However, Tropico also has a broad range of appeal, thanks in part to its various difficulty levels, which range from a sandbox mode to sadistic realism. You can select different victory conditions for different styles of games. Tropico can also be played at any number of speeds, and you can interact completely with the game while it's paused. Casual players can crank down the political and economic factors and just doodle around with impunity, dropping buildings and watching the island grow, as in games like SimCity.
PopTop has beautifully adapted its Railroad Tycoon II engine to the sun-drenched environs of a Caribbean banana republic. The 2D graphics will look familiar to Railroad Tycoon II fans, as they feature the same sorts of gently sloping hills, rich colors, intricate artwork, and that unmistakable copperplate font for map labels. But this time around, there are thick swathes of tropical jungle and a bustling town full of animated people. This level of detail is what's most amazing about the transformation from Railroad Tycoon II. All the while, a relaxing Caribbean soundtrack blows through Tropico like a cool sea breeze; it's every bit as good as Railroad Tycoon II's rich bluegrass soundtrack. Tropico has as much character and personality as in the extremely successful RollerCoaster Tycoon.
The main problem in Tropico is its inconsistent interface. Considering the amount of detail, it's a wonder it's not more difficult to navigate. It's a mouse-intensive game that could have greatly benefited from more keyboard hotkeys. The game's interface squanders the right mouse button for map scrolling. A comprehensive almanac offers a wealth of detail but sometimes buries this detail one or two screens too deep. Some alerts are in the form of letters, but some are only voice-over warnings with no corresponding visual cue. One of the biggest interface blunders is that you're forced to make a choice about crucial elections before you can access important polling information. Furthermore, building placement tends to be more of an art than a science, particularly when you've exhausted your flat land and you have to take to the hills to expand. With no indication of how much flattening will have to be done when you put a building on a slope, you can inadvertently spend 10 years building a simple house.
Although the game's random-scenario generator has a lot of flexibility, the eight scenarios that ship with Tropico are particularly disappointing for their lack of interesting scripting. Also, since there's no included scenario or map editor, Tropico's longevity relies exclusively on its random scenarios. However, the random scenarios would have been more satisfying had they given a better sense of accomplishment after playing. As it is, you get a verbal briefing of your performance and a high score on a list. There's no record of what sort of scenario it was, who your dictator was, or how your people felt about you when it was all over. Tropico is steeped in detail, so it's a bit of a shame to see it all fall away when the game ends.
The social framework in Tropico is complex and interesting.
All the information available in Tropico about your economy, your citizens, and your society as a whole is a welcome change from games that insist on running things under the hood. The thorough documentation leaves very few questions unanswered. When you hold the mouse over a piece of information, an excellent in-game help system spells out how it relates to the game's mechanics. The numbers and graphs are all there at your fingertips, but they're not overbearing. Tropico is as complex as you want it to be.
After an experiment as bold as Lionhead Studios' recent Black & White, Tropico is exactly what strategy gaming needs: a reminder that a game doesn't necessarily have to be weird, inscrutable, or unconventional to be great--it can get by on charm, broad appeal, and sophistication. Most everyone will find that Tropico is a real pleasure to play because of these qualities.
