Tropico

by Macsoft

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00004ZB7Q
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: July 24, 2001
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #34,357 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Platform: Mac

Amazon.co.uk Review

PopTop Software is responsible for the bestselling Railroad Tycoon management simulation series. Their new game has a much happier name than the story line 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 immortally remembered for--bribe or intimidate the media, skim the top off your island's profits for yourself (an explicit choice of scenario you can make at the beginning), and crush uprisings, rebellions, and invasions.

Although the island is supposed to become full after a population of 500, it's down to your skills--if you can house more without angering the populace into an uprising in protest at living conditions, then this is a choice open to you. 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 customizable 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 disk space and countless hours of slow but sure addiction if you're a sim/God/resource management game addict.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's a review!, August 10, 2001

By 

Eric P. Rodawig (South Dakota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tropico (Mac) (CD-ROM)

With the somewhat sparse selection of Mac games, I pre-ordered Tropico at the same time as I got the Diablo II expansion pack. When Tropico finally came, I installed it and haven't gone back to Diablo II yet.

You start the game by taking control of an island in the Caribbean Sea as "El Presidente" in 1950. Either starting from scratch or choosing a pre-built scenario like in Sim City, you build it up with apartments and tenements, farms and mines, and about 50 other buildings. At the same time, you have to try and appease the communist and capitalist factions on the island, as well as 4 others. If you don't, protesters and rebels might pop up, and U.S. gunboats could even threaten an invasion. Or, you could simply lose the next election, unless, of course, you "re-interpret the ballots".

Tropico has a fairly large learning curve, but there's a good tutorial, the first one in a game I've liked, and an advisor will give you tips as the game progresses. You can just go in and mess around, or look at incredibly detailed charts and check out each individual named character with specific traits and feelings as you become more comfortable with the game. Also, there is no instant gratification for getting money; if you build a farm, for example, you don't get paid until the planted crops grow, are harvested, and carried to the dock. This involves a lot of strategy, and you might spend a year or two in the hole until the tobacco gets sold, and you pop up to $30,000 immediately. The music is also perfect, a great island mix that really sets the mood.

Unfortunately, I can only give it 4 stars, because there are some fairly important things that need to be fixed in a patch. Buildings can't be rotated, bulldozing things isn't instantaneous, I haven't found a way to delete saved games in the program, and a couple other aspects detract from the game. However, they don't cause any major problems, and Tropico remains one of my favorite games that will probably keep me occupied all the way until Civ 3 comes out. Definitely pick this game up, it's well worth your time and money.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely addictive & challenging, September 1, 2001

By 

Shannon D. Moore (San Antonio, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tropico (Mac) (CD-ROM)

I've only had a Mac in my household for a month now (Titanium Powerbook G4 400mhz), and after a week of wishing I had some Mac games to play, I purchased Tropico and Tomb Raider at the same time. I played Tomb Raider a little bit, then popped Tropico into the CD slot, and *hours* later I stopped only because my wrists were complaining! Tropico does have a bit of a learning curve, but trial and error is part of what makes the game so addictive. At the beginning of a new game, you are asked to set certain goals for your island nation -- happiness of the citizens, capital accumulation, democracy and so forth. You also define the personal characteristics of your dictator (you) -- strengths (examples: hard-working, honest, educated) and weaknesses (examples: gambler, dishonest, ugly) and special affiliations with certain groups. I haven't even scratched the surface at using all of the features in the Almanac. Mostly, gamers will find the Lists -> Happiness tab of most use to ensure the citizens are reasonably satisfied with your rule.

I've always been a fan of sims, ever since the original SimCity, and Tropico is by far my favorite. It has all the makings of a classic game, and I don't know if I'll ever get around to playing Tomb Raider now that I've discovered Tropico! I never knew being a dictator was so challenging.

Well, I'm off to check on how my tobacco and papaya crops are growing, while the cheap hotel construction nears completion ... it's too bad it's 1970 and I still haven't brought electric power to my island! ;)

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Your Private Banana Republic, May 14, 2001

By 

Eric C. Erickson "AxelDC" (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tropico (Mac) (CD-ROM)

I played Tropico this past weekend at a friend's house. I was amazed at the depth and the complexity of the game's mechanisms. First of all, the computer resource requirements are quite steep. It took 820 MB of my friend's hard drive. I imagine the Mac version will be just as high.

The game creates a small island nation for you to rule. The complexity of the detail is extraordinary. An entire soil and climatic system is calculated for your island, determining its arability.

Tropico is fun to play, but has a steep learning curve. It seems you never have enough construction workers, and the amount of detail the game provides makes it difficult to assimilate into the basic question of "how am I doing?" It's hard to judge when you should call a new election, build a new building, etc. Part of that problem comes from the manual, which gives some witty comments, and narrative description of the parts of the game, but little specifics to judge how much is enough, and when you need to more or less. This is probably to encourage you to pay an additional..(price)..to get the "strategy guide", which includes the stuff which should have been in the original manual!

The island graphics are beautiful. The music is fantastic and really sets the mood of the game. Since they use MP3s, I plan to use some of the music in my Sims jukebox.

While the game is tough to master, it is fun and deep. If you can get over the steep learning curve, you will really think that you are governing a small island, without the mosquitoes.

2115|R3V307OOMF1LAP;2115|R3RYU2NNXDVXDH;2115|R1FTKSDYNMSPRL;