Previous Next

Many of you will have fond memories of recent General Election. Party political broadcasts every night, neighbours creeping about ripping down each other's posters and politicians spreading unmentionable diseases among the infants of the land through mouth-to-mouth vote-catching. If you've ever fanced trying your hand at electioneering, but don't fancy all that serious stuff, Election may be just the game for you.

Taking the role of either Matcher (Conservative), Ninnock (Labour), Daniel Pauls (Idealist Party) or one of the Davids - Owing or Pig-Iron (Alliance), you attempt to guide your character to 10 Downing Street and become Prime Minister!

The game features 40 computer-controlled characters, including the main party candidates, who need to be canvassed for their votes. There are 199 votes to be gained: 39 belonging to the other binary participants and gained by careful persuasion, with the other 160 obtained by placing manifestos at specific positions within the 'country'.

This political power struggle takes place over a flick-screen landscape of 98 locations, featuring such unlikely locations as the land of Milk and Honey, Trendo's Cafe, Fleet Street - and of course the headquarters of all four political parties.

Your character is directed around via the joystick, and his or her actions manipulated by use of a menu system. This enables you to pick up and drop items, give items to other characters, ask people question, order your followers about, canvass the public and slur the opposition - all the necessary traits of a good politician.

There are a variety of ways to reach Downing Street: you may decide to fight a clean battle, using your powers of persuasion, or attempt to win by destroying the credibility of your opponents. This route is quite dangerous though, as you run the risk of getting slurred yourself.

Manifestos are encountered throughout your travels, and are picked up and dropped at your headquarters to adopt party colours. Picking them up again and taking them to one of the special named sites on the election map (supplied with the game) rewards you with ten votes.

Other items are also encountered and picked up along the way. Hope and Sincerity boost your credibility, while Gossip, Scam and Untruths can be used to slur a fellow politician, and Peerages, Rosettes, Knighthoods and Shares are given to party minions as an incentive for them to work harder for the cause!

The screen displays your character and current surroundings, with information about your character's status displayed beneath. A message bar also warns of the goings-on of the other candidates, allowing you to plan your tactics.

The game ends when you have achieved an overall majority of 101 votes or mote, and attained the lofty status of Prime Minister. Conversely, a particularly successful smear campaign against you may deplete your credibility rating to zero, at which point your political career comes to an untimely end.

Surely this should have been released quite a while before the 'real' election if it was going to have any appeal. With the election over now I can't see anybody wanting to go through the whole dull business all over again.

If you take the reandom elements out of the 'real' election, it would turn out to be extremely boring and repetitive - and this is basically what the computer version turns out to be. There is no excitement and the whole canvassing and manifesto procedure is very tedious.

Would you pay money to go through Election '87 all over again?

I can't help thinking that Election may not appeal too strongly to the masses, since it's hardly an adventure and less than an arcade game. On screen, it tends to appear more hectic than it actually is with messages reapidly flashing on and off and characters whizzing all over the place.

The nine or so pages of instruction are also a little daunting. Nevertheless, it doesn't take too long to get to grips with, and once you're familiar with what's going on it provides a fun challenge.

It is in fact a little over-complex, but it you fancy an alternative to the real-life Spitting Image puppets, Election gets my vote.

Election is a very unusual game in both its looks and the way it plays. Mastering the control method and understanding the general concept of canvassing votes is tricky, but with plenty of practice it all becomes second nature.

Even though the graphics and sound are nothing special, there's something in the action that's strangely addictive, and I came back to it constantly to see if I could better my canvassing skills. There's plenty of depth, and the action should keep a player happy for quite a few weeks - and I don't think the fact that it's missed the election ruins its appeal, it's a good game in its own right.

Presentation 82%
Complicated but informative instructions, and comprehensive on-screen information.

Graphics 64%
Highly unusual, with great sprites and garish surreal backdrops.

Sound 27%
A few uninspired jingles and spot effects.

Hookability 56%
Difficult to pick up and play due to the strange controls and weird gameplay.

Lastability 65%
Once you get to grips with the concept, there's plenty to keep you engrossed.

Overall 66%
An original and addictive arcade adventure which won't appeal to many.