Games about politics are notoriously tricky to pull off. With so many variables in a campaign to model, an election provides a compelling challenge for artificial intelligence designers. Notable entries in the genre include Elixir Studios with their thrillingly overambitious Republic: The Revolution, and Elixir alumnus Cliff Harris’s Democracy and Democracy 2 over at his progressive indie studio Positech. Infact, the only digital element that seems to be missing from the 2008 campaigns seems to be candidate videogames – although campaign managers are still probably recalling the lonely hours they spent playing Howard Dean for America …and look what happened there.
Enter Campaign, a knock-about and stylish mix of Political strategy and turn-based warfare. In this special election edition, you can elect to play as either Obama or McCain and fight it out across the states. Having chosen your side you’re required to choose your staff making them up from a selection of skills. Fund-Raisers and Operatives are there alongside those essential Spinmeisters and Hatchet Men – all of which have their own strengths and weaknesses for you to pit against the opposition.
It’s a good looking game, but don’t let the amusing caricatures of the campaign staff fool you into thinking this is a simple pleasure. Whilst it might not be the most sophisticated political simulation on the net, it is a challenging and compelling real-time strategy game.
Playable either against the computer or an online opponent, Campaign is well worth a few clicks.
Play Campaign
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