Best Political Simulation Games For Mac

Which political simulation games Is best? Which political simulation games Is best? I've played geo political strategy, supreme ruler 2020, Democracy 3. Save hide report. 100% Upvoted. This thread is archived. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Create a 21st century micro-nation and experiment with your political ideals. Citystate is a 2019 city building game, a Political-Simulator with a highly realistic economy. Citystate is now available in version 1.2.4! Dec 31, 2018  So whether you prefer tycoon games, realistic simulators, or something in between, our best Simulation games for Mac picks will have something for you. And if you’re looking for something different, these are our current 100 Best Mac games in all the top categories.

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A government simulation or political simulation is a game that attempts to simulate the government and politics of all or part of a nation. These games may include geopolitical situations (involving the formation and execution of foreign policy), the creation of domestic political policies, or the simulation of political campaigns.[1] They differ from the genre of classical wargames due to their discouragement or abstraction of military or action elements.

Background[edit]

Games based on geopolitics and elections existed long before the emergence of personal computers and their ability to quickly process large amounts of statistical data. One of the earliest such games was The Game of Politics, created by Oswald Lord in 1935[2] which remained in print until 1960. In 1954, the board game Diplomacy was created, which differs from other wargames in that it features a 'negotiation' phase during which players reach agreements with other players, and then execute military moves simultaneously.[3] National politics has remained a vital area of board gaming, with products such as the 1986 board game Die Macher featuring elections in Germany,[4] and Wreck the Nation which satirizes the politics of the United States under the Bush administration.[5]

After enjoying years as a play-by-mail game, Diplomacy was one of the first games to move to take advantage of e-mail, and continued to be a popular email game into the 2000s.[6]

Alternatively, you can hit Command-I on your keyboard with the app selected in the Finder. Run games faster on mac free

Computer gaming[edit]

A screenshot from the 1985 Atari ST version of Balance of Power

As computers became more sophisticated, games in this genre moved beyond e-mail to more complex simulations. For most users in Europe, the first well known politics game was Dictator [ru], released in 1983 by DK'Tronics and running on Sinclair's ZX Spectrum. One of the earliest titles in this genre was Balance of Power, designed by Chris Crawford and published in 1985. This game features conflict at the height of the Cold War, using political and policy decisions to shape outcomes rather than warfare.[7][8] In Balance of Power, any armed conflict between the player and the opponent superpower results in a nuclear war, which is considered a loss condition.

Other Cold War era games included Conflict: Middle East Political Simulator created by Virgin Interactive, Spectrum Holobyte'sCrisis in the Kremlin and virtually unknown Hidden Agenda.

Conflict simulated a hypothetical situation in 1997 in which the player assumes the role of the Israeli Prime Minister and is obligated to employ various diplomatic and covert directives to defeat its rival nations. Surrounded by hostile nations, the player is restrained by a very limited military force and thereby encouraged to employ peaceful means to remain in power until he acquired more advanced weapons systems and power.[9]

In Crisis in the Kremlin, the user could play as the protege of any of the following Soviet politicians: Mikhail Gorbachev of the reformist faction; Yegor Ligachev, leader of the hard-line faction; and Boris Yeltsin, who was the prevalent figure of the nationalist faction. The player could use the simulation to test certain strategies to lead the failing Soviet Union into a new era of prosperity or force its dissolution and integration into the new world order. This game introduced the concept of budget management, citizen and faction satisfaction as well as multiple economic values and political spectrum.[10]

In Hidden Agenda the user takes the role of the president of Chimerica, a post-revolutionary Central American country, trying to juggle international relations and the needs of the country's citizens.

Early political simulation games were intended more for education than entertainment. In 1987, On the Campaign Trail was developed as a tool at Kent State University's political campaign management program, and engaged students in decision-making regarding the campaigns for United States Senate elections between 1970 and 1986.[11] Subsequently, a commercial market developed for packaged games involving elections and campaigns.

