Not for Broadcast Review (kookyklavicle)
Conceptually interesting with incredible actor performances, the game is let down massively by mediocre game design and political commentary that edges into insulting. Your ability to make influencing decisions is restricted to discrete moments during a broadcast (play an opposition tape or don't, censor anti-government commentary or don't) or in strange interstitials between broadcasts that take place at home, akin to a visual novel. It is impossible for your broadcasts to be involved in any amount of subtle agenda setting, as it would be in the real world, because you are constantly assessed by the game as to whether or not your choices of shot are sufficiently audience retaining. For example, broadcasting a topless woman protesting next to the authoritarian Prime Minister will have no effect on political outcomes because the game determines those shots to be the "Not For Broadcast" (it says as much in the game over screen) and your game will simply end if you attempt to show them. You are penalized if you linger on a shot for too long, even if any other shot that the game wants you to broadcast would be inappropriate or inconsistent with the overarching themes of the story: the built-in assessor overrides any plot nuance that could be expressed through more intelligent game design decisions. Given this, the agenda setting potential of mainstream media is barely able to be explored. Instead, you are mostly just tasked with keeping the game's rudimentary audience meter in the green as a couple of annoying minigames fight for your attention from time-to-time. It is shame that a concept with such potential was executed so poorly. That said, the actor performances were outstanding and were, by far, the most impressive part of the game.