"Tropico" PopTop Software Reviewed by Rob "For a state to be strong either the people must have freedom based on law or the sovereign must be all-powerful without any contradiction." -Voltaire, "Le Siecle de Louis XIV", 1751 o v e r v i e w Tropico has a strong appeal to all of those who have ever dreamed of running their own little fiefdom. OK, I'd prefer an "empire" to a "fiefdom" but one takes what one can get. Nevertheless, Tropico is an enjoyable economic, social and diplomatic strategy game. If you spent hours playing Railroad Tycoon II, ever seeking to build a rail empire that stretched across a continent and generated more money than Microsoft does with each release of Windows, then you'll love Tropico. It's no coincidence that Tropico shares a feel (and a few sounds) with Railroad Tycoon II. Both are from PopTop and published through G.O.D. Games. The premise is simple: you've come to power and it's your goal to lead your island to prosperity. Beyond that, almost everything is flexible. You determine how you came to power, which in turn affects what the citizenry will expect of your government. You determine what products or services (tourism is the only "service") will drive your island's economy. You even determine your own strengths and weaknesses. Like your route to the presidency, these determine how you're perceived by the populous and the world at large. Tropico comes with a number of scenarios ready to play. I'm more of a "create the thing myself" kind of a guy so I went straight for the random map generator feature. This is a well-designed feature that allows you to determine the size of the island, amount of ocean surrounding it (this affects your ability to fish), amount of mineral resources and vegetation. You can also set the difficulty levels for the economy and politics. Politics plays a HUGE part in Tropico. There are eight factions in the game ranging from the military faction to the capitalists. Your ability to govern is dependent upon your ability to stay in power. Even if you deny free elections, you can't prevent a rebellion from starting. Though you may be tempted to simply imprison all rivals and assassinate those who speak against you (yes, these are options), doing so will make growing the economy and ruling to the end of your tenure exponentially more difficult. This is not to say that being a nice guy is much better. The factions often have differing goals and needs. You're often put in the position of choosing between building a hotel to expand the economy or building a hospital to serve the needs of the people. These are engaging challenges that left me with a tad more sympathy for Washington budget negotiators. Succeeding in Tropico is an enjoyable challenge that will bring you back for more. Political and economic strategy takes center stage in this gratifying game. Tropico is a 'strong buy'. Compre éste juego, Sr. presidente! h i n t s & t i p s : • Convert two farms to cash crops immediately (tobacco and sugar have nice ancillary markets you can exploit later in the game). • Build a clinic, market or church as early as possible after switching to cash crops. This will build goodwill among the populace (shown through their happiness rating) and allow you to win the first election without having to raise wages or reduce hours (sweat shops aren't pretty but they are profitable). • Build an abundant supply of corn farms and keep the workers paid well. Farmers are more numerous in the game and can be a considerable voting block if they are unhappy. Also, corn can be exported. While the price isn't high, money is money and you never want the populace to go hungry. • Make sure you keep the dockworkers paid well to maintain a full staff. You'll regret having goods sitting on the dock for months because you don't have any workers available to load the freighters. • Check the winds (watch the clouds) and build homes and apartments upwind from factories, power plants, mines and lumber mills. The pollution tends to piss off the environmentalists. • In a close election, wait until two months before the election and throw a Mardi Gras to tweak the numbers. If that doesn't help, give raises to the largest working group to ensure they experience the happiness of the raise before the election but not so far ahead that they get ticked off for another reason. • When it's looking like you may not win, take a proven approach from the recent American presidential election: tax cuts. If you have the cash, run the risk and give a fat tax cut. It'll buy you the election though you may have to hold the line on wage increases or switch back to sweat shop hours to keep the life in your economy. • Build more teamster offices than you think you'll need. You never want freighters leaving your docks empty because the goods were not delivered from the farms or plants. Also, the teamsters move goods on the island (i.e. food from the farm to the markets, tobacco from the plantation to the cigar factory). • Build markets and restaurants for your populace. Most people won't go to a farm for their food so you'll need markets to keep them fed. • Build an immigration office and keep a close eye on how many people are immigrating to your island (or leaving the island if you're not a very pleasant presidente). Don't be afraid to close the door on immigration to allow your populace the chance to take available jobs. Protectionism? Yes, it is. Sometimes it works. • Establish a diplomatic embassy and keep it fully staffed. When you have the funds, set your policies to favor either America or Russia. Once you declare your affiliation with either superpower (the game happens in pre-Soviet collapse days) you'll be given the ability to build power plants and airports at half the normal cost. Official Game site Cafe Tropico Tropico Isle Screen Shots