A screenshot from Stardock's 2004 game Political Machine

The 1992 game Power Politics (and, before it, 1981's President Elect)[12] focused on domestic United States political campaigns (but not the running of the country upon election). In 1996, this was adapted to the Doonesbury Election Game, designed by Randy Chase (who also did Power Politics) and published by Mindscape, in which players conducted a campaign with the assistance of a pool of advisors selected from characters in the Doonesbury comic strip.[13] A successor entitled Power Politics III was released in 2005.[14] In 2004, Stardock published Political Machine, in which the player steers a candidate through a 41-week election cycle for United States President, developing policies and tailoring talk show appearances and speech content. The game is heavily tied to modern polling methods, using real-time feedback for how campaign strategy impacts polling numbers.[15] In 2006, TheorySpark released President Forever 2008 + Primaries, an election simulation game that allows the player to realistically control an entire election campaign through both the Primaries and General Election. President Forever 2008 + Primaries itself a follow-up to the highly successful general election sim President Forever, released in 2004

Some games in the genre involve enacting policies and budget decisions to sway voters. One such game is Democracy, published in 2005 by Positech Games. In Democracy, players make decisions during each turn regarding which policies to support. As turns progress, the player views how their favourability rating changes amongst certain types of voters.[16] Candidates make promises before each election, and failure to follow through can result in lower support during the player's re-election campaign.[17] Other examples are the Geo-Political-Simulator series, produced by Eversim, boasting an array of choices for domestic policy and decisions based around current geopolitical issues,[18] and Tropico series.

There can also be found games that puts the player in the seat of a state leader, such as SuperPower, and its sequel, SuperPower 2, whose goals are to produce economic stability and prosperity, but the game mainly revolves around foreign policies, with the abilities to interact with other countries in many ways. The game includes a great number of real-life treaties that influence countries.

Online games[edit]

Web-based games such as NationStates allow players to manage the day-to-day decisions of individual governments, and compete against rival nations.[19][20] Less formally structured games are also played out in internet forums, where players manage governments and nations according to a set of agreed rules. These such forum-based simulation games - often known as 'Polsims' - simulate the politics of one specific nation throughout rounds set in differing time periods. Not all 'Polsims' take place on a national level. Some Polsims take place internationally, whereas others take place on the state or local levels. Players on such games play as fictional politicians and participate in debates, media activity, and simulated elections. Realism is highly stressed with key topics of the day often debated on and spun by the players and admins (who are able to shape the game world in any way that they choose).[citation needed]

In other web based games players register, apply for an open position (either a country or person inside a country such as a politician or army general) and carry out game activities either through newspapers or other activities or (more commonly) through gamemasters. Realism and cooperation tend to be highly promoted in such games.[citation needed]

Related games[edit]

City-building games, such as Lincity, require the player to manage the governing features of a city.

Other construction and management simulations require government management. For example, city-building games such as the SimCity series of games developed and published by Maxis simulates the experience of being a mayor. SimCity features a real-time environment in which the player can create zones for city development, build roads, power and water utilities, and watch as their city develops based on their decisions. The game was originally published in 1989 and as of 2013 was in its fifth major release.[21]

Strategy games frequently make use of government management challenges. 4X games require the management of a government, be it tribal or interstellar. This includes tasks such as building infrastructure and conducting trade. Galactic Civilizations II requires players to manage their approval rating to keep their political party in power. Domestic policy is sometimes abstracted with more emphasis on international conflict. For example, the Civilization series gives players total control over resources, and radically restructuring an empire is a matter of clicking a 'revolution!' button.[citation needed]

Other strategy games focus on government management to varying degrees. For instance, in the Hearts of Iron games (set in World War II) the civilian population is only a factor with partisans and manpower, whereas in Victoria a player must not only 'hobnob' and conquer, but implement the Second Industrial Revolution while warding off (or ushering in) real political revolutions such as the upheavals of 1848 and communist revolt.[citation needed]

Government and politics have also been incorporated into adventure games. A Mind Forever Voyaging, published by Infocom in 1985, was an interactive fiction game in which the player controlled a sentient computer capable of experimenting with potential future scenarios based on varying public policy decisions. Newsweek said of the game, 'It isn't '1984,' but in some ways it is even scarier.'[22]

The 2008 game Spore features a 'Civilization' stage where the player controls vehicles and interacts with other cities until they have control of all 12 cities.

