Unhack - Everyone do the Worm!

Unhack is an odd little title that centres around 'Unhacking' computers and systems. Aka: Removing viruses from them. To do this you have to speed around various levels, avoiding dangers, ten levels and full voice acting is present and a lot of effort has gone into the game... So why, after finishing it, do I feel let down?

Well, since I'm being picky today, lets hit the options first. This is a game in real need of a proper windowed mode and as it is, there's very little in the way of changing the screen sizing. The other 'options' issue comes with the control scheme, set automatically at WASD and no way to change it (Which is problematic if you don't have a QWERTY keyboard, or if you prefer controlling things via the arrow keys).

The bigger problems though in the main game come from both a lack of content and a story mode which is heavily damaged by the lack of content. The ten levels all can be easily finished in a little under an hour, almost double that if you pick any of the other difficulties. Where the length and the story clash is that the dev seems to have tried to pack major plot points into every single level, this in turn limits the amount of levels by itself and at the same time, the lack of any pacing between the various plot points, means less character development and interaction which also means that the twists just don't have the impact that they really should.

The sad thing is that all the potential is here. The graphics, while basic, work brilliantly in informing the player what is going on at all times. The character art-style too is wonderfully detailed and the voice-acting is of a very high standard. The controls are crisp and the gameplay itself manages to work brilliantly, giving players a 'Just one more level' feeling. Its just a shame then that the whole game falls down thanks to the lack of content.

If I would 'improve' the game in any way, I would probably insert two more levels, one near the start and another level involving A2 somewhere. Either that or I would try and make a 'Side story' set either before, after or as an alternate 'What if?', just to flesh out the characters even more-so. Secondly, graphical sizing and control options would have to be placed in. Finally, a new difficulty would be added, changing the current 'Normal' difficulty (aka: Unlimited lives) to 'Easy' and placing 'Normal' as a five to ten life challenge.

However. While I am being a bit whingey and whiny, the game is still worth a playthrough, especially given the low asking price. So even after all that, I still recommend picking the game up.