You can create your own avatar but it’s a long road ahead when you create a custom character. It’s much easier, at least at first, to play with an established candidate. (As an example, Candidate Abner lost huge to Ron Paul but when playing as Obama, Paul lost 45 states. Curse you Utah. ) The creation process is a hoot, though. You can come up with an amazing array of bobblehead characters – from the traditional to the ludicrous. The custom options are impressive; I made a guy that looks like a smiling bank robber and a lady who looks like she just walked out of the green room at Woodstock.

There is a question of replay value, though. Sure you can play against a lot of rivals and unlock others and even play a campaign game where you battle against former politicians like US Grant. But after a few games you’ve pretty much seen what there is to see. It’s a shame that Stardock didn’t add another layer of strategy by adding the Primary season; it could have added the convention mess to the proceedings which could have been a good bit of fun.

It’s also disappointing that there are no debates. What’s a presidential campaign without head to head confrontation? Where’s the Gore sigh? Or the Bush blank stare? Classic moments of recent political history and the game misses the chance to recreate them. This latest version is almost a carbon copy of the 2004 game aside from the graphic and interface overhaul. It does look a million times better but the core game is basically the same.

Still, at 20 bucks it’s a safe bet for political junkies who want to test their mettle and there is a solid strategy game underneath all of the cutesy bobbleheads. If Stardock plans on releasing another version down the road, let’s hope the company goes all in and adds some additional features and makes it a true sequel.

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