Snow Crash: Cyberpunk Chaos Realm

Hiro Protagonist is a programer/hacker/greatest katana wielding avatar in the Metaverse/pizza delivery boy for the Cosa Nostra Franchise.

And he's definitely not Fry from Futurama. Hiro Protagonist is the protagonist hero of the cyberpunk novel Snow Crash.

When Hiro's routine delivery goes off the rails, he decides to change his career, and begins a partnership with a savvy skateboarding teenage delivery girl named Y.T/when Hiro's hacker friend Da5id falls victim to the Snow Crash drug, our Protagonist starts hackin' for clues/and inadvertently gets taken into game of high stakes cyber espionage – it's a hacker kind of day.

Neal Stephenson's narrative moves at the speed of light, and is as dynamic as its fictional world, fully realized with/Information banks/data mining and spy agencies/cybernetic upgrades/a virtual candy-land/corporate dominance/desertion from the natural commons/systematic buyouts/violent takeovers/and turf wars on a global scale: These are the features of the new world [diss]order found in Snow Crash. 

Strain vs Resistance

The novel is notorious for its visceral portrayal of a carved up/fractured 21st century America: where most of its territory is owned/occupied by private organizations, security firms, and autonomous freelancers with a knack for crime/hacking/extreme thrills. In this place the government maintains a fraction of its power – able to keep tabs on a small portion of society. Intertwined into the story is a full dose of Sumerian mythology/linguistics/anthropology/computer science/and good ol' religion.

There can be some roadblocks, such as the tidbits about Sumerian society, and its imprint on development of mankind. The meticulous detail slowed the pacing of the book, as Stephenson dug deep into the historical records to deliver a comprehensive account. Stilll the semi-intrusive history lesson works as a unique lore vehicle tying all the dangling bits together into one underlining story beat. Example: one of the fictional characters [a subroutine avatar called The Librarian], quotes Sumerian history, while comparing the ancient methods of saving and storing information as an early BIOS system. 

Digimortal

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The novel's most memorable aspect is the Metaverse: A cyberspace conceptualized by interactivity of human beings, who are digitized and projected into virtual space in the form of avatars. [Think of the Sims, in Neo Tokyo] Within the Metaverse you can be/own/create/just about anything, but you gotta have the resources or know your way around the root programing. There are rules in place governing the stability of the system, but some individuals can influence the code directly: either by hacking, or by being the world's initial builders.

Not quite the Matrix; but more advanced than Habitat. To some, Metaverse is the Kubla Khan's pleasure dome. A digital dwelling occupied by freelance hackers, corporate data-miners, and the rich/famous – digitized to avatar form. To others, Mataverse is a cesspool of information, or a place to kick around for a bit. Worth noting, even in this made up reality, peoples' social standing tends to influence the detail of their avatar and rendering power of their cyber property.

And just like in some of today's video games, the level of meta-importance/skills tends to unlock more features. Example: Hiro's intimate knowledge of Metaverse root structure, endowed him with unmatched sword-wielding skills, which carry over into the real world. Practice makes perfect, and I doubt the mind's eye minds if its being flexed in virtual space or reality. Meta.

Byte Block

Ghost in the Shell by Masamune Shirow

Stephenson's Snow Crash is the illegitimate nineties upgrade of William Gibson's Neuromancer. Both books present a distorted technological dystopia; and, both have an underlining cyberspace theme that will stimulate any cyber-junkie or futurist. Although, Snow Crash has done a more amicable job of predicting the extent of augmented reality, and its affect on society. Neal coined many words and behaviors that made it into everyday use: googling, metaverse, data mining, crowdsourcing, continuous-connectivity – and my fave – wacky pseudonyms like Vitaly Chernobyl.

Timeless sci-fi works present solid futurist concepts, and offer insight of the future by studying history to captivate present-day readers. Snow Crash contains many futurist predictions that materialized in our reality (meaning the book aged well). Once Snow Crash enters your neurological pathways its viral strain will take hold, upgrading your imagination hundredfold: Start trippin'.

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The good: Cerebral fiction to the core
The bad: Franchises took over [Demolition Man got it right!]
The ugly: The Raft [basically Kowloon City on water]

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Deus Ex: Human Revolution Review

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Deus Ex takes place in the near-future when humans are able to augment themselves with cybernetic implants. Presented against a backdrop of a major breakthrough in human evolution, the game has a sense of real sophistication and contains well researched content on issues of technological evolution, class warfare, poverty and politics. 

After a near-fatal encounter with a terrorist group, Adam Jensen is physically augmented with cybernetics by his employer. Recommissioned for duty, Adam's new mission is to find the augments responsible for shattering his body and stealing his employer's research. Moving from one lead to another, Adam quickly becomes pulled into a world-wide conspiracy of corporate espionage. 

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Deus Ex is a cyberpunk-themed, first-person, action game that seamlessly blends role-playing elements into its gameplay. The game's impressively immense world is completely open-ended, and its story is very nonlinear: you are always given several options on how to approach a situation and progress farther. The story takes you through several countries: Extending the futurist settings and allowing you to witness the social and economic turmoil caused by human augmentation technology.  

When exploring, you're able to converse with NPCs and interact with numerous objects and terminals within the game's extensive world. At any given time you can arm yourself and takeout any NPC; although, in doing so, you will be considered as a hostile and be taken down promptly. Choosing to advance through social interaction/persuasion usually gives you the best benefits, as the game is more focused on stealth and non-lethal progression. But if you shoot a gang banger or two, whose to know?

controllernation.com

When following the main objective(s), you'll often encounter numerous characters asking for your help (you are a detective after all). If you decide to help, new points of interest become active on the map for you to investigate. These side-quests never really detract from your main objectives, and often net you major experience points while revealing more of the intriguing story.  

As you progress and earn experience points, more of Adam's cyber-implants can be activated. While upgrading, you can choose to augment specific body parts: brain, eyes, chest, arms, etc. This of course translates into a number of cool abilities. For example: upgrading the arms allows Adam to lift heavy objects, take-down foes (cyborg-style), or punch through walls; upgrading the cranium increases Adam's stealth techniques, his social persuasion skills, and hacking abilities.

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Hacking is a big part of this game, as there are numerous terminals, locked doors, and PCs to invade and conquer. By hacking, you'll often gain access to additional areas, syphon out key info, and generally feel like a bad-ass Neuromancer. When infiltrating/investigating a stealthy approach to combat is usually the most effective way to progress. Although there are a myriad of cool and customizable weapons at your disposal, knocking foes unconscious and skillful navigating the environment without being spotted is always a better idea than going in blazing. 

While the game has some rather dry boss encounters and freezing/skipping issues, taken in its entirety this sepia-toned, enamel coated, and progressive cyberpunk epic has an enduring quality to it: A must own chapter in the Deus Ex saga.

Developer: Eidos Montreal
Publisher: Square Enix
Platform: PC, PS3, Xbox360
Released: 2011
Genre: Action-adventure RPG