Training and education[edit]

Beyond entertainment, these games have practical applications in training and education of government personnel. Training simulations have been created for subjects such as managing law enforcement policies (such as racial profiling), the simulation of a military officer's career, and hospital responses to emergency situations.[23]iCivics also features games such as Branches of Power, Executive Control, etc..

Examples[edit]

  • 270 | Two Seventy US Election (2018)[24]
  • Balance of Power (1985)
  • Bandit Kings of Ancient China (1989)
  • Conflict: Middle East Political Simulator (1990)
  • Crisis in the Kremlin (1991)
  • Crusader Kings (2004)
    • II (2012)
    • III (to be released in 2020)
  • CyberJudas (1996)
  • Destiny of an Emperor (1989)
  • Diplomacy (1954)
  • Democracy (2005)
    • 2 (2007)
    • 3 (2013)
  • eRepublik (2008)
  • Floor 13 (1991)
  • Geo-political simulator series
    • Commander in Chief (2008)
    • Rulers of Nations (2010)
    • Masters of the World (2013)
  • Hidden Agenda (1988)
  • Jennifer Government: NationStates (2002)
  • The Political Machine series
    • The Political Machine (2004)
    • 2008 (2008)
    • 2012 (2012)
    • 2016 (2016)
    • 2020 (2020
  • Particracy'
  • The Political Process (2019)
  • President Elect (1981)
  • President Forever 2008 + Primaries (2006)
  • Republic: The Revolution (2003)
  • Republic of Rome (1990)
  • Romance of the Three Kingdoms (1985-2016)
  • Shadow President (1993)
  • SuperPower (2002)
    • SuperPower 2 (2004)
  • Supreme Ruler series
    • 1936 (2014)
    • 2010 (2005)
    • 2020 (2008)
    • Cold War (2010)
    • Ultimate (2014)
    • The Great War (2017)
  • Tropico series (2001–)
  • Twilight Struggle (2005)
  • Victoria 2 (2010)

References[edit]

  1. ^Tom Leupold (2004-08-12). 'Spot On: Games get political'. GameSpot. Archived from the original on March 13, 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-07.
  2. ^Time Magazine, February 3, 1936, 'Monopoly & Politics'
  3. ^Allan B. Calhamer, Europa Express #10, 'The Roots of Diplomacy'Archived 2012-07-31 at Archive.today
  4. ^Erik Arneson, 'Playing Politics'
  5. ^'BuzzFlash Reviews'. Buzzflash.com. Archived from the original on 2009-02-11. Retrieved 2011-01-17.
  6. ^Jim Burgess, 'Play-by-Mail Diplomacy vs Play-by-Email Diplomacy'
  7. ^Chris Crawford (2003), Chris Crawford on Game Design, ISBN0-13-146099-4
  8. ^Robert Mandel, The Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol. 31, No. 2 (Jun., 1987), 'An Evaluation of the 'Balance of Power' Simulation', pp. 333-345,
  9. ^Zzap! Issue 70, February 1991, p.48, 'Conflict: the Middle East Political Simulator'
  10. ^Social Science Computer Review, Vol. 12, No. 3, 447-448 (1994), 'Software Reviews: Crisis in the Kremlin'
  11. ^Nadine S. Koch, 'Winning Is Not the Only Thing 'On the Campaign Trail': An Evaluation of a Micro-Computer Campaign Simulation' PS: Political Science and Politics, Vol. 24, No. 4 (Dec., 1991), pp. 694-698,
  12. ^'President Elect.' Moby Games (retrieved on January 25th, 2009).
  13. ^'IGN: The Doonesbury Election Game'. Pc.ign.com. 1995-12-30. Retrieved 2011-01-17.
  14. ^'Power Politics III (PC)'. GameSpy. Archived from the original on February 5, 2008. Retrieved 2007-12-22.
  15. ^Jason Silverman (2004-08-19). 'Campaign Game Mimics Real Life'. Wired. Archived from the original on September 18, 2008. Retrieved 2007-12-22.
  16. ^Jess Nickelsen. 'Democracy (PC)'. NZGamer.com. Archived from the original on 2014-08-05. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
  17. ^'Positech Democracy'. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
  18. ^Jackson, Stephen (2018-04-04). 'Best Political Games To Play On PC in 2018'. Gaming Respawn. Retrieved 2019-01-12.
  19. ^'NationStates - Walkthrough, Tips, Review'. Jay is games. Retrieved 2019-01-12.
  20. ^News, A. B. C. (2006-01-07). 'A Web Site of Virtual Nations'. ABC News. Retrieved 2019-01-12.
  21. ^Tal Blevins (2003-01-14). 'Sim City 4 Review'. IGN. Retrieved 2007-12-22.
  22. ^'Ad-Blurbs for A Mind Forever Voyaging'. MobyGames. Retrieved 2007-12-22.
  23. ^Dave Carey (2007-01-06). 'Simulation games help prepare government, unite local businesses'. The Washington Examiner. Archived from the original on 2012-07-20. Retrieved 2011-03-18.
  24. ^https://store.steampowered.com/app/855010/270__Two_Seventy_US_Election/
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Government_simulation_game&oldid=948544056'

