Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18474 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Take 2
• Released on: 2001-04-27
• Platforms: Windows 98, Windows 95

Amazon.co.uk Review
Tropico's PopTop Software are responsible for the bestselling Railroad Tycoon management simulation series. Their new game has a much happier name than the storyline suggests. You're the newly installed dictator of an island, and must first start by building essential structures so that farmers can grow crops, white-collar workers can earn more and stay happy, the land can be mined for its resources and new immigrants have accommodation better than shacks and thus have little reason to become demoralised. The religious need their churches, and almost everyone needs the pub to unwind (a sentiment few would disagree with). Of course, that's if you're going to be a benevolent dictator...

If not (and this is where the Black and White-style morality comes in) you can do what dictators are often remembered for: bribing or intimidating the media, skimming the top off your island's profits for yourself (an explicit choice of scenario you can make at the beginning) and crushing uprisings, rebellions and invasions.

Although the island is supposed to become full after a population of 500, it's down to your skills to determine if you can house more without angering the populace into an uprising. But you'll need a dedicated amount of time to see this population experiment through. Alternatively, you could neglect the natives in favour of pulling in the tourists...

With 40 types of character sporting over 50 character traits at random, a hundred customisable buildings and an ultimate goal to rule as long as possible, it's no surprise that the game demands just over 800 MB of hard drive space and countless hours of slow but sure addiction if you're a sim/god/resource management game addict. --Kenneth Henry

DailyRadar.com
Set during the Cold War on an unknown Caribbean island, Tropico, being developed by PopTop and published by Gathering of Developers, will put players in the role of dictator. As a PapaDoc Duvaliers wannabe, your goal is turn your island into a prosperous nation -- and its inhabitants (who never understand the stress that comes with totalitarian rule) into happy and productive members of society. So if certain unruly citizens disappear during the night, it's regrettable, but a necessary step to maintain the peace.

Tropico single-player gameplay will come in two flavors, scenario-based and random map. Of course there will also be a tutorial, but it wasn't working in the beta. Scenario mode wasn't active either, but we're told there will be about a half-dozen scenarios. These will include "relieving" a friend of a pesky gold mine, building a tourist haven for the rich and famous, and stashing away $10 million in 20 years. The random map mode (which was working) allows players to modify the terrain, victory conditions and political climate.

After setting up a game, the player creates a persona. The first step is to select an image from a file of attractive, virile men -- then choose a background, how he rose to power, and the traits that exemplify his wit, intelligence and modesty. Finally, the player chooses from a list of perceived flaws, even if it's obvious he has none. These modify how the inhabitants react to their leader and how the world as a whole sees him. Note to Idi Amin fans: No cannibalism here.

Each of the island's inhabitants has a unique set of 50 different traits. There are 46 different character types, such as shopkeeper, journalist, miner and priest, and even with a population limit of 500, virtually none of them will be identical. Name, age and marital status only touch the surface of these people. One of the traits is family status. People can be married or unmarried, with between zero and seven children. It's also possible to find out their parents' information, their spouse's information and their children's information. By clicking through a family, it's possible to even learn the name of a person's great-grandchildren. As an example, clicking on Consuela Sauceda will show her parents, Luis and Margarita Rodriguez; a spouse, Antonio Sauceda; a daughter, Esmerelda Perez; and a son, Miguel Sauceda. Clicking any of those people will show their family structures, so it would be possible to learn that Esmerelda's daughter, Luisa, is the great-grandchild of Luis and Margarita Rodriguez. This lineage isn't included just for trivia or to confuse the genealogy-challenged: If a political rival is causing a bit of trouble, removing her will likely arouse the ire of her immediate family.

The player will issue edicts and select buildings from the interface bar along the bottom of the screen. Construction workers actually carry out the building; remember, you're the head of state, not the guy with the shovel. When Building Mode is selected, tabs across the top of the bar separate the buildings into 10 subgroups such as Housing, Infrastructure and Tourism. Hotels, mines, apartments and casinos are just a few of the choices within these subgroups. As in many realtime strategy games, most of the structures are in technology trees that require prerequisite building types to be constructed first.

The game is primarily a building simulator, so much of the player's time will be spent deciding which structures are needed to keep the people sedated, so they won't notice when an edict infringes on their freedoms. Even so, a few people are bound to notice and complain when their ruler decides to enact an old-fashioned book burning and declare martial law. A dictator's response to rebels, loudmouths and journalists (wait, that's redundant) is part of the struggle to be a good (or at least rich) leader.

Will you rule with a fist of iron or a heart of gold? Whichever you choose, a full Swiss bank account can make any mistake a little easier to swallow. After all, when you sneak out the back of the palace and heading to the US, a suitcase full of cash can only go so far. --From DailyRadar.com

Manufacturer's Description
As the newly installed dictator of an obscure Caribbean island, build a path of progress for a nation mired in poverty, civil unrest and in fighting. Oh, and stash a few million in your Swiss bank account just in case you need to take early retirement.

Tropico takes the addictive building-oriented gameplay of hits such as SimCity 3000 and Railroad Tycoon 2, combined with a healthy dose of Latin American political intrigue, and bundles it up in an easy-to-learn, hard to master, utterly addictive package.

Tropico is first and foremost a builder. Tropico provides more than 100 structures to build, from hotels and spas for tourists to banana groves, sugar plantations and copper mines for food and basic exports, to rum distilleries and cigar factories for basic industry. Industry, mining, agriculture or tourism, you choose to shape the economy to your vision. And don't let your lust for Yanqui dollars overcome your concern for the plight of your people. (or they'll overcome your palace guards and teach you a lesson in mob justice). As a precaution against such unpleasantness, may we suggest building the secret police headquarters for ferreting out and re-educating your misinformed dissidents?

Your island's inhabitants are fleshed out individuals, most of whom support you as their leader (at least initially). They go about their daily business striving for happiness under your enlightened rule. They have homes, jobs and identities, and they like being safe, well-fed, employed and spiritually enriched. Plan your growth well, and you'll have plenty of money to buy your people's favour.

Plan your growth poorly, and, well, there's always martial law.

Customer Reviews

Strategy, business, war, and ultimate power all in one!
I bought this game expecting to play on it for about a week, but I've had it for ages and I keep coming back to it. Far better, although you may not believe it, than SimCity 4, this game keeps showing off new positive aspects, and it combines many of the best parts of lots of other games.

This award-winning Caribbean dictatorship simulation is easy to get to grips with, but also continues to challenge all players. Of course, all games have a few downpoints--in this case, the user interface is a bit too complex and the graphics aren't quite ready to challenge those of today, but I can confidently say that this game never gets boring--there are so many different ways of playing it and so many different possible outcomes of players' actions.

The expansion pack "Paradise Island", like "Tropico", is also well worth its cost. Getting tired of this game is very difficult, almost impossible, in fact, and you'll find that it can easily keep you amused for months, even years.

If you buy this game, you won't regret it.

Briliant!
A briliant game that can be easily placed next to "monsters" like SimCity etc. Humorous gameplay,good tutorial,ability to perform strange acts (like naming somebody heretic!) and finally the ability to create the background of your character contribute greatly to a top game like this. Be careful to have a powerful PC because if the population goes over 500 the speed decreases.

Tropico
A tremendous game. I've owned this for about 4 years and still come back for another challenge. I've been kicked out by the voters, had assassination attempts on me, won elections by landslides, but every few months I put the CD back in the machine and play again. Always different, a great game.