The Political Machine

"A no-spin review of the politically-inclined game"

As one of the few video games that actually deals with politics, The Political Machine is a bargain-bin PC game in which players become campaign managers and assist candidates in their race for the Presidency of the United States. Like politics? Like watching the news? It's a bit of a steep prerequisite, since, unless you do like politics, there's not much you'd enjoy about this game other than the standard politically-spun gimmicks.

In the game, it's the basic Republicans vs. Democrats 41-week war for the office. Available for play are a handful of prominent modern-day figures such as George Bush, John Kerry, Bill Clinton, Dick Cheney, Hillary Clinton, Condoleeza Rice, as well as some significant past politicians, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan which must be unlocked in the game's campaign mode against the cunning AI. Each politician is displayed in a colorful caricature which makes this game a bit cheery and light-hearted, especially in a game about such a serious topic as politics. There are statistics applied to each candidate in a variety of categories. Some stats such as Media Bias and Compassion will help win over voters without doing any work, but some, such as Stamina and Fund-Raising, actually change up the strategy of the campaigning. If players do not wish to use an existing candidate, they can create their own and adjust their own statistics, and have fun putting themselves in office. Either way, if you enjoy reading up on political figures such as the listed, then it's cool to play as these people.

The campaign for the Presidency last over 41 weeks and most of the action takes place on a gigantic map of the United States, complete with a news channel-esque interface. Each week is split up into how each candidate uses his stamina points on a multitude of options. Basically, to win the election, a candidate must first increase his awareness in each individual state. As the awareness percentage goes up, more voters will vote for the candidate, and it's not too hard to raise awareness if he sweeps the country, placing ads and whatnot. However, that's usually overshadowed by the second task, in which the candidate must push the issues which will sway the voters within the state.

There are a large amount of issues to talk about, such as the War on Terror, More Jobs, Tax Cuts, Fighting Crime, and whatnot. Since each state differs in prominent issues (for instance, California cares about the environment while the Great Lakes region cares more about jobs) and has varying levels of conservatives, liberals, and even independents, there's going to be some difference as to how states react to several issues. Some issues are favored more by conservatives, by liberals, or by both. However, regardless of what issues are preached, the most talked about issues will become the basis for the people's votes, so be wise and choose the best issues available. Keep in mind that even if a state is opposed to a candidate's views, the candidate can still win it by putting more effort to it. For instance, Republicans can still win New York or California while Democrats can still win Texas.

To push the issues, players use the currency known as the US Dollar to travel from state to state and to give speeches and place newpaper, radio, and TV ads in individual states. These ads increase in cost as well as in effectiveness. To make money, players can host fundraisers and build headquarters, the former being a quick cash-in that's most efficient in large states and the latter offering more long-term income as well as an increased awareness in the regular voter's stance on popular issues. However, there's more than once currency available that is known as political capital.

Unlike money, political capital must be obtained by wasting stamina away meeting important political people. With the capital, it can be spent on endorsements, which will offer a big boost to specific issues and a small boost to awareness nation-wide. It can also be spent on political operatives, who serve as unwitting comrades who will assist the candidate in the state campaign managers move them to. Some of these can boost the candidate's issues in a specific state, while some can help reduce the cost of ads, while some can even eliminate the opponent's political operatives. They are, however, a bit cheap since they may be moved from state to state for no cost and their effects are fixed, so on Week 41, a moved Spin Doctor can suddenly turn a tied state into a clear victory for the other candidate.

There are several miscellaneous occurrences during the campaign. About halfway through a campaign, the game requires players to choose a vice-president. His stats will help bolster the campaign, and a little icon representing him or her will be able to be moved around the map like a political operative. Also assured are the news interviews on certain spoofs of famous shows, such as Barry King Live, The O'Malley Scenario, and Hardhitter. Answering the questions according to the candidate's political stance will give the campaign a big boost; however, wrong answer will hurt, so this is where political knowledge comes in handy.

Other than the interviews, question marks will appear on certain states at random times. The first candidate to reach it will reap a positive or negative benefit. Usually, a person such as a political operative will appear, but their affects are usually not as potent, plus some of them can't leave the state once they are placed in. Some of these randomly-appearing friends include a military hero who will stand up for candidates' military credibility or even a Michael Moore lookalike who randomly adjusts state percentages. Other than these pawns that are somehow recruited, events concerning money, stamina, or even jaded consultants may occur, and it can reward or punish the player greatly, which can throw the candidate through a loop or the exact opposite.

With the candidate, the Vice President, the ads, the money, the political capital, and the operatives, an election is won or lost on Election Day. States will display how the voters are voting in shades of red or blue, but there is always the unknown population which can win over once "lost" states. It gets intriguing near the end of a close election, and once it's all over, someone's going into the history books and the other's going away pretty disappointed. Like in real life, elections may be so close that it's just like a coin toss.

But, as you may have guessed, the big problem with this game is the lack of real interaction between the two players. The game's focus is entirely on boosting your own candidate's stance. Though there is an option to produce negative ads on the opponent, it's not as flashy as it seems. Adjusting to the opponent's actions is the most that can be done, and there is no option for political debates. However, it may or may not be as big of a deal as it seems.

There are no 3D graphics whatsoever or any real sound effects other than the typical clicks and plane taking off and so forth. Everything consists of sprites of candidates, ads, political operatives, buttons, and whatnot. The menus, interface, and the music are laced with cheery political overtones, but it's not enough to prop the game up to a level of excellence and, in the end, it feels like a cheesy one-on-one board game. There is an option to have free elections between random candidates on funny issues such as Mandatory Biking Laws and Cloning Elvis, as well as the standard internet play, but a bit more is desired from this kind of game. However, The Political machine can be a icebreaker to the world of political science, and if you're a political buff, it may be worth the ten bucks you paid for it from the bargain bin.

Presentation: 8/10 -- You run so that you may be called Mr. President. Cheery caricatures, funny illustrations, and nice political menus give this game some style.
Gameplay: 8/10 -- Run for the Presidency by traveling around the states and pushing the issues. It's a bit repetitive though.
Graphics: 7/10 -- The illustrations look good, but there's nothing else to be found other than sprites and whatnot.
Sound: 5/10 -- Some cool music, but it does get repetitive and the sound effects are nothing special.
Replay Value: 7/10 -- Even though online play isn't as good with a one-on-one election, the AI isn't all that dumb, and the campaigns can keep you a bit occupied.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 09/29/06, Updated 07/09/09

Game Release: The Political Machine (US, 08/12/04)