 Review By: Nick Arvites |
Developer: | Stardock Entertainment |
| Publisher: | Stardock Entertainment | |
| Genre: | Strategy | |
| ESRB: | Everyone 10+ | |
| # Of Players: | 1-2 | |
| Online Play: | Yes | |
| Accessories: | Windows XP/Vista 1 GHz Processor 512 MB Free System RAM 64 MB DirectX 9.0c 3D Video Card 1 GB Hard Drive Space DirectX 9.0c Internet connection required for multiplayer and updates. |
In terms of running a campaign, The Political Machine 2008 is a dead-on representation of the current political climate and breakdown in the United States. The modern candidates look about right in both the rankings and stances. However, it isn’t so deep as to lock out the vast majority of people who don’t follow politics closely. Campaigns, much like in real life, can be won simply by focusing on the top national issues (in this case: War in Iraq and Economy). Street level politics are represented by operatives, which can be hired through political capital (raised by building Consultants Offices in states). These operatives give you boosts or damage your opponents. You can also raise PR Clout by building Outreach Centers, which can be spent on endorsements. There are a handful of organizations, each representing a real-life group that can be won over by spending the PRC points to gain their endorsement. These include representations of the NRA, Sierra Club, ACLU, Christian endorsements, Planned Parenthood/Women’s Rights, Labor, the NAACP, and foreign policy think tanks. While it sounds like these groups are enough, they don’t really feel like enough in the campaign and render the Outreach Centers useless after the endorsements are all eaten up by week 21 of a 41 week campaign. More groups would have been great, especially a few more “down the middle” groups. Groups give you a boost to a particular issue, and can completely change the way the national map looks just by picking up an endorsement. However, groups that don’t mesh with your candidate are going to be more expensive than groups that do mesh with your policies. It’s more expensive for a candidate that supports outsourcing and free trade to pick up the Union endorsement, just like it’s hard for a gun control candidate to pick up the equivalent of the NRA.
There are some depth problems with the game. There is no primary season, so you couldn’t take Mitt Romney or Bill Richardson from New Hampshire and beyond to earn their party’s nomination. There also isn’t a 3rd Party factor. While no 3rd Party candidate has ever won the Presidency, they have historically altered elections. Ross Perot, Ralph Nadar, and even Teddy Roosevelt have eaten up enough votes to hurt one candidate and inadvertently help the other candidate. You also don’t see independent groups campaigning on a particular issue in this world. For example, you don’t have situations like the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth or Moveon.org present in this world. You really also don’t see things like “media bias” or the blogosphere come into play either. There is a stat for media bias, but I really haven’t seen any repercussions from it.
Once you win one campaign, you perpetually run the 2008 presidential campaign with the same candidate in order to unlock the other party’s secret candidates. While it is interesting to see Washington or Jefferson’s take on modern issues, it gets old after a certain point. The issues never change, and thus the strategy never changes. The battleground states almost always fall down to Ohio, Florida, and maybe Michigan. While playing, I wished there were a mode that would simply randomize issues and situations facing the country.
Vice Presidential candidates are pretty much useless. They raise awareness in the region you station them in, but they don’t do anything on their own. They can’t give speeches, go on TV or create ads. They can’t raise funds, and they don’t act as a separate piece to begin with. They should act like mini-candidates, as it would really help split time with fundraising and campaigning. There’s also a problem with the CPU picking ex-Presidents as their running mates. Let’s face it, I don’t think there’s anyone out there that would pick George W. Bush or Dick Cheney as their 2008 VP just out of practicality reasons. Yet, you see them as well as Bill Clinton constantly chosen as VP candidates. Granted, they don’t do much in the game, so it’s just a non-issue that irks the political junkie inside of me more than anything else.
One of my favorite parts of the game is the TV appearances. They have a 60 Minutes knockoff, a show in the vein of the O’Reilly Factor or Hardball, and a Stephen Colbert-styled show. My only quirk is that these media events don’t occur nearly enough. I’d like to see more media events, and I’d really like to see some form of “debates” take place throughout the campaign.
Multiplayer is exactly what it sounds like. You spar off against a human opponent through the campaign. Unless you’re playing against someone that doesn’t really know what they’re doing, a standard 41 week campaign can be finished in a relatively short session (about 90 minutes).
Bottom Line:
The real question on the title is if there’s enough meat to keep gamers satisfied. Stardock’s $19.95 price point is a good selling point. There’s really not enough to this game to justify a standard $39.95 or $49.95 price point, but a $19.95 price point makes the game worth checking out. I’ve certainly gotten enough replay value out of it to justify a $20 purchase, and I’ve enjoyed playing around with it. The issues are on target, and the demographics are on target to provide a good simulation of the current election. This game is a must-have for political junkies, and should at least be checked out by anyone remotely interested in the presidential election.
| Pros: | Cons: | Final Score: |
|---|---|---|
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| 8.5 |
Posted: 2008-07-28 15:31:44 PST