The learning curve in Campaign Play is somewhat faulty. The first 3-4 rounds are relatively easy, but the difficulty skyrockets around the fifth match-up, making it very difficult to progress all the way to the end of the campaign. Because the game starts off so easy, as mentioned above, this sudden toughness comes as a surprise and is somewhat frustrating. There should have been a more gradual rise in difficulty rather than the quick shock.

The last single-player mode is Fantasy Mode, in which you can randomize certain elements of the game, such as the levels of domestic and foreign tranquility (or unrest). While this adds some variety, the basic gameplay and strategy remain the same.

There is also an online mode, though I was unable to find even a single available game or player on the server after multiple attempts over about a week.

The graphics in "The Political Machine" are sharp and bright, exactly as they should be for a game of this type. The frequent pictures and caricatures of the candidates are well-drawn, though there isn't that much variety to what you see. Graphics aren't the selling point of this game, but they are adequate. The only real problem comes in the size of the playing area. Late in the game, when both you and your opponent have numerous ads and operatives in key states, it becomes very difficult to determine exactly what's going on. The small icons representing the various players can also be hard to distinguish. But this is a minor flaw, and doesn't really affect gameplay all that much.

Less tolerable are the music and sound effects, which start out as catchy but quickly become very annoying. I turned off the sound half-way through my second campaign.

The greatest fault of the game comes when talk turns to replay value. Once you've played "The Political Machine" a dozen or so times, you're done. There's no additional depth to explore, no variations that create a different gaming experience. Fantasy Mode makes an attempt at this, but playing around with superficial options doesn't create enough variety to maintain much interest.

Die-hard political aficionados may get a little more mileage out of the various options, but most gamers, even those who are fans of sims, will likely lose interest after only a few hours of play.

"The Political Machine" is not a bad game, but not a memorable one either. One gets the feeling that, had Stardock had a few more months to add in more features, it could have been a fully-realized simulation. As it stands, its really more of a novelty, albeit a timely one.

Download a playable demo of "The Political Machine" here.