Activision executive Jim Levy introduced Hacker to reporters by pretending that something had gone wrong during his attempt to connect on line to company headquarters to demonstrate a new game.

[1] The player must attempt to hack into the Magma Ltd. computer system at the beginning of the game by guessing the logon password.

The password becomes obvious only after gaining access, through another means of entry, to the later stage of the game, but typing "help" or "h" in the initial command line gives a clue.

Since initial attempts consist of guessing (and likely failing), access is eventually granted due to a supposed malfunction in the security system.

Throughout the globe, there are several cities where the robot can surface and interact with people, primarily the spies who want to bargain for their piece of the evidence.

It launches a security satellite which, when it intersects with the player's position, demands information which supposedly only a legitimate user would know.

If the player goes near Australia in the network, an automatic game over is issued however the knowledge may help in a future play through for evading a check.

[2] Info rated Hacker four stars out of five, describing it as "an interesting concept" with "fair to good graphics and sound".

wrote that its puzzle nature "is certain to enthrall some and repel others ... repeated play is an integral part of reaching the solution.