Tropico 3. Where do I begin? Well, how about the fact that the 360 version of this game was released on Friday the Thirteenth. Or was it? Apparently whilst that was the official release date, stores didn’t know, and even those that did couldn’t get any stock. A week later, some retailers had caught up, with GAME now able to sell the game for the bargain price of £21.99. Fantastic, you might think, but it wasn’t to be… After only a few days the game was pulled from shelves due to some kind of internet pricing mix up before being relaunched at £29.99. Throughout this entire furor, I made enquiries at Tesco, Sainsburys, Blockbuster and Gamestation who all politely informed me that no such game existed. In fact on one late night trip to ASDA, and following my polite enquiry for him to ‘Search the system’ one shop assistant actually looked at me like he thought I was some kind of shuffling, muttering vagrant that had wiped a bogey on his coffee cup before handing it back to him. I actually began to question myself, thinking I must be speaking in tongues.

Protracted intro aside, Tropico 3 has now been delivered and in my posession for a few weeks. Seeing as I have mentioned all those who failed so miserably, I might as well point out that ShopTo were the only company who came through in the end. Bravo. It’s ironic though that it didn’t take long for me to realise the startling similarities between the kinds of thing that happen in Tropico 3, and the kinds of thing that must happen in Kalypso Media’s marketing and distribution departments. One of the first political plot lines allows the player to sign an exclusive supply deal with a large American fruit company, in exchange for a large donation to his own Swiss Bank Account. I can’t help but feel that maybe…

Just maybe, one of the guys who should have called all of the large retailers and told them that Tropico 3 was due for release, in the hopes perhaps, that they might buy some, simply took a padded envelope full of cash and conveniently forgot what he was supposed to do for a week or two… I have to admit, the idea is a little far fetched, but I suppose it’s only as likely as the alternative, which is that all the trucks leaving Kalypso’s UK distribution centre vanished for a while, almost as though they had entered the Bermuda triangle, simply turning up again a week later with slightly confused drivers…

Deja Vu? Protracted Intro aside, this time I will begin… Clearly, someone at Kalypso does know what they are doing. In fact, they have strived (probably against all odds) to create a finely balanced, interesting, and ultimately extremely playable Strategy/Management Sim. Whilst it’s true that consoles are stretched to the very extremes of their power/control capabilities by most Real Time Strategy games, Tropico 3 proves that with the correct pacing and automated assistance it is possible to do so. Of course the focus here is certainly not around combat, far from it in fact; but on control.

Players take the role of El Presidente, a (generally) revolutionary leader created through the games limited but fun character generation tool who for a variety of reasons depending on the scenario, finds himself leading a small ‘Banana Republic’ island in the Caribbean. There are plenty of pre-built Presidente’s to choose from including the likes of Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, General Pinochet and so on, but I personally chose to create my own Pirate styled lunatic, who was (amongst other things) an alchoholic womaniser with tourette’s syndrome. The first sign of the kind of subtle, but valid number crunching going on behind the scenes in Tropico 3 is hinted at here, with each Vice or Virtue chosen for your leader having drastic effects on the nations populace. For example, the womaniser trait means that all female inhabitants of the island have +5% respect for El Presidente, whilst Religious faction members suffer a -10% loss for the same reason. Tourette’s syndrome on the other hand offers no general positive or negative effects, but will cause a random -20% loss of respect from any one of the islands political groups if El Presidente gives an election speech – meaning the player will either choose to become a recluse, or balance the risk and reward of making the speech anyway.

It’s this close and highly personal relationship with the gameworld, its inhabitants and the Presidente Avatar that make Tropico 3 such a pleasure to play, although I should also give a special mention to the Latino music which has a kind of infectious joy that only opium based substances or finding God can normally induce. Presidente is, at all times, present in the game world and can be directed to assist with almost any task from speeding up production and building processes to addressing the public from his balcony. He even participates in armed conflicts, and as the only immediately recognisable island inhabitant it’s impossible not to want to follow him around, just to see what he gets up to in his spare time. Of course, this all makes me sound very sentimental, which to be honest, really won’t get you very far in Tropico 3. Ultimately, its all about building a thriving economy, often (especially early on) at the expense of the layman.

There are actually three kinds of economy in Tropico 3, or in actual fact two that will make any money, although this is to simplify the process unfairly. Essentially then, the local economy consists of taking money from your inhabitants and is rather limited in its scope and ambition. Housing of all kinds (assuming it’s anything other than a shack) will generate a small income, as can restaurants, pubs and later in the game Newspapers, Radio Stations and Television shows.

Unfortunately, housing and basic entertainment generates so little money you won’t even notice, and by the time you can build a Newspaper (and certainly Radio or TV stations which require a Power Plant) you will probably be so rich you won’t care about making a few extra dollars from your people. No, the big money comes from either America or the USSR (That’s what we called Russia in the olden days kiddies) in the form of Tourism or Exports. The process which takes basic resources from Agricultural or Livestock Farming, Mining, Harvesting etc through Industry and finally on to Production and ultimately Export is greatly simplified by Tropico 3 to avoid either repetition or micromanagement.

Initially, players will inevitably be limited to basic structures such as Lumber Mills, Farms, Ranches and possibly Mines. As workers produce goods within these structures, more workers known as Teamsters move in to collect them and move them either directly to the dock for export, or to the next structure in the production tier. Logs, for example can be sold as they fall, but in order to capitalise on the yield, players can also build a lumber mill which will refine the logs into planks, and later, a Furniture Factory can be built which as you might expect, produces small, intricately carved X-Men figurines for local children to play with. Yes, that’s a lie.

