The presidential race in the U.S. has always been spectacular, negative campaigning, bold slogans and dirt about competitors dug out. This year’s race to the presidency is no different and from what political campaigning is concerned, Barak Obama went to the next level: political ads in video games.

Recently, the democratic candidate bought advertising space in nine EA games, including Madden NFL and Burnout Paradise. The message from the racing game Burnout Paradise is printed on a huge billboard on the highway and it states "Early voting has begun. Voteforchange.com. Paid for by Obama for President."

Political advertising makes its way into the game when players connect to the Internet for online multiplayer game modes. Democrats believe that by doing so they will be able to appeal to males aged between 18 and 34. The ads are presently running in 10 states, Ohio, Florida, Iowa, Colorado, Indiana, Montana, North Carolina, New Mexico, Nevada and Wisconsin, which are the places where current president Bush emerged victorious at the previous elections. The question that needs to be asked is: will video game political campaigning work?

It’s very likely that the short answer for the above question is “No.” Video games, in general, are not an extension of reality but rather a gateway to a different, fantasy-based parallel dimension. This other reality, most of the time, consists of the player being some sort of ultra-powered, extremely special character in the game’s story.

When you see Barak Obama in the game where you’re the fastest, toughest driver the road has ever known, how can you continue to be absorbed by this fantasy? The whole point of games is about disconnecting from reality at least for a couple of hours; any in-game reminder of the world in which your job is can ruin the whole experience.