President Elect (video game)
President Elect | |
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Single-player, multiplayer |
President Elect is a
Description
President Elect gives the player the ability to play as various real historical, potential historical, or completely fictional presidential candidates during the Presidential campaigns from 1960 to 1984 (most versions also include the 1988 campaign). Players are given the option of playing a "Historical" or "Ahistorical" scenario for each of the given years. Under the "Historical" option, the candidates, as well as economic and foreign policy conditions, and the status of the incumbent, are fixed. During an "Ahistorical" session, all of those variables can be determined by the player (for example, the player can choose a 1984 race between an incumbent Republican President Ronald Reagan, versus a Democratic Senator Edward M. Kennedy, in the midst of an unpopular war and an economic boom). Alternatively, players can select the option of creating a fictional presidential candidate (or a real candidate from outside of the game's timeframe), through the selection of various political, personal, and geographic attributes (somewhat in the manner of creating an RPG player character). In addition, there is the option of selecting an "Ahistorical" set of candidates within the otherwise "Historical" conditions of the selected year. The game is preset with not only all the major candidates of the elections covered by the span of the game, but also a number of hypothetical candidates from across the time frame, such as Jerry Brown, George Romney, Gary Hart, and Howard Baker.[1]
The game can be played with either two or three candidates (for example, the "Historical" scenarios for 1968 and 1980 include
The role of the
Reception
Computer Gaming World found in 1981 that incumbency was the most important factor in winning elections in the original version of President Elect. The review began with the results of a simulated election in which Ronald Reagan won reelection in 1984 with 525 electoral votes from 49 states and 55% of the popular vote, versus Walter Mondale's 13 electoral votes (from Washington, D.C., and Minnesota) and 44%.[2] The results of the real 1984 election were very similar, with the same candidates receiving the same electoral votes from the same states, and a 59%/41% popular vote.[3]
In 1996, Computer Gaming World declared President Elect the 131st-best computer game ever released.[4]
Reviews
- The V.I.P. of Gaming Magazine #2 (Feb./March, 1986)
- Moves #60, p18[5]
- Jeux & Stratégie #16[6]
Sequel
SSI released President Elect: 1988 Edition in 1987.
See also
- The Political Machine series
References
- ^ Bobo, Ervin (October 1987). "President Elect: 1988 Edition". Compute! (89): 32.
- ^ Sipe, Russell (Nov–Dec 1981). "The Political Apple". Computer Gaming World. p. 23. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
- ^ Sipe, Russell (January 1985). "You Read It Here First!". Computer Gaming World. p. 13. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
- ^ "150 Best Games of All Time". Computer Gaming World. November 1996. pp. 64–80. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
- ^ https://strategyandtacticspress.com/library-files/Moves%20Issue60.pdf
- ^ "Jeux & stratégie 16". August 1982.
External links
- Review in GAMESmagazine