As I’ve said, this process is more or less entirely free of boring tasks or needless micromanagement, it simply happens. The enjoyable part of this process is the sheer number of options available and the wealth of upgrades which can be applied to each end to end process. It’s all well and good building loads and loads of logging camps, but if the Teamsters don’t have a Garage with which they can service their cars, the infrastructure will soon buckle under the weight of all those logs. What about the resource itself? Logs are certainly a finite resource and without Selective Harvesting and Planting programs, Tropico will soon run out. Fish, Iron, Gold, Bauxite and Oil resources will also soon dry up if not managed effectively, whilst certain plants and animals won’t grow in all environments.

Tourism is the second ‘most likely’ way to make money in Tropico, with some islands lending their geographical layout nicely towards a secluded sandy beach, or a breathtaking mountain vista littered with Ancient Ruins, ripe for conversion into money-making museums. For me, a minor letdown, the Tourism elements of Tropico rarely expands beyond placing a few appropriate buildings next to an Airport or Tourist Quay and letting them get on with it. Tactically, I always placed my Hotels, Swimming Pools, Casinos, Fancy Restaurants etc well away from any Industrial or Residential areas, but it still feels a little too ‘easy.’

Perhaps I had created a beautiful, utopian environment for the Yanks and Ruskies at first, but as all tourist buildings also require staff, it wasn’t long before shacks were popping up nearby and ugly tenement buildings were needed to replace them. This leads to food providing structures and in turn, medicine etc, and before long you will have a pretty ugly series of buildings to support the locals, dangerously close to the Hotels and Pools etc. Or so you would think… But as far as I can tell, the Tourists couldn’t give a toss how many urchins litter the streets around them, they are perfectly content as long as they have their Beer and Sombrero’s.

Despite that minor annoyance, choosing the correct short, medium and long term strategies are important in Tropico 3, with very few maps allowing the player to rely on a previously used tactic for guaranteed income. This is compounded by the fact that whilst all this lovely Resource Gathering and Industry happens, citizens also need to eat, sleep, play and have their personal and political ambitions met. A fundamental part of being successful in Tropico 3 is keeping the populace happy, or rather, keeping them content enough not to rebel! Everyone on the island aspires to one of seven political factions and due to the diverse and often conflicting views of these folk, it’s a challenging balancing act to please everyone. Another significant feature of Tropico 3 is the need to address whatever political plotline has been woven into the twenty-five or so in game years of Presidente’s rule.

Some islands, for example, have fiercely Nationalistic inhabitants, and whilst the need for skilled foreign workers is dire, the consequences of employing a lenient Immigration Policy may quickly lead to unrest and ultimately rebellion. Other islands deal with the issues of foreign interference, with local parties acting as a front for companies within the US or USSR. Choosing between polar rivals is often difficult, and it’s even more challenging to remain entirely independent and having to juggle preventing the foreign powers from invading the island with rebutting their ludicrous demands. There are plenty of other enforced scenarios, such as islands with almost no natural resources, a generally high level of rebellious malcontent, or an uncommon likelihood of Earthquakes and so on and whilst each offers it’s own challenge, they are rarely so rigid as to stifle innovation or variety.

In addition, the game offers a range of Sandbox type features such as slight randomization of resources, altitude etc to ensure some replayability, and the Objectives found here are also generally tougher and have much smaller timeframes than those of the main Campaign. Regardless, some fifty or so maps, plus random content, and a directive for each one (so your never left floating about aimlessly) make for a hefty slice of Strategy gaming. On the 360, the graphics are detailed, and whilst not especially crisp or high res, do the job perfectly well and zooming in or out of the action is smooth, fluid and easily managed on the control pad. Buttons are mapped reasonably well and whilst not entirely intuitive, do the job. One helpful feature of the console version is that when moving from one menu to the next, it’s impossible to accidentally skip or select something you didn’t want due to being trigger happy, it’s a minor thought, but valuable.

It’s true that Tropico 3 almost never relies on rapid action. For instance, in the event of a rebellion, if you weren’t prepared before it happened, you won’t be able to change that once it’s happening… There is no option to rapidly deploy troops or to take control of El Presidente, zooming into a Latin American version of Modern Warfare 2 and turning him into a one man killing machine. This isn’t a flaw though, it’s designed into the game. Tropico 3 is meant to be played with a cold glass of Cerveza in one hand and the pad or mouse in the other and preparation as they say, prevents piss poor performance!

Pros
Rich, Detailed Resource/People Management (For a 360 game)
Humorous Gameplay
Creative Plotlines
Hours of Fun

Cons
Fairly light Resource/People Management (For a PC game)
Lacks Tactical Depth
Occasionally Buggy
Somewhat limited replay value

Final Verdict
As a 360 game, Tropico 3 shines as an example of how to produce an accessible, enjoyable and heartwarming Resource Management game. On the PC, it’s more enjoyable for its humour and good-natured approach to the genre than it’s technical achievements, although in both cases the game represents a challenging and hugely playable example of a sometimes turgid and uninteresting Strategy niche subgenre. Assuming that a military coup doesn’t again disrupt the Kalypso Media supply chain, I strongly reccomend that anyone with even a passing interest in the genre or harbouring a secret wish to become the next Pol Pot should pick up a copy of Tropico 3 as it is thoroughly enjoyable in almost every way.

8/10

Matt