Genre: Turn-Based Strategy
Publisher: Stardock
Developer: Stardock
Release Date: June 24, 2008

The mass media has summed up the 2008 presidential race in a variety of fairly negative terms. While words like "acerbic" and "dirty" were certainly batted around, developer Stardock has attempted to add a few more favorable adjectives with its charming entry, The Political Machine 2008. Set during the frenetic 41-week run up to Nov. 4, the game allows you to step into the shoes of an aspiring presidential hopeful, take a firm stance on the issues, and throw your hat into the ring for the most important office in the land.

The game begins by allowing the player to choose from a list of the familiar Washington elite or create a new candidate. The creation tools are elegantly simple but deep enough to allow a thoughtful player to custom build a unique character, complete with a series of innate characteristics and viewpoints. During the creation process, the player is given 100 points to allocate between 50 hot-button (and currently topical) issues, which range from drilling in ANWR to support of gay rights, to the nation's relationship with Iran. Unfortunately, since these issues are rated on a scale from -50 (greatly opposed) to +50 (greatly favored), the player is only able to take a strong stand on a handful of them. This can be adjusted during the game by the candidate's affiliation with special interest groups and by the speeches and ads the player runs, but these changes don't carry between games.

The Political Machine 2008 is frequently listed as a simulation game, which is not an altogether inaccurate description. The game produces a detailed (if simplified) re-creation of political campaign management. In so doing, though, the title plays like a traditional turn-based strategy. The player starts each turn with an allotment of stamina points, which determine the number and depth of actions that may be performed. There are three major resources to be gathered and managed, each as essential as the other. Funds reflect the player's financial capability, while Clout can be used to secure the backing of various special interest groups. Political Capital allows the player to hire a menagerie of political operatives who either convey bonuses to the player's candidate or levy penalties against the opponent.

The resource management aspect of The Political Machine 2008 provides a backdrop for the game proper, which is a state-by-state scramble to win popular support and the 270 electoral votes that will assure victory. Each state is modeled accurately, with the proper number of electoral votes and a convincing representation of the values and beliefs typically associated with the population. Want to win over the die-hard Republicans of Texas? Try nabbing the National Gun Owners Association's sponsorship. If you're interested in tackling California's left-of-center majority, you may want address climate change. However you choose to model your political standpoints, you spend your action points for each turn flying between states and delivering speeches, running ads, building campaign headquarters and scratching tooth and nail to wrest control of popular support from your opponent. It's a frenzied, somewhat chaotic pace, with final counts often separated by only one or two percentage points.

Aside from the campaign mode, the title also offers a quick-play mode that has the player battling for dominance in one of four unique settings. Run for office in 1860, and you'll find slavery and states' rights are the issues of the day. Set off on the campaign trail in Europa, a 10th grader's highly inaccurate take on the EU, and you'll notice that countries like Invadia and Japan come down harshly against "getting offended," but instead vastly support "America bashing." Set your sights on the harsh alien world of Drengi and be utterly confused by a network of social issues that only life in an oppressive interstellar regime could conjure.

Graphically, The Political Machine 2008 is not stunning. What it lacks in raw visual power, though, it makes up for with incredible charm. The simple but powerful 3-D engine, which is new to the series, allows for the hilarious modeling of candidates as shiny plastic bobblehead dolls, and the character creation process empowers the player with the tools necessary to painstakingly recreate himself as one of the dashboard-adorning toys. While in certain cases the bobbleheads can be a little off-putting (President Obama's in particular), the overall effect is as attractive as it is humorous.

The maps are likewise well-crafted. The basic color palette swathes the nation in tones of gray, but a variety of options allow the player to use various colors to track everything from state wealth to electoral vote density to the candidate's awareness of the issues in each state. One particularly helpful use of this allows the player to plan out in advance which states to capture and in which order. These color options are helpful in the main campaign but are absolutely essential in the fantasy settings, where the player has no basis for familiarity.

The interface is nicely designed with clear, useful menus and stat trackers that allow the player to manage what would otherwise be an insurmountable pile of data. All of this information is essential to the player's success, and it is a credit to Stardock that The Political Machine 2008 is able to compile it in a way that provides simple utility and doesn't require a nearly vertical learning curve. Within minutes of sitting down with the game, the average user will be able to easily track polling data, resource numbers, political successes and failures, and the state-by-state relevance of talking points. If it becomes overwhelming, though, the player can refer to the cleverly put together tutorial.

The sound design is crisp and sensible, if somewhat uninspired. The sound effects don't particularly stand out, but they aren't in any way obtrusive either. They exist mostly to provide auditory clues and alerts to the player, and in that role, they function adequately. The music, on the other hand, can be detracting. There is only a single jazz song that loops endlessly in the background of each game, and while the song is relatively pleasant, it can grate on the nerves after the 15th game. I found myself simply turning off the music after a couple of hours with the title.

Ultimately, The Political Machine 2008 is an excellent addition to a strategy fan's library. Though is forgoes the engines of war most often associated with those titles, it offers an intensely interesting, fast-paced and addictive distraction. Though it may not win any graphic contests against the current PC game heavy hitters, the game is undeniably fun and engaging to a point that belies its simple origins. Furthermore, at an economically stimulating $20, The Political Machine 2008 won't require you to request a bailout for your gaming fund.

Score: 7.8/10