same simple and streamlined look we love. This time though, you are not just looking at the map of the world the whole time. You will actually find yourself looking at buildings and floor plans, but let's not forget the idea is simplicity and function not photo-realism, so don't expect a Matrix-like cut away.

Thanks for not messing with the great soundtrack. Expect the same driving techno beat. This was instrumental in the immersion of the game. The only thing I was missing was an I.V. of Mountain Dew and a lifetime supply of Hot Pockets.


Gameplay:

If you missed the first review of Hacker Evolution, it places you into the role of Brian Spencer, a former Intelligence Agent. In the near future, we gain the technological advantage to send information so fast that it actually begins to arrive before it was sent. To control such a technology, an A.I. Computer was built to control it. Once sentient, the computer begins to affect past events to change future outcomes. The attempted tampering was thwarted by you, of course. Here we are now, and you are still pitted against the A.I. Machine, as it is once again hiding behind the Xenti Corporation.

Hacker Evolution: Reinsertion is played exactly like before with five areas of information in front of you the entire game. The first is the map. Servers you have found will appear on the map in their respective locations. Here you will also be able to tell by color if they have been cracked or not. You will also find the diagrams for the building you are trying to infiltrate. Second is your console still. Here you will enter the hacks necessary to bring down the evil Xenti groups. Your message window will display your incoming messages and point you in the right direction. In the expansion, you will have to pay even more attention, as no bit of information is actually wasted. The expansion is much more difficult, so don't expect the game to hold your hand the whole way like before. Your computer status window is also here, showing you the capabilities of your computer. These can still be upgraded as you go along. And, last is your status of money and the most important commodity in the game, trace. Every time you crack and decrypt a server, the security on the other side has time to try and track you down. Being traced is a hacker's worse nightmare. Your trace is calculated in percentages. Reach a 100% and you have been found and the level is over. There are ways to lower it and precautions to take in order to lessen it. You will learn these tricks quickly.

You will hack systems the same way as before using crack, decrypt, and scan commands. You will have to pay more attention as the servers will have more layers and far more password protection as before. Dig deep to get all of the information so you can take out the Xenti corporation.


Difficulty:

The original Hacker Evolution was difficult, but once you got the process down, you began to get into the flow of the game and it became easier. The easiest way I think to say it is that Hacker Evolution: Reinsertion is just plain harder. There is so much more in every layer of servers and their security. I can't recall a server with just one tier to break through. You have to take even more care to make sure your trace levels are manageable. Even with all of the added depth and difficulty, it is still the ease of entry and the fact that this game is not about actually knowing how to do console scripting or real hacking. With the simple console commands and the well-designed missions, you will be hard pressed to reach a point that you are just stuck. From there, it is all a matter of the fact you have missed an obvious clue or security level.

Game Mechanics:

Hacker Evolution: Reinsertion brings back all of the great attributes of the original game and just adds to them by making the experience more immersive and more in-depth. The balance is well done between what could be an extremely over the top programming-intensive game that few could play and a well balanced simplified version that anyone can play and feel like a true hacker. I hope to see them continue to expand in the direction of the game that you can actually access the real world and look at cameras and do surveillance style missions into high tech systems.

I have no fear the team at exosyphen isn't going to continue to produce a great hacker experience. There is a version you can purchase that has all of the code so you can implement your own modification. They even have a pocket PC version now. I don't have a pocket PC device to touch it with unfortunately, but I look forward to further titles and expansions.

The original Hacker Evolution was a giant sundae of balance and well-done game mechanics, and Hacker Evolution: Reinsertion is just the big 'ol cherry on top. This is a must pick up in my book. Maybe it can't compete with Orange Box for the number of games for the price, but with both the original game and this new expansion, there is no reason not to add it to your collection.


-WUMPUSJAGGER, GameVortex Communications
AKA Bryon Lloyd

Minimum System Requirements:



PC, running at least Windows XP, 500 Mhz or faster CPU, 128 Mb of RAM, DirectX 8 compatible video card
 

Test System:



Windows XP Pro, 3.2 GHz P4HT CPU, 2 GB Ram, 512 PCIE 16 ATI X1600XT

Nintendo DS Tony Hawk's Proving Ground Sony PlayStation 3 Tony Hawk's Proving Ground

 
Game Vortex :: PSIllustrated