Tropico

There are many different "paths to greatness": you can make money from industry(rum, jewelry, etc.), farming and mining, tourism, fishing, or all of them. You can keep your island heavily guarded by military (be careful...lack of liberty is not tolerated by citizens) or you can let your people do whatever the heck they want (again, be careful. don't let them start a rebellion).

This game has few downsides.
-The interface isn't well designed. It takes up a lot of space, and doesn't provide easy access to info.
-Buildings cannot always be rotated as you want them, which is quite annoying if you want a Tenement to overlook the water, for example.

Overall, a great game, definitely worth buying.


Hours of fun   March 9, 2003
This is just plain addictive! The best part is the character selection...so many dictators, so little time. As El Presidente you have absolute control over all the people on your little island and if anyone causes trouble just have them shot or jailed! The gameplay is pretty addictive, but I think it loses a star because it can get pretty repetitive. Nonetheless, this is an excellent game.


cheap fun...   February 23, 2003
 1 out of 2 found this review helpful

For cheap thrills, Tropico is a good game. By now, it can be bought in most stores for around $10. While the premise of being the dictator of your own island is an intruiging one, there are a couple of quirks that keep the game from really living up to its promises.

Asassinate a rival political candidate to ensure your victory in the upcoming election and another person instantly steps up to run against you. Kill the new candidate and another volunteers! Don't they get the hint?!

The game is too short. You can only rule for a maximum of 70 years. (Isn't Castro going on year 115?) On the more difficult settings, it is almost impossible to make any cool progress in this amount of time. Freighters arrive to buy exports only a few times a year and large buildings take forever to build (especially if they are built away from the center of your town, like airports and hotels)

For the price of a cheap dinner out or a few video rentals, Tropico delivers some enjoyable and silly gameplay.


Boring   January 18, 2003
 1 out of 5 found this review helpful

This game is really boring. Nothing really happens. You build housing, businesses and roads. Then nothing! Oh wait, you have to do a budget. I'll pass


Can't get enough of it...   December 6, 2002
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

I'm a big fan of Sim-type games where you control a city or group of sim "people". Among my favorites are Rollar Coaster Tycoon, SimGolf, The Sims, and SimCity 3000.

PLEASE add Tropico to the list...

I just can't get enough of this game. The idea of ruling an island and figuring out how to be a successful leader is great.
There are all types of people, events, buildings, and problems that need your attention in this game. You can adjust the difficutly to suit your needs.

I tried over and over again to keep winning the island elections in hopes of successfully building my first airport and the many tourist attractions. Phew! Hard work...but I finally did it. This game is fun, challenging, and hilarious!

It's easy to pick up this game cheap these days! I definitely recommend it for the $10 price tag! You should also spend a couple extra bucks for the Paradise Island add-on. I can't WAIT for Tropico 2[.]