Tropico 3
Encyclopedia
Tropico 3 is a video game developed by Haemimont Games
and published by Kalypso Media
. Like the previous games in the series, Tropico 3 is a construction and management simulation
game (as well as a political simulation game) with heavy emphasis on city building, and as a sequel to Tropico
, the game attempts to return to the roots of the series, which puts the player into the shoes of "El Presidente" - a dictator governing over an island banana republic
.
As "El Presidente", the player's main duties include managing development on the island, by ordering construction of various resource, industry and service buildings, and determining how these buildings operate. The player can also issue several different "edicts" to influence the island, such as new laws, policies, and diplomatic actions.
There are seven different political factions on the island (eight with the Absolute Power expansion) each with various demands, such as constructing a specific building and issuing a specific edict. Due to the game's Cold War setting, the player will have to manage relations with both the USA and the USSR, who will provide the player with yearly financial aid. Higher relations with a superpower will mean more aid and the possibility of an alliance, low relations will mean less aid and the danger of a superpower influenced coup.
Other features include "a time line editor that allows you to create your own fictitious historical events or enter real ones, custom avatar, political speeches, wide range of editing and modification functions, mission generator for random map creation, variety of online-functions such as high scores or visiting islands belonging to other players and a Latin soundtrack.
The game has a variety of humor elements including running satirical commentary by fictional radio station Tropico News Today, and subtle touches such as liaisons between priests and cabaret girls. The "loading" and "saving" screens have quotes from various dictators, leaders, politicians, and revolutionaries such as Che Guevara
, Fidel Castro
, Vladimir Lenin
, Karl Marx
, John F. Kennedy
, Dwight Eisenhower, Augusto Pinochet
, Nikita Khrushchev
, Leon Trotsky
, Mobutu Sese Seko
, Todor Zhivkov
, Muammar Gaddafi
, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The expansion received an 8/10 on Game Zone, closing with "Absolute Power isn’t a revolution, instead taking the framework laid out by the original game and building on it with new features and a wacky new campaign. The core mechanics are still the same, and the new campaign might be a turn off to sim fans looking for something more grounded and traditional. However, if you were a fan of Tropico 3 and want another reason to step into the role of El Presidente once more, then this is your
chance." Absolute Power was only released on PC.
The expansion pack gives the player a wider selection of edicts such as 'Print money', 'Free housing', 'Delete a Faction' and 'Shoot Juanito' (which involves blowing up Juanito's TNT Radio). These new edicts are called 'Megalomania edicts', for each edict that the player releases they can gain a varying amount of megalomania score that counts at the end of the game. Also there is a new range of buildings, including 'Golden Statue' (in the likeness of 'El Presidente'), 'Garbage dump' and 'Balloon rides'. The Loyalist faction is also introduced; it is composed of the player's most loyal supporters. There is also a second radio DJ named Betty Boom who is head of the resistance movement against el Presidente.
, with an average of 80% on the PC, and 76% on the Xbox 360.
Play magazine called it "a well-designed sim with just the right balance of complexity and micromanagement. It looks good, it sounds good and playing it just might teach you something. How many games can you say that about?"
IT Reviews called the game "a welcome return to the roots with plenty of new features, deep and absorbing levels of gameplay and a healthy dose of humor as you strut your dictatorial stuff."
GameSpot commented that "playing a banana republic dictator in Tropico 3 might not be easy, but it certainly is rewarding."
GameZone's Dakota Grabowski gave the game a 7 out of 10, saying "Containing a 15-mission campaign, short tutorial, sandbox mode and special challenges, Tropico 3 has enough replay value to keep players at bay for more than a month. If that doesn’t satisfy the hunger, players are eligible to jump online and download user-created challenges to overcome. With personalities such as Fidel Castro
and Che Guevara
, Tropico 3 is an educational and entertainment piece that is well-deserving of a few playthroughs by all gamers."
Haemimont Games
Haemimont Games is a Bulgarian video game developer founded in September 1997 and based in Sofia. The company primarily concentrates on producing medieval and ancient history strategy games and has about 50 employees, making it Bulgaria's largest video game developer.-Games:-External links:* * *...
and published by Kalypso Media
Kalypso Media
Kalypso Media is a German video game developer and publisher. Founded in summer 2006 by industry veterans Simon Hellwig and Stefan Marcinek, the company has published and/or developed a number of successful titles such as Sins of a Solar Empire, Ceville, Dungeons, Patrician IV, Tropico 3 and...
. Like the previous games in the series, Tropico 3 is a construction and management simulation
Construction and management simulation
Construction and management simulation is a type of simulation game in which players build, expand or manage fictional communities or projects with limited resources. Strategy video games sometimes incorporate CMS aspects into their game economy, as players must manage resources while expanding...
game (as well as a political simulation game) with heavy emphasis on city building, and as a sequel to Tropico
Tropico
Tropico is a series of construction and management simulation computer games developed by PopTop Software and published by Gathering of Developers in April 2001...
, the game attempts to return to the roots of the series, which puts the player into the shoes of "El Presidente" - a dictator governing over an island banana republic
Banana republic
In political science, the pejorative term Banana Republic denotes a politically unstable country dependent upon limited primary productions , which is ruled by a plutocracy, a small, self-elected, wealthy group who exploit the country by means of a politico-economic oligarchy...
.
Gameplay
Players begin having seized power of the Caribbean island country of Tropico, where they rule as "El Presidente". The game has a campaign with 15 different missions with varying objectives.As "El Presidente", the player's main duties include managing development on the island, by ordering construction of various resource, industry and service buildings, and determining how these buildings operate. The player can also issue several different "edicts" to influence the island, such as new laws, policies, and diplomatic actions.
There are seven different political factions on the island (eight with the Absolute Power expansion) each with various demands, such as constructing a specific building and issuing a specific edict. Due to the game's Cold War setting, the player will have to manage relations with both the USA and the USSR, who will provide the player with yearly financial aid. Higher relations with a superpower will mean more aid and the possibility of an alliance, low relations will mean less aid and the danger of a superpower influenced coup.
Other features include "a time line editor that allows you to create your own fictitious historical events or enter real ones, custom avatar, political speeches, wide range of editing and modification functions, mission generator for random map creation, variety of online-functions such as high scores or visiting islands belonging to other players and a Latin soundtrack.
The game has a variety of humor elements including running satirical commentary by fictional radio station Tropico News Today, and subtle touches such as liaisons between priests and cabaret girls. The "loading" and "saving" screens have quotes from various dictators, leaders, politicians, and revolutionaries such as Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
, Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
, Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
, Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
, John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, Dwight Eisenhower, Augusto Pinochet
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet , was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973...
, Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
, Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
, Mobutu Sese Seko
Mobutu Sese Seko
Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga , commonly known as Mobutu or Mobutu Sese Seko , born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, was the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1997...
, Todor Zhivkov
Todor Zhivkov
Todor Khristov Zhivkov was a communist politician and leader of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from March 4, 1954 until November 10, 1989....
, Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Additions not in the original
- Numerous random world events.
- A transport system allowing citizens to travel by cars.
- Avatar customization and control.
- Election speeches.
- Oil production is available as an industry for educated workers.
- Same-sex marriages and nuclear testingNuclear testingNuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the effectiveness, yield and explosive capability of nuclear weapons. Throughout the twentieth century, most nations that have developed nuclear weapons have tested them...
are available as edicts, with different results and requirements. - New faction: Nationalists, who hate immigration and prefer a dominant Tropican workforce.
- A "vintage mode" for non-rotational 3D visuals.
- Gravel roads (roads with a low speed for countryside of the island)
- Ability to construct a sculpture of El Presidente (the player's avatarAvatar (computing)In computing, an avatar is the graphical representation of the user or the user's alter ego or character. It may take either a three-dimensional form, as in games or virtual worlds, or a two-dimensional form as an icon in Internet forums and other online communities. It can also refer to a text...
) on the island.
Development
Tropico 3 was developed by Haemimont Games for both Xbox 360 and PC. Features include a new 3D game engine and a customizable avatar which you can travel across the island, interacting with the environment and population and the use of cars, trucks and limos. Like the original Tropico, the developers preserved the tongue-in-cheek humor of the game, as well as the basic game-play. In Tropico 3, the issues and problems of the island are explained by Juanito the DJ in humorous ways.Expansions
In March 2010, the expansion pack "Absolute Power" was announced, slated for release in Europe in 2010.The expansion received an 8/10 on Game Zone, closing with "Absolute Power isn’t a revolution, instead taking the framework laid out by the original game and building on it with new features and a wacky new campaign. The core mechanics are still the same, and the new campaign might be a turn off to sim fans looking for something more grounded and traditional. However, if you were a fan of Tropico 3 and want another reason to step into the role of El Presidente once more, then this is your
chance." Absolute Power was only released on PC.
The expansion pack gives the player a wider selection of edicts such as 'Print money', 'Free housing', 'Delete a Faction' and 'Shoot Juanito' (which involves blowing up Juanito's TNT Radio). These new edicts are called 'Megalomania edicts', for each edict that the player releases they can gain a varying amount of megalomania score that counts at the end of the game. Also there is a new range of buildings, including 'Golden Statue' (in the likeness of 'El Presidente'), 'Garbage dump' and 'Balloon rides'. The Loyalist faction is also introduced; it is composed of the player's most loyal supporters. There is also a second radio DJ named Betty Boom who is head of the resistance movement against el Presidente.
Steam Special Edition
The "Steam Special Edition" of Tropico 3 offers two additional maps for the sandbox mode and two additional costumes for the El Presidente avatar editor. The "Steam Special Edition" is only available through Steam. It was released on October 21, 2009, in North America but was originally listed to be released on the later date of October 25, 2009. The international release was on November 14, 2009.Collector Edition
The Collector Edition, for which the content has never been revealed, was available to pre-order only on Amazon sites worldwide; however, on September 30, 2009, Amazon announced this collector edition had been canceled. On September 29, 2010, Kalypso released "Tropico 3: Gold Edition," which includes the Tropico 3, the Absolute Power expansion, and an instructions book.Reception
Tropico 3 received generally favorable reviews at MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, with an average of 80% on the PC, and 76% on the Xbox 360.
Play magazine called it "a well-designed sim with just the right balance of complexity and micromanagement. It looks good, it sounds good and playing it just might teach you something. How many games can you say that about?"
IT Reviews called the game "a welcome return to the roots with plenty of new features, deep and absorbing levels of gameplay and a healthy dose of humor as you strut your dictatorial stuff."
GameSpot commented that "playing a banana republic dictator in Tropico 3 might not be easy, but it certainly is rewarding."
GameZone's Dakota Grabowski gave the game a 7 out of 10, saying "Containing a 15-mission campaign, short tutorial, sandbox mode and special challenges, Tropico 3 has enough replay value to keep players at bay for more than a month. If that doesn’t satisfy the hunger, players are eligible to jump online and download user-created challenges to overcome. With personalities such as Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
and Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
, Tropico 3 is an educational and entertainment piece that is well-deserving of a few playthroughs by all gamers."