What are the best police games? We have all considered life as a cop, super sleuth, or detective, for a brief moment. Whether drawn in by the position of authority, the puzzling case work, or even the hard drinking: police games deliver plenty of action and intrigue.

However, cop games are not all about John Woo-esque shootouts and high-speed car chases, and in fact, the best police games often see you digging through crime scenes for evidence and carrying out routine procedures rather than pursuing perps, gun drawn.

To help you find the right police games for you, we have assembled a list that encompasses every aspect of the job, from hard-boiled detective games, to cop simulations that immerse you in life on the beat – not to mention a sprinkling of unconventional picks to keep things interesting. We come back to our lists often to add new games and ensure you’re getting the very best cop games around.

The best police games are:

Disco Elysium

It might not be the truest police experience, but Disco Elysium’s battered and beleaguered detective is one of the most interesting police games protagonists. After quickly piecing together who you are after an apocalyptic bender, you’re charged with investigating a murder that’s inexorably tied to the political tensions of the town.

Like all of the best RPG games, you shape your detective by assigning skills and constructing a loadout of clothes and items, but with no conventional combat system, those skills are all about your personality and psyche. Sure, you could leave your hovel wearing a suit and go about solving cases like a classic procedural police drama, or you could march out in your underwear, arguing with yourself.

Of course, if you still need convincing then we encourage you to read Rich’s excellent Disco Elysium review.

THIS IS THE POLICE

One of the rare police games that focuses on the resource management side of the job, This Is the Police casts you as jaded police chief Jack Boyd, under pressure from the mob and desperately trying to amass enough money to retire on with barely six months to do so. You will need to manage your staff, respond to emergencies, manage investigations, and work closely with the mob, using your instincts to judge the severity of each situation and decide which officers to send out.

Organisational genius? Check out the best management games

What makes This Is the Police one of the best police games on PC is how well it captures the uncertainty and risk of police work. Sending a couple of officers out to deal with a ranting lunatic seems like an appropriate response, until the suspect pulls a gun, downing several bystanders not to mention one of Freeburg’s finest. There is also a distinct lack of control: there is no way to save the cesspit of a city; no way to derail the mob pulling the strings; no way to stand by your morals without sacrificing yourself in the process. This Is the Police embraces the gritty misery of noir fiction, right down to the collection of jazz records you get to leaf through at the start of each shift.

BATTLEFIELD HARDLINE

Remember when you were five and a game called Cops and Robbers was all the rage? Battlefield Hardline is what happens when a triple-A studio take that humble concept and run with it: a TV action-drama in its single-player campaign and a bonkers, Michael Bay-inspired blockbuster in its multiplayer. As we said in our Battlefield Hardline review, it’s Fast and Furious comes to FPS land.

