| The Political Machine | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer | Stardock |
| Publisher | Ubisoft |
| Platform | Microsoft Windows |
| Release | |
| Genre | Government simulation |
| Modes | Single-player,multiplayer |
The Political Machine is agovernment simulation game fromStardock and the first game in thePolitical Machine series, in which the player leads acampaign to elect thePresident of the United States. The player accomplishes this goal by traveling from state to state and engaging in a variety of activities to either raise money or raisepoll numbers. Each game starts with the selection of a pre-created candidate or creation of a fictional candidate from one of the two major American political parties, theRepublican Party and theDemocratic Party. Headquarters andfundraisers are possible, the effectiveness of which depends on various factors.
When enough money is accumulated the player can invest it inadvertisements (either through newspapers, radio, orTV media). The effectiveness of these ads are determined by several factors. For instance, an ad supportingtax cuts will work better with RepublicanTexas than with DemocraticMassachusetts. A key factor in the game is the concept of "Stamina" and "Turns". In each turn, representing one week, a candidate has a set amount of stamina to engage in activities. For example, establishing or upgrading a campaign HQ costs more stamina than creating a newspaper ad.
A sequel,The Political Machine 2008, was released on June 16, 2008, with new characters introduced, such asBarack Obama andJohn McCain. A second sequel,The Political Machine 2012, was released on July 31, 2012, with new characters introduced, such asMitt Romney andRick Santorum. A third sequel,The Political Machine 2016, was released on February 4, 2016, with new characters introduced, such asBernie Sanders andCarly Fiorina. A fourth sequel,The Political Machine 2020, was released in March 2020.
These candidates have to be defeated by a member of the opposite party in Campaign Mode in order to unlock them.
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 72/100[2] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| 1Up.com | C[3] |
| Computer Gaming World |   [4] |
| Game Informer | 7/10[5] |
| GameRevolution | C−[6] |
| GameSpot | 7.4/10[7] |
| GameSpy |  [8] |
| GameZone | 7.5/10[9] |
| IGN | 7.9/10[10] |
| PC Format | 82%[11] |
| PC Gamer (US) | 73%[12] |
The game received "average" reviews according to video game review aggregatorMetacritic.[2]
The editors ofComputer Gaming World nominatedThe Political Machine as their 2004 "Strategy Game of the Year (General)", although it lost toThe Sims 2. They wrote, "[W]e were enamored with Stardock'sThe Political Machine, which let us run the 2004 presidential campaign in a way that was far more fun than its real-life counterpart."[13]The Political Machine wonComputer Games Magazine's 2004 "Best Budget Game" award.[14]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
| |||||
| Career |   | ||||
| Elections |
| ||||
| Related | |||||
| Family |
| ||||
