Written by: Mark

 

 

 

"Tropico 4" is the latest in the successful multi platform management and construction game franchise from Kalypso Media. The fourth instalment is packed with a story driven campaign featuring twenty missions, ten new and much bigger maps along many new inclusions from previous games in the series.

 

Questions still remain as to whether these new inclusions warrant enough to purchase the game or whether this one is just one step too far.

 

 

The main objective of Tropico 4 is to take on the role of a dictator named El Presidente who is responsible for all aspects of controlling your own island and making decisions which can either be for the benefit of the inhabitants or leading in an evil manner leaving massive destruction along the way.

 

At the start of the game players are given the choice of an impressive array of famous historical characters to choose as their avatar or you may design your own. Whilst this is a neat touch it does not have any noticeable bearing on gameplay and this is where the real depth in the game lies.

 

 

 

The first impressive touch with Tropico 4 is the sheer openness of the island under your control which certainly gives ample space for development of an equally impressive number of buildings and landmarks. These are broken up into a number of sectors which offer a wide range from the customary housing, schools and factories to the more ambitious new inclusions of attractions such as shopping malls, aqua parks, stock exchanges and more which gives more variety and options to raise capital from other games in the series.

 

As you start the game you are given limited funds at your disposal to use as you wish. This can be used to build anything that you can afford and this gives the game more flexibility with how you can approach things. Alternatively you can stick to the missions which are given to you as you play. These start with the basics of building homes, improving health care by building and managing clinics and developing farms then progress to the much more challenging tasks of controlling industry and importing and exporting goods to and from the island.

 

I personally approached proceedings by sticking to the missions which more along at a steady pace at first but become a little tedious after you have completed the first few. At this point I felt the need to turn things on its head by doing things my own way which I found to be much more enjoyable. Thankfully the game speed can be altered to suit and more often than not I left it set on a faster speed to make things happen quicker. This helps to take away the tediousness a little but can also detract from the essential things such as finances and building upkeep.

 

One needs to be aware that whichever way you approach Tropico 4 it is all about making money. This can be done in numerous ways and it is up to the players to decide how best to achieve this by building attractions and factories or by building more houses and controlling price of rent. When I first took a detour from the set missions I soon found that this is where the real challenge comes from especially when natural disasters hit and you are forced to rebuild on a smaller budget or by receiving some foreign aid.

 

 

I am not knocking the concept of Tropico 4 as it is a very deep and time consuming game which for fans of games such as Sim City will undoubtedly be a huge success. However, the more casual gamers may be put off by the very in depth gameplay on offer which will certainly represent good value for money for anyone who has the time to put into the impressive amount of content in the package.