![]() This of course was just good strategy gameplay, what set Tropico apart from the crowd was its presentation. Long open beaches encouraged tourism, high levels of ore encouraged mining, masses of forests meant lumber was an exploitable resource. The determining factor for which route you took was the lay of the land. Each task had multiple possibilities, for example, the economy could be boosted by exporting raw materials such as iron and wood, selling food from farms, setting up an industrial presence of factories or even encouraging tourism. Playing in the role of El Presidente, players take charge of their small plot of land and are required to manage the economy, international diplomacy, citizen’s welfare and the respect of the people. Just as players would manage a city in Simcity, gamers manage a fledgeling island nation in Tropico. Tropico is at its core a management game. After all, what is funny about a region under constant threat from both the US and the USSR, a region fighting 3 rd world conditions, a location beset by rebel uprisings and coups d’état’s? Enter El Presidente, Penultimo and the world of Tropico to prove that assumption wrong. So you would think the running of a Caribbean Island during the cold war conflict would be a humourless task. Apart from the occasional joke and cute advisor these games played it down the line leaving no room for mirth as you struggled to keep control. Keeping your city/railroad/civilisation running is a serious business. Charts, graphs, numbers and plans don’t lend themselves to humour and charisma. The Sim/Management genre has always tended to be a little stale and lacking in personality. Viva El Presidente: The Plight of the First Likeable Dictator So enjoy this updated and improved version of the life and times of the world’s only likeable dictator. Editor’s Note: This article was originally published over five years ago, but as today is the 20th anniversary of the Tropico franchise, the author thought it would be a good time to bring it out, dust it off and improve it to celebrate the life of El Presidente.
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