Politician Attacks Opponent With Pac-Man Mod

Mudslinging has taken a new turn with a congressional candidate now defaming his opponent using a Pac-Man clone.

When a political race is underway, the attack advertisements used to sway public opinion can get pretty rough. In the case of the rivalry between Russ Carnahan (D) and Ed Martin (R), both vying for Missouri’s 3rd District, it’s never been so fun.

Carnahan has put together a Pac-Man clone called Hackman to show his constituents why they shouldn’t vote for his opponent. As Ed “The Hackman” Martin, players have to work through their own “maze of cover-ups and government waste” while avoiding the long-arm of the law.

It works just like Pac-Man, but each aspect of the original game now represents something else. Pac-Man is now Martin’s face. The pellets each represent wasted tax dollars, with a total at the top of the screen. Symbols for deleted emails, costly lawsuits, and shady finances now represent power pellets, which once eaten can keep the Hammers of Justice (the ghosts) off of Hackman for a short while.

The game revolves around a particular situation where Martin is said to have covered-up shady dealings by deleting emails, firing lawyers, and hiding his finances. To me though, it shows how much fun working in government really is. It turns out, I’m awesome at wasting the tax dollars of the American public!

Now I can’t really blame politicians for doing it so often. This is something I really hope we see more of as videogame enthusiasts take over political office. Play the game here.

Source: Hackman Game, via GamePolitics