As police games go, you are hard-pushed to find another one as explosive as this. Nevermind the cop cars and tasers, Hardline is still a Battlefield game, collapsing buildings, LMGs, exploding choppers, and all. An increased emphasis on vehicles pushes the pace of Hardline’s multiplayer well beyond the series’ par, with modes like Hotwire – which shifts the traditional Conquest flags to drivable cars – rewarding speed and aggression over tactical play. Its driving model might be basic, but Battlefield Hardline can rival the best racing games for how good it feels to be behind the wheel of one its muscle cars or coupés.

Its campaign, despite plenty of predictable narrative beats and some hilarious AI goofs, is among the best of the series. You play as Officer Nick Mendoza, a detective embroiled in a Miami drug war. Each mission sees you take on increasingly unofficial tasks, and whether you opt to brandish your badge and arrest perps rather than gun them down determines what kind of officer you become over the course of Hardline’s ten missions.

L.A. NOIRE

Few police games manage to deliver on the fantasy of being a detective quite like L.A. Noire. You play as Cole Phelps, a patrol officer turned detective who is working his way up through the ranks of the LAPD by investigating crime scenes, questioning suspects, and battling against the seedy underbelly of golden age Hollywood.

Unlike most police games, L.A. Noire is all about diligently combing through crime scenes and following up leads, which makes the rare shootouts and chase sequences all the more thrilling. Mostly, then, you are tasked with studiously analysing evidence and questioning suspects and witnesses, reading their expressions to ascertain whether or not they are telling you the truth.

But L.A Noire is a war game, too. Every character, including Phelps, carries the weight of the war years around their neck and beyond the open-top sports cars and opulent art deco facades you will find a city whose inhabitants are still reeling from the depravity of that conflict.

Better still, Rockstar Games have adapted a few cases from the game to form a VR game, L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files – because the only things better than police games, are VR police games.

THE SILVER CASE

What The Silver Case lacks in actual detective and police work it more than makes up for with audiovisual zeal and an absorbing, techno-thriller narrative. Set in 1999, in a fictional Japanese city called the 24 Districts, you take control of a mute protagonist from a special forces unit called The Republic as you help the city’s Heinous Crimes Unit solve a string of murders that bear all the hallmarks of infamous serial killer Kamui Uehara. Just one thing: Kamui has been incarcerated for nearly 20 years. You can also play a second campaign that follows the same events from the perspective of a journalist.

Political

Tapping into Japanese folklore and late ‘80s paranoia over the isolating effects of the internet, police games scarcely conjure up as much intrigue and mystery as The Silver Case. More impressive still is how The Silver Case manages to create such a rich sense of atmosphere while being astonishingly light on gameplay, closer to a visual novel than its first-person exploration scenes suggest.

MURDERED: SOUL SUSPECT

Looking for some police games that you can play around Halloween? Murdered: Soul Suspect is a good shout, proffering a bizarre twist to the usual detective scenario by having you play as a disembodied ghost attempting to solve your own murder.

Yep, Murdered: Soul Suspect kicks off with you, maverick detective Ronan O’Connor, dying at the hands of a notorious local serial killer, leaving you trapped in limbo until you are able to bring your killer to justice. On the plus side, being dead grants you a bevy of supernatural detecting abilities that makes this one of the most empowering police games around: access out-of-reach areas by possessing and controlling black cats; eavesdrop on private conversations; influence someone’s thoughts; and follow leads through solid walls.

Murdered: Soul Suspect is rarely challenging when it comes to piecing evidence together and uncovering leads, but exploring the historic town of Salem, seeing its spectral landmarks, and helping the many ghosts wandering its streets is a constant joy. Did we mention you can possess cats?

SWAT 4

Political

It might be over a decade old but SWAT 4 is still among the most realistic and atmospheric police games around. Simulating real-world police procedures, SWAT 4 casts you as the leader of a five-man team as you subdue armed targets and rescue hostages across 21 missions. It’s on par with the best PC simulation games for its attention to detail and realistic mechanics.

