tropico 5 – review

8/11/2019 Tropico 5 Review

1/6


2/6

Alongtheway,acolourful,hammycastwilltossyoutasks,mostofwhichareoptionalbutwhich

helpyoudevelopyourdominionandachieveyouroverallgoalforthecampaign,whetheritisto

declare independenceand cut tieswith theCrown forever,oramassmore cash in yourSwiss

accountthanScroogeMcDuckcouldeverhopetohave.Startingwithonlyahandfulofbuildings,

rawresourcesmustbeharvestedormined,researchundertaken,andhomesandjobsprovided

for your people. This being a typical management game,juggling and balance are forever a

challenge, as one area invariably gets neglectedwhile you pour cash into othermore needy

projects.Whileyouarebusyfulfillingyourcitizensdesiresforentertainmentbydroppingdowna

handfulof tavernsand restaurants,piratesorothernationsmaywellbe invading your shores

because you ran out of cash for guard towers or forgot to research army bases.

Thegameprogressesataleisurelypace,with

plentyofhelpgiventodelaytimepressureendgoalswhileyouresearchnewtechnology, issue

edicts,anddraftconstitutions.Rawresourcescanbeusedortraded,and,slowlybutsurely,your

economyandcitybegintogrow.Withmoreresearchandtheoccasionalboostfromalliesinreturn

forcompletingtasks,morebuildingsandoptionsopenup,allowinggreaterdepthandcomplexity,

givingyoumoretojuggle.Traderoutesmustbemaintained,industrycrankedintogearinorderto

produceluxurygoods,andtheincreasingneedsofcitizensmet.Italwaysfeelslikeyouarerunning

tocatchupassoonasyouthrowcheaphousesup,youhavetoworkonpublicservicesand

entertainmentbefore

your

approval

rating

dips

(with

elections

around

the

corner,

this

is

never

a

goodthing).Butthatsapositivenoonewantstositaroundtwiddlingtheirthumbs,havingmet

everychallenge,achievedtheperfecthappinessrating,andamassedasillyamountofcash.The

gameisbalancedenoughtoneverreallybeoverwhelming,anddespitethefeelingthatyoullnever

gettothelistofthingsyouneedorwanttobuildandimprove,thesilly,laidbackatmospherethe

gameoozes isoddly calming.WithTropico5beingas cheesyand cartoonyas it is,with some

welcomehumour, younevertakeanyofittooseriously,whichisabreathoffreshairinagenre

that is often pofaced and drier than a mouthful of Tutankhamen flakes.


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4/6

questionableuse,althoughItooknochancesandpaidforthefewavailableupgradesforguard

towersandbases.Buildenoughmilitarybasesandtowersonyourprimarybeach(nooneseems

tohavefiguredouttoattackfromtheuninhabitedpartsofthe island)andyoullneverhaveto

worry.Amorestrategicelementherewouldhavebeenwelcome(ifnotalargedistractionfrom

morepressingconcerns)butwithcombatbeingasminimalasitis,onecouldspeculatethatthe

developers deemed it unnecessary.

Thelackofcontrolandmanagementwasalsoanissueinotherpartsofthegame,wherecertain

functionsweresimplynotincluded,andnorwassomeusefulinformation.Itsfinetogivefigures

astohowmanyhomelesspeoplethereareonthe island,butwhenyouhaveerectedbuildings

onlytohavenoneofthosepeoplemovein,itisbeyondfrustratinginfact,thehousingissuewas

oneofthebiggestbugbearsIhad,andonewhichIspentmoretimefocussingonthanresearching

abloodynuclearprogram.Moredetailwouldhavebeenhelpful,tosaytheleast,savingmefrom

resorting to trial and error. Whichclass of

peopledonthavehomes?ShouldIbebuildingmansions,houses,orslumtenements?Whatpart

ofthe island isinmostneedofhouses,becausethesightofanoccasionalshack isnorealhelp

whentheyignorethehalfemptybuildingsthatIjustplungedintodebttobuild.Whyarentthose

unