El Presidente is making his return to the sunny beaches of Tropico in the latest release from Kalypso Media, Tropico 4. Tropico 4 isn’t a far departure from the last version of the game. And while the changes might not be as groundbreaking this time, the additions and tweaks are q welcomed sight. Fans of the series will feel right at home controlling all aspects of their tropical island paradise, from building an economy, juggling third world politics to entertaining tourists. The heart of Tropico hasn’t changed and remains strong.
Tropoico 4 doesn’t see a major change from 3′s gameplay. As El Presidente you play 20 missions on 20 different islands. You have an overall goal that varies from mission to mission, just like in Tropico 3. However this time around as your adventure unfolds you’ll be presented with MANY sub missions throughout. This new system on “mini-missions” really keep you going while you try to hit your main goal for the island. And they are very welcomed since this time around the missions seem to be much longer than in Tropico 3, as you’ll find yourself spending a solid 2+ hours just working to complete one scenario.
The gameplay is relatively the same, build farms, build clinics, and build lots of housing. There are a few new buildings that you can buy, but the biggest change is how and when these structures become available to you. First off the more advanced buildings will require you to buy a blueprint, and some even require you to have the correct government minister in your cabinet. The ministry is one of the new buildings, and once built you’ll be able to hire ministers for such things as defense, and the interior. These ministers not only allow you to build certain buildings but also allow you to purchase the edicts that fall under their department. The addition of the ministers adds a nice new layer to the governmental aspects of the game.
Another new gameplay addition is the option to import goods. For instance you can build a cigar factory and now grow tobacco, instead you can have the tobacco imported. Like the ministry this adds a neat little layer to the economics of your island. The other new addition is the new disasters. You’ll experience it all, tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, volcanoes and more. And unlike Tropico 3 once the disaster has passed you can easily rebuild and/or repair any destruction, no need to remember what that pile of rumble was. While the overall gameplay didn’t change much, the few changes made are nice, they add some depth to the game and they make it a little more challenging and a little more realistic. Kaylpso was smart in not fixing things in the game that weren’t broken, but I still would have liked some more content, newer building types for example.
Tropico 4 remains gorgeous looking on the graphics front. Again not much has changed, at most some tweaked lighting and particle effects, and the colors seem to pop a little more. But the game still looks very good on the PC. The sounds of Tropico have been sightly changed, most notably DJ Junito is no more. So you won’t be getting the constant quippy lines as you play. Though there is now a whole host of new people from your island that will pop-up and give you advice and sub-missions. The tropical soundtrack remains the same, which is always great after a long day of work.
I got hooked on Tropico 3, and Tropico 4 continues to feed my addiction to the island builder. I like all the changes made, while not exactly the big changes we saw arrive with Tropico 3, they are welcomed and they further enhance the series. The only downside is that Tropico 4 is pretty much the same game as Tropico 3. Yes there as changes, and yes there are a few new things to the game and it’s mechanics but it feels a little more like DLC then a new and improved game. Don’t get me wrong it’s still a blast to play and one of my favorite city builders out there. If you didn’t take the dive into Tropico 3, then this is a solid buy for you.
A copy of Tropico 4 for PC was provided to us for this review from Kalypso.
