Have you watched the 2008 presidential primaries and thought “man, these guys (and gal) are going about it all wrong?” Well, today PC-game developer Stardock has released a strategy title that will let you test your theories.
Called The Political Machine 2008, the PC strategy game lets players take on the role of campaign manager for Barack Obama, John McCain and Hillary Clinton. However, it also lets players guide the presidential campaigns of historical candidates or design their own candidate from scratch.
After selecting their presidential nominee (i.e., their client), players then choose their campaign battlegrounds and head off on the campaign trail to face a cariety of challenges. Among the challenges aspiring campaign managers will face are fundraising, talk-show appearances, hiring spin doctors and winning endorsements. The game is won on Election Day by the player who gets the necessary electoral votes to become President.
The Political Machine 2008 uses a brand-new 3D engine designed to give the candidates a unique look (all candidates are presented as bobble heads). The 2004 edition was a tremendous success; using actual demographic data, the game accurately predicted the 2004 election months in advance.
This 2008 version goes a step further by mirroring real-world scenarios. Players can choose what TV shows to be a guest on and will face tough questions from the hosts of shows like Colvert Report and the O’Malley Factor. In addition, players can choose to play out different historical scenarios as well as fantasy scenarios taking place in the future.
The Political Machine 2008 is both a single-player and a multiplayer game, as players can either compete against the computer or against others online.
The game will be released at retail in June for $19.95. It requires Windows XP or Windows Vista to run.