Political Machine 2008.

[Spam]

This game looks pretty cool, even if it is mainly political, but it also still seems really strategic. This link could probably explain it better then I can. Linky

Also, there was an original game released 4 years ago. You can get a demo of it over here to get a idea of the gameplay involved in the game.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

I have the original PM, and let me tell you, it's a lot of fun to play.  It's a full-blown strategy game, but almost everyone other one in existence is based on war in one way or another. Plus the humorous tone to the whole thing just makes in even more fun.

I'm definitely looking forward to the updated version, with it's bobble-headed goodness, and improved features.  It's also a cheap game, only $20 when it is released, but provides hours of potential entertainment.

I should note that Stardock is a small company (they stated yesterday that they have a grand total of 9 employees right now, including one intern) and provides excellent support (the owner of the company posts on the forums as often as anyone else does) plus never, even uses any form of intrusive copy protection on any of they games that they publish, even the ones from other developers.  (Only one, Sins of a Solar Empire, so far, but they just struck a deal with the developers who made Supreme Commander)

[lugaru]

I learned a lot about politics from the first game believe it or not (it's not just about public opinion, it's about public awarness, they wont vote for you if they havent heard of you) and I went on to defeat several republican candidates with a hawkish democrat who is very into security and safetey... Tony Stark.

Since this sequel allows you to create your own character as well I'm sure Tony will be running for re-election.

And what Cat says about piracy protection is true, which is a big part of why I buy their games. I dont need to put in a no cd exe and I know their game wont conflict with anything on my computer. And despite inviting piracy they still sell like crazy, because 'hassle free' is a huge perk. The second Political Machine drops they have got my $20.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

It went gold a few days ago, so you won't have to wait long.

It should be noted that it isn't true that there is no piracy protection.  Patches for their games can only be downloaded if you have a unique serial code.  The one big catch here is that they don't support used copies at all, although they do sometimes sell those who have one a license at a low price.  This does make sense, because anyone who's already registered a license can re-download the game it belongs to as often as they like, whenever they like.

[lugaru]

Played two games already, one as Tony Stark (hawkish liberal who is big on security) and one as Hilary and lost both to my surprise, I felt the first game was more formulaic while this one really has you in the trenches day to day. Still I'm getting better with each game and I'm really loving the deeper complexity that this sequel has.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

I'd like to challenge you, lugaru, to run against me playing as a comic-book based Republican candidate, probably Lex Luthor, with Senator Kelley as my VP.

Of course, first Stardock has to figure out this glitch I suffer from where the game won't install if you have the minimum RAM and an integrated graphics card.  (because the card causes the memory to be 8 mb less than the actually chip)

[lugaru]

Hahaha, I need to build those politicians too.

But yeah, this game taxes my graphics card (which is a fancy one). The way I know is that I live without air conditioner and Boston sometimes gets up to the 80's and 90's. I dont really care (I grew up in a hotter place still) but my video card will start to really heat up during the summer and beep and glitch during more intensive games. Seriosly it will not happen in the winter and I can often fix it by cracking the case open and putting a fan pointed at it.

And yeah, for some reason this game makes my video card complain, which is kind of a surprise.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

I got it working now.  Just had to install it form online rather than from the install disk.

Anyway, I look forward to challenging you, sir.