Hidden Agenda

The Good
The opportunity to play with politics

A very rare gaming subject

It's good to see the consequences of each agenda unfold

The Bad
Present sometimes, a narrow political spectre

The Bottom Line
In Hidden agenda you are the new leader of a fictitious country in Central America called Chimerica. Chimerica, as most countries of Latin America at the time (the game takes place at late 70's or early 80's), was ruled by a corrupt dictator.After losing support from the US, the government of Farsantes (the dictator), who was already facing a strong opposition, falls, and you are chosen to become the temporary leader in the democratization process.

However your mandate will be a difficult one, as all sections of society have been neglected and expect you to fulfill theirs expectations.The first thing you do is answer journalists about yours plans, and select ministers from the most eminent characters of the three political parties.When facing a problem (and soon there will be lots of them) you have the option to agree with the proposition of the person interested in the matter or stick with the opinion of your minister, so selecting the right ministers will be the key for an productive government .

You are free to chose a right-wing, a moderated or a left-wing solution for any problem, but be prepared to deal with the consequences of your actions.At any point, you may face a coup, or even be exiled by your own party buddies, so don't expect a long reign if you try to become a bloody dictator.

As I see, the left-wing policies are stronger in this game, because most of their agendas are popular, even for the sake of the country.At the same time, the right-wing displayed comprehends only Chicago-like neoliberals (so if you are a neomalthusian or keynesian you will be closer to the center than to the right), something that prevents a right-wing leader to be successfully most of times.Also, the socialists are much more likely to reach a successfully coup than any other group.

Even with these strong problems, hidden agenda is still a very solid flirt with political science, and is recommended to any player that doesn't mind with it's black and white simple graphics.

The Good
Overall presentation is at very high level, user interface remarks and it would be good even for today's games. The game is navigated by keyboard, many nice digitized pictures are in black&white. Game has no sounds or music but artificial intelligence is very interesting. The other good point is that you can always check your performance statistics on reports and graphs screen for the whole period of your presidency.

The Bad
The only thing I didn't like at this game was that the play-time is limited to 4 years cycle. Game always ends with final review of your period even if you were elected as a new president again.

The Bottom Line
Hidden Agenda is very good political simulation of fictitious country Chimerica in Latin America. I takes place in 1980's when the old dictator was overthrown and you were introduced to the president office. Your purpose as the president is to maintain political course in dangerous waters of Chimerican politics. It is important not to take extreme decisions (right-wing or left-wing) since your support by newly established parties is quite unstable. You have 4 advisors (ministers) for internal affairs, foreign affairs, agriculture and defence. You can also visit and consult various persons throughout the country of Chimerica. Your goal is to survive 4 years in office and while in office take country through necessary reforms.