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miracle69 writes: "Well, it looks like the perfect convergence for the average Slashdot reader. What we've got here is a game that is approaching the Slashdot Enthusiast's Valhalla. It's released under Windows and Linux, costs a mere 25 USDs, and has no middleman to jack prices up. Of course, that means it's not available in stores, nor will it be seen on TV, but according to Newsforge, it's got great gameplay. So, will 25 bucks, a fresh game idea, and a Linux release make others in the gaming world stand up and take notice?"
Why's that? Just because it doesn't have cutting-edge 3D graphics? Graphics have nothing to do with quality of gameplay. Zork was one of the all time greatest games ever, and it had *NO* graphics.
-Vercingetorix
"Necessitas non habet legem." -St. Augustine
The traditional way of learning to hack involved hacking into actual computers on the internet.
Actually, the traditional way of learning to hack involves lots of time reading manuals, poring over source code and experimenting with machines under your control. Real computer security experts (both white hat and black hat) have *knowledge*, not "5ki11z". No computer game is going to teach you the volumes of excruciating detail about systems that is required to break into them (or, if it does, it won't be a game that many people find entertaining).
Note that I'm not addressing script kiddies here, who have neither knowledge nor skill, just a set of hack tools they've downloaded and don't understand. I suppose knowing which tool to apply to a particular system might be considered a "skill".
The common view of system hacking as some sort of art or magic is bogus. Social engineering has some art to it, though...
Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
So, when is the last time you were beamed up to your starship? Or how 'bout the last time you drove 100MPH through the LA city streets and never caught a single cops eye? How about that robot that keeps nagging you to remove an inhibitor bolt and find his little three wheeled friend so he can deliver a message to some princess?
It's called 'entertainment' people. I've played the game, I own it, and I wanted to know what others thought of it. Almost all the posts I read are ripping on how 'not real' it is. The IPs are so wrong, you don't hack like that, it's so wrong I can't play it... Well, let's think about that for just a sec...if a game were created where you could pretend to hack and it was based upon 'actual' methods and 'real' ip addresses...somebody in big brother's crew might just not like that, ya think?
As it is, it is a very basic representation of hacking. You run a proxy bypass program to get around proxy security. Sure, that's nothing like the real world hacking, but you quickly find yourself tapping your foot watching your time run out and your program not run fast enough. Darn! I didn't bounce off enough public domain servers or a large enough bank. You try again, you get in and steal a file, delete your logs, your home free. IT'S A GAME! And a fun one at that.
Buy it, Play it, Enjoy it...
[ http://www.dvigroup.net/self ]
That's right, let's find a reason to say that it isn't worth the money. Then we can all justify not buying the game so the company will stop offering it and we can all go back to playing $CLONE and $SEQUEL on $WINDOWS_VERSION_OF_THE_WEEK
I mean, we certainly wouldn't want to encourage anything *original* or *different* would we?