Producer: Activision
Retail Price: £9.99
Language: Machine code
Author: Steve Cartwright (converted by Softzone Ltd)

Imagine it's late at night and you've been using your modem to access some bulletin boards. You're tired and want to go to bed but you decide to ring just one more number. Accidentally, you misdial one of the digits and your screen turns blue with the prompt 'Logon Please.' Somehow you've hacked into another computer network. Now all you have to do is get out! in Hacker, that is easier said than done. There are no instructions other than those necessary to load the program. The rest is up to you.

Assuming you do succeed in accessing this 'network' (and help comes from the least likely source), then the game proper starts. The screen now shows a schematic of a Subterranean Remote Unit (SRU). You are asked to help complete a diagnostic scan of the device to ensure that it is in working condition. A successful scan satisfies the computer, which then sends you on to the next stage of the game. You are officially welcomed into the Magma Corporation's central computer which garbles cryptically about everything being nearly ready and the prospects of world domination. You are then presented with a screen displaying a world map overlaid with a grid. You are asked your name (no trick there) and to set up the map so that the night and day areas match those of your current setting.

When all this is done, the position of your SRU is high- lighted on the map. The top half of the screen is split into three displays. On the left is a kind of option menu. This allows you to leave the subterranean network at certain junctions which correspond to locations of various major cities, use infra red to enable night vision and a variety of other functions. The centre section displays the view from your SRU. The right hand section contains a compass and message window (which only tells you that there is a message for you - to read it you have to press the 'M' key).

You can move about the network grid, though there are specific routes to certain locations which you have to discover, and 'pop up' in various cities. You soon discover, via messages, that the company has lost a secret document and various spies across the world each have part of it. By buying items off spies and giving them money or other items, you can collect all the parts of the document and then take them to... ah, that would be telling!

Your task is made complicated by several factors. First, there is a time limit. Of course, you have no idea what to trade with whom. Eventually, satellites begin searching for you (as Magma Ltd realise that there has been a security break) and if you fail to satisfy their security checks, you are thrown out of the system. All this, coupled with the fact that the spies are only out to satisfy their own ends and therefore, can mislead you, makes winning a complex task indeed.

COMMENTS

Control keys: cursor keys to move, ENTER to confirm
Joystick: Kempston, Interface 2
Keyboard play: responsive
Use of colour: very good
Graphics: some attribute problems
Sound: poor
Skill levels: 1

This is a totally original game with an excellent theme and atmosphere. It is well implemented (with the exception of the satellites, which could have been better) and very addictive. Because it isn't really all that fast paced, it may not appeal to some but it still deserves success. The whole thing is littered with puzzles and clues and would make a great plot for a suspense movie. Well done.

This might be the game for budding hackers, but experienced hackers may find it a bit too easy. DO NOT be disheartened with the welcoming message of 'LOGON' because it really is a letdown after the initial happiness of hacking into this mega-big company, only to find that the same thing happens each time you attempt to hack in. The game reminded me of the film War Games, but instead of protecting the world, you, as a recognised secret agent, must help the company go for total world domination. This is obtained by trading with other agents, and digging tunnels across the South Atlantic. Try to avoid the satellites as every time they get you, you are confronted with a high-level security check which becomes harder the further you get. Hacker has nice colourful graphics but hardly any sound. The bad point of the game is that there are no random features at all, even the passwords. An interesting and challenging game for the would-be hacker who can't afford a hundred odd pounds to get into real telephone naughtiness.

This isn't an arcade game, and it's not an adventure either - it's sort of in between the two. Generally games like this and players like me don't go together - but I found it easy to get into Hacker, which was a surprise. Graphically it is a bit of a disappointment, and sound is very poorly used but I found the same fun to play, with a continuing sense of achievement which spurred me on to complete the next bit. I'd recommend this to anyone who likes "think" games, but I don't think arcade players would enjoy it too much as it can get a little boring at times.

Dougie: Phew, my brain hurts! A trifle perplexing this little number - the only instructions on the packaging tell you how to load the program. Nothing else, zilch, zero...

