Shadow President was recommended to me by one of my friends, and it really is what got me seriously back in to classic gaming. I was very impressed. As the newly inaugurated President of the United States in 1990, you must manage taxes, the budget, international trade, diplomacy, human rights envoys, and military action with the help of your advisors while maintaining your approval rating for the next election (unless you've turned off elections). This concept was ahead of its time, and the simulation is very well implemented.
At first the action seemed a little slow, but then I found I could speed or slow time by use of the number keys, and things really got rolling. The greatest disappointment right away was the mere 5,000 nuclear weapons placed at my disposal. A pittance! I can hardly claim that now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds when my country does not have enough nukes to last through the week. Related, but separate difficulties were the resignation of weenie Cabinet officials over policy disagreements, and the deaths of courageous Cabinet officials in retribution for nuclear assaults.
After restarting the game, I decided to do the peace thing for a while. It's fairly good policy to sign free trade agreements with every country
(though people will get a little upset when you do this to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), agree to all requests to improve economic ties or diplomatic relations, initiate cultural exchanges, and occasionally encourage other countries to improve human rights. Still, a tactical strike in Iraq or Afghanistan is always good for a few approval points, and Saddam will need to be dealt with soon enough. But when I got really bored, I saved and took advantage of a major bug. I'd declare war on the Soviet Union and then freeze time by pressing 0. I'd then press the button to surrender and the game, refusing to accept America surrendering to the Soviets, interpreted it as the Soviet Union surrendering to me! Thus, "Soviet Union" became "Soviet Union (United States)". Peace through superior firepower.
This is a highly advanced game for its time, and I expect it to take up much of my playing time until Will Wright releases Spore, rendering all their video games obsolete. Five stars.
