Anyone playing Tropico 3? Review incoming!

I couldn't find any threads about this gem of a game, so I figured I'd start one!

If you've been looking for a new SimCity game, and were sorely disappointed by Societies, then Tropico 3 and its expansion, Absolute Power, might be as close as you can find. It lets you be dictator of a tiny Caribbean island, and impose your will however you see fit. It has a realistic economic model, beautiful graphics, and challenging but beatable game scenarios with all sorts of unique objectives.

You can decide on the economic focus of your island - exporting raw goods from mines and farms doesn't bring in much, but it's fast and easy to develop, while processing goods in factories takes more time and an educated workforce, but will bring in much more money when the cargo ship comes into port. You can also set up your island as a tourist destination and advertise to spring breakers or religious pilgrims and charge them for expensive plane tickets, hotels, and attractions.

You can hold elections to let the people know that you are their rightful leader (or "rightful" leader, if they don't know what's good for them and vote for the other guy!), or you can avoid elections altogether, but be prepared to fight off rebellions and coup d'etats!

There's lots to do in this game, and while economic management and micromanagement might not sound exciting, this game has been keeping me up at night more than most high-paced action games ever do.

+ Pros: Complex, realistic economic model; You really feel like a dictator, and there are tons of dictator-y options, as well as more democratic ones if you feel like being nice to your citizens; Lets you get your SimCity fix; Music is fun and fitting; No DRM beyond a simple serial code entry; Addictive up the nose: you will be playing this until the sun rises, and want to keep playing some more.

- Cons: A smattering of minor bugs; Radio DJs get annoying (but mostly after you've been playing the game for hours on end); Micromanagement occasionally leaves you exasperated; Addictive up the nose: you will lose sleep, and your social life will fade away.

And I had to think hard to come up with the cons; they are far outweighed by the pros!

Verdict: If you have ever liked a management-type game, or ever wanted to try one, or are just interested in playing Castro for a while, easily worth the $30 for the base game! Impulse is a nice pain-free way to get it. The expansion adds a few features and fixes some bugs and generally fleshes out the game, as well as adding a new campaign. The total cost for both is only $50, so if you've got the money to buy a new game, buy both! But if you're looking for budget entertainment, you won't be missing a whole lot by just buying the base game.

 

Add the non-invasive DRM measure to your list of plusses.

The game's patches thus far have increased stability significantly, the difficulty is also slightly higher now that soil fertility and crude oil supplies work as intended (i.e. they deplete noticeably with exploitation).

 

I haven't played that game yet but I'm going to.
One "problem" with it is that its advantages are also its disadvantages- I'm gonna have to work on a project soon for a month or so (one of those ASAP type projects) and I don't think starting such a game before the project is finished would be a good idea. Otherwise the project would probably end up as ASAIFTG (As Soon As I Finish The Game)

 

Review updated.