Panic not - we've already pieced together the plot. It seems you take the part of a computer hacker who's just about to finish off a night on the phone. But then he accidentally dials a wrong number and the intriguing words LOGON PLEASE appear on the screen.

Of course, you're an experienced hacker so you try all the normal passwords - FRED, HELLO, GUEST and so on - all to no avail. No problem though, 'cos after you've tried to log on three times, the program lets you into the system anyway.

So, we're in and we're off! And the first thing you have to do is complete a laser test on the SRU (Subterranean Remote Unit). It's a trifle tricky at first, but once you discover the Infrared Video Image Sensor, then the Asynchronous Data Compactor, the Hydraulic Motovator, the Phlasmon Joint and the Thelman Port are a doddle to find.

Now, the plot thickens as you discover that you're in the computer of Magma Ltd. The firm has discovered how to use the Thermal Differential of Magma as a virtually unlimited power source. And with that, world domination is only a matter of days away. It's your duty as a citizen of the free world to stop them. And as much as I'd like to help you with more info - well the cheque from Magma to stop me talking came in handy.

This is definitely a game for those of you who like pitting your wits against the machine. 6/10

Ross: A very clever idea that'll let you get the feel for hacking. I'm just not sure whether Activision's pulled it off. 7/10

Rick: A great game that lets you avert an astronomic catastrophe without incurring phone bills of astronomic proportions. Well, how'd you like to be cut off in your prime? 8/10

Publisher: Activision
Price: £7.99
Memory: 48K
Joystick: Kempston, Cursor, Sinclair

Activision's latest may put you in the role of a hacker sitting at your Spectrum trying to break into the local NatWest computer, in a forlorn attempt to raise the dough for a new printer interface, but it's certain no hacker ever encountered what you face.

Hacker contains no instructions. The first screen asks you simply to log-on, but what's the password?

Once you've got through that, which is not too difficult as Activision does most of the work for you, you begin to work your way into a global conspiracy of mad multinationals attempting to take over the world by... well, that would be telling.

The game rapidly leaves the hacking environment of bleeps and teletext messages to send you round the world, supposedly as an agent for the bad guys. Essentially it's a strategy adventure, rather than a pure problem solving fix for hackers. System 15000 it is not - the plot of that classic game was realistic and gripping whereas Hacker seems artificial and unbelievable.

Arcade elements creep in once the company begins to realise there is someone messing about with its equipment, and avoiding satellite tracking systems as you piece the plot together will annoy purists but probably inject variety into the game for those with a more limited attention span.

Take notes of everything which happens and you'll find it simple enough to get into the problems posed - but completing them is another matter, and should take much longer.

Obviously, a review of a game which depends entirely on your knowing nothing about it has to leave a lot out. Whatever we write spoils some fun, but on the other hand, once you have penetrated to the main part of the game, it settles down into an unusual type of adventure which holds rather fewer surprises. Activision might have included a few extra events and less information about what to expect - contained within the game - than it has.

Meanwhile, just because this review is a bit thin on detail, don't be put off Hacker. We've left a lot out, and for those who like a bit of strategy mixed up with their adventuring, and aren't too fussed by the rather wild scenario, Hacker is good value. It's not as revolutionary as Activision claims, but it's still worth buying for the long winter nights.

Activision
£7.99

How do you review a game like this without spoiling it for any potential buyers? The whole point about Hacker is that it simulates the experience of breaking into a large corporation's mainframe and becoming involved in its operations. However, just as you would experience this in reality, there are no instructions to help you determine what is happening or what you are supposed to be doing. In other words, you stumble in 'blind'.

Consequently, there's not much I can say about the game without giving it all away. This isn't a game where you simply have a task to solve well, yes you do actually, but first of all you have to figure out what that task is. What I can say about Hacker is that it will take you all over the world and involves a search for various pieces of information.

Hacker begins with a simple blue screen, blank except for the words: 'Log On Please', and from here on it's up to you. If you succeed in logging on you'll get into the mainframe and have a to sort out the information that is presented to you.

This is not a game that's likely to appeal to arcade addicts, but for adventure fans and people who like to get their teeth into a good, infuriating puzzle it's probably the best thing to come along since Level 9 adventures.