Hackers is launching today, a multiplayer darknet cyberwarfare simulator by Trickster Arts

Hackers is a multiplayer cyberwarfare strategy game where users have to build a network and carry out various kinds of hacks around the world. Hackers is developed by Indie game studio Trickster Arts made up of AAA veterans who have previously worked on games such as Mafia II and Hero of Many. Hackers has been in Closed Beta since April this year, and the game has seen a steady stream of improvements and new feature additions since then.[caption id="attachment_335867" align="aligncenter" width="640"] The futuristic interface is called Ergo[/caption]The interface is like a mashup of Plague Inc and Uplink. There are joke news in the top bar that celebrates technology in general and information security in particular. Just reading through these jokes in the world screen can occupy all your time. Users can come across different kind of missions here, including security, activism and terrorist missions.[caption id="attachment_335871" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Hacking a university mainframe in one of the story missions[/caption]The interface is futuristic and intuitive. It lets you touch and feel servers, compilers, miners and defensive security nodes as well as visualise complex hacking techniques. Users can brute force there way in, or play in stealth mode, like a ninja getting in and out of a network.[caption id="attachment_335866" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Users have to select a home country to support[/caption]Hackers have a home base, a network they need to upgrade. This means adding business, security, hacking and black market components to your system. The network topology is important here, which is what connects to what and how. The system core is the most critical component. Currencies in the game include the premium credits, B-Coin, which can be mined, and dollars. These currencies are required for building various components and developing programs for owning the box.[caption id="attachment_335868" align="aligncenter" width="640"] The home base topology directs attackers[/caption]Since the Beta release, the long tutorial has been chopped up into smaller bits. You can dive into the game, and get to upgrading your networks and executing hacks. As and when you unlock newer programs or abilities, a mini tutorial is introduced to help players understand just the unlocked option. There is an IP address changer that lets you select a new home base. Daily goals have been added with rewards for missions. There are also over 70 plus story missions in the game now, which make the game seem more like it is happening in real time, and in the real world.[caption id="attachment_335869" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Compiling offensive programs[/caption]There are now leaderboards, that track the performance of countries, the best hackers in the world, the best hackers in the country, and the best hackers nearby. There is an increased repertoire of offensive and defensive programs, including more stealth oriented attack programs. The programs have cool names such as "Portal", "Data Leech", "Shuriken", "Warith" and my favorite, "Kraken".[caption id="attachment_335870" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Building Network Nodes[/caption]Hackers is a free to play game for Android and iOS. There will be IAP available that will speed up the game, but nothing in the game seems to be exclusively paid.