Battle for the White House

Friends, Americans, countrymen, lend me your phones. The decisive battle in the American political landscape isn't taking place in polling booths or caucuses, but on your mobile. Battle for the White House condenses all the fervour of the 2008 election into a slate of quirky mini-games.

In it, you take on the persona of a presidential candidate in their run for the Oval Office. Campaign mode is exactly that: a series of primaries that lead up to the big general election. Earning votes is done through mini-games, where your performance determines the number of votes you win. Nail it and you get an Abraham Lincoln A+; fall flat on your face and earn yourself an F like Richard Nixon. Grades translate into raw votes, which in turn allow you to win regional elections.

Six candidates are on the ballot, three Democrats and three Republicans respectively: Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator Barack Obama, Former Senator John Edwards, Former Senator Fred Thompson, Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and Former Governor Mitt Romney. GOP front runner John McCain is glaringly absent from the roster, as is Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. Swapping Thompson and Giuliani for those two current candidates would have been a far better, more relevant choice.

Eight mini-games serve as campaign stops. Each brings a different style of gameplay to the table, ranging from action to platforming to timed button-pressing. Sabotage, for example, has you jumping over obstacles impeding the campaign trail and doling out autographs to enthusiastic voters – simple presses of the 'OK' key enable you to leap over objects and sign your name. The twist comes when the screen inverts upside-down or flips to the side, forcing you to play through the side-scrolling level from odd perspectives.

Another, Ballot Ball, requires you to collect votes by rolling over citizens with a giant sticky ball. Moving the directional pad left and right ensures you avoid bumping into trees and other obstacles in the way. Roll up enough votes before you reach the end of the stage and you move onto the next race.

Meanwhile, one of the best blatantly pulls from Pac-Man. Sneak-In tasks you with collecting ballots to stealthily work your way to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Using the D-pad to move your candidate you move over tiny ballots, all the while avoiding security guards patrolling the labyrinthine front lawn. Get all the votes and you're ushered into the White House quicker than an intern during the Clinton years.

Not every mini-game works, though. Touch the Sky for instance makes absolutely no sense, tossing candidates with a kick of their party mascot high into the clouds. The goal is to achieve a set distance by boosting with judicious presses of the 'OK' key. It's difficult to discern what is actually going on and where you're going – much like Mitt Romney's campaign. Both should just pull out of the game.

Two things guarantee Battle for the White House success: a phenomenal sense of humour and generally enjoyable mini-games. Not all of them are great, true, but you're likely to have fun with the vast majority of them. To boost your enjoyment, the writing is first-rate – little quips about Oprah's endorsement of Obama and Fred Thompson's acting career are enough to induce a chuckle.

Aside from one lame duck mini-game and two missing candidates, then, Battle for the White House runs with a pretty clean record. The game's humour carries it far and the mini-games are enjoyable enough to keep you playing long enough to see this hotly contested election through to its end. Aside from a few skeletons in the closet, this is an immensely entertaining game that gets our vote.