While you have access to an arsenal of submachine guns, assault rifles, and shotguns, SWAT 4 remains rigidly attached to realistic police protocol, punishing you for unauthorised use of force, incurring hostage injuries, and losing officers. Instead, you will use beanbag shotguns, tasers, and pepperball guns to pressure enemies into surrendering before cuffing them. This emphasis on the pressures of upholding the law also make SWAT 4 an illuminating experience at times, as you question whether to give suspects fair warning before opening fire, knowing that announcing your whereabouts gives the enemy a huge advantage.

Unlike the Rainbow Six series, SWAT 4 treats lethal force with its due respect: death is swift and even the lives of criminals are valued. You are not an elite killing machine, armed to the teeth with deadly weapons, and if you play SWAT 4 with that mentality then you will not make it very far.

Best mac role playing games 2015 download. If you’re hoping for a modern tactical FPS game then Ready or Not is a SWAT spiritual successor that’s development is worth following.

SHERLOCK HOLMES: CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS

Playing a police game as the greatest detective in the world, Sherlock Holmes, is a bit like using cheat codes. But while gathering evidence is a breeze for the eagle-eyed and resourceful Holmes, drawing conclusions and choosing which suspect to condemn to death is always a challenge.

Unlike other police games, Sherlock Holmes focuses on the humanity of its suspects: you profile everyone you meet, draw conclusions about their lives and possible motives, and then decide which of them is guilty, and whether they should hang or be helped into exile. You will spend more time hunting down opportunists and innocents caught in the crossfire than dastardly crooks and fiendish murderers.

Like the best adventure games, Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments also boasts a diverse set of cases, ranging from whodunnits adapted from Conan Doyle’s novels to vanishing trains and bungled burglaries. Every case and set of suspects are distinct, ensuring repeated processes like interviewing suspects, searching for clues, and conducting experiments always feel fresh.

Best Political Simulation Games For Mac Download

SLEEPING DOGS

Sleeping Dogs is one of those police games in which you shoot first and ask questions later. Playing as undercover cop Wei Shen, danger is everywhere: the Sun On Yee triad you are bringing down from the inside, their Jade Gang rivals, and even the city’s police. Fortunately, then, Wei Shen is a very talented protagonist, excelling at shooting, high-speed car chases, shooting from a moving vehicle, parkour, martial arts, and grating bad guy faces with air conditioner units.

Games For Mac

Police games rarely let you be the bad guy, but you have to get your hands dirty if you want to rise through the ranks of the Sun On Yee. Over the course of Sleeping Dogs’ hefty main story, you desperately struggle to straddle the line between good and evil, and the moments when Wei Shen falls either side of that line provide the narrative with equal measure of heart and tension.

Breaking the law, breaking the law: The best crime games on PC

Mac Simulation Games

The open-world snapshot of Hong Kong is the real highlight of Sleeping Dogs thanks to details like a blend of English and Cantonese spoken by its denizens, traffic-laden streets, a rich ambient soundscape, and the most charming street vendors in gaming. The city feels lived-in and is brimming with activity – this is much more than a collection of landmarks and stereotypes. Sadly, despite being one of the best open-world games, Sleeping Dogs is yet to receive the sequel treatment, but a Sleeping Dogs movie is in the works.

POLICE QUEST: IN PURSUIT OF THE DEATH ANGEL

One of the most realistic police games of all time is also the one of the first police games ever released. Sierra Entertainment’s 1987 adventure game is so faithful to proper police protocol that is was even used to train rookie officers. There are no traditional puzzles in Police Quest, no convoluted conspiracies or sprawling shootouts, instead you spend the majority of your time securing crime scenes, handing out speeding tickets, and arresting drunks.

That realism can make In Pursuit of the Death Angel a little dry, but if you really do want a simulation of police work then the original Police Quest series, and In Pursuit of the Death Angel in particular, will not leave you wanting.

Simulation Games

Right, now we’ve concluded our list of the best police games, we must advise you that you do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you may later rely on in court. Anything you do say… wait, this isn’t the conclusion script that we were looking for. Nothing to worry about, you’re free to go. Do consider popping in to see the best PC games on your way out, though. And why not come back soon? We promise we don’t try to arrest every reader.