CNN.com - C-Span meets 'Sims': New game lets you run your own campaign

C-Span meets 'Sims': New game lets you run your own campaign (CNN) -- Some people think that the only time politics is entertaining is when President Bartlet says something cheeky on "The West Wing." But real-life politics really can be fun, as long as you see it for what it has become: a game.

Modern politics is little more than a high-stakes competition in which two (sometimes three) combatants try to punch, counterpunch and outmaneuver their opponents, such as in the presidential election where the victor gets to stand on that Capitol Hill stage on Inauguration Day.

The politics-as-game mentality is what drives "The Political Machine," a new CD-ROM from Ubisoft and Stardock Entertainment.

The Political Machine" gives you the chance to run the presidential campaign of either a real-life political figure -- such as President Bush, John Kerry, Condoleezza Rice, Hillary Clinton -- or one you design yourself. You can choose your opponent, have the computer do it for you or go up against other politicos online.

With a virtual map of the United States as the field of play, you and your candidate crisscross the nation raising funds, making speeches, dealing with the media and launching and/or responding to negative attacks.

You can also employ political operatives such as "The Money Man" or the mudslinging "Scandal Monger." The object is to secure the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency."


By Sid Lipsey
CNN Headline News