The Political Machine 2008 (PC)

I am, if nothing else, a political junkie, especially when it comes to elections. I love elections. Results, statistics, polls, all that stuff makes me happy. Yes, I’m a freak. So I couldn’t resist picking up this budget title in which you run a campaign for president. And, ehh… It’s not very good.

Basically what you do is all the typical campaign trappings: travel the country, fundraise, make speeches, and produce ads. The problem is the strategy here is not very deep, and the computer AI is not very intelligent. The easiest way to win the election is to build up “political capital” points (gained from building a certain type of campaign office) and win endorsements from interest groups; it’s a lot easier to gain name recognition and support this way than to, you know, campaign. The AI helps you along because it tends to focus exclusively on winning one state – when you’re playing against a Republican, said Republican has a keen interest in the state of Kansas.

There’s also not a lot of realism in the electoral map. I realize it wouldn’t be exciting to have every campaign be about Ohio and Florida, but it’s kind of ridiculous when you can have Barack Obama winning Wyoming and yet losing Minnesota. Fundraising is pretty much equivalent to the size and wealth of a state – there’s no reason to fundraise in any state that’s not California or New York. Overall, the game only bears a passing resemblance to an actual 21st century election in the United States.

The Political Machine 2008 is a fun diversion if you’re into politics, but not much more.

2 out of 5