With "the most important election of our time" on the horizon, it would seem the timing couldn't be better for a political simulation that lets players manage the campaign of either George W. Bush or John Kerry in the run-up to November 2, 2004. Unfortunately, it appears the game may have been rushed to the shelves a little too quickly, as there are more than a few flaws in playability and limited lasting value.

The most simple way to play the game is through the "Quick Play" option, which drops you in at the start of a campaign with 41 weeks to go until election day. You can choose to manage either Bush or Kerry or one of a field of twenty likely (and not-so-likely) candidates, ranging from Arnold Schwarzenegger to Hilary Clinton. The goal of the game is to use the myriad of tools at your disposal to ensure that your candidate has enough support to win the electoral college.

The basic gameplay is incredibly straight-forward and well constructed. Each round counts as one week of campaigning, and your candidate has a certain amount of "stamina" that he or she can expend on various tasks. Most tasks also cost money, so you'll have to keep a careful eye on your war chest as well. Spending a lot of money early in the campaign can give you a lead, but if you end up short of funds in the final few weeks, your opponent can turn the tide very quickly.

Moving from state to state is the most basic option, and your candidate will gain favor with voters often by merely going to their state. But, as your rival is actively working against you, there's more to do than that. Giving speeches, appearing on TV or radio shows, and running ads all can gain (or in some cases, lose) you points with voters.

Additionally, you can use all or some of your stamina each round to build up "political capital." This is where the real strategy comes in, as you can then spend this capital to win endorsements (which can cause major swings in voter opinion) and hire political operatives. The operatives, with such colorful names as "The Smear Merchant" and "The Cheerleader," can help you or hurt your opponent in various ways in the states in which they are placed. There's also a special operative called "The Fixer" who can boot out other operatives if they get to be too troublesome.

Play requires a careful balance of spending equal time giving speeches, running ads, and using your political capital effectively. However, by virtue of the nature of the electoral college, the gameplay is skewed such that it is nearly impossible to lose if you simply know where to concentrate your efforts. If you focus on just a few key states with the most electoral votes (California, Texas, Florida, and New York) and give a token effort in others (Ohio, Illinois, North Carolina, and Virginia), you'll never lose in the Quick Play game.

The Campaign Play mode is a little more interesting, in that you have to run a series of campaigns against a line-up of 10 progressively more difficult opponents. If you play as a Republican, you'll start out against the likes of Wesley Clark and Al Gore, eventually working your way up to FDR and Thomas Jefferson. As a Democrat, you'll take on Condi Rice and Gerald Ford at first, but eventually be pitted against Reagan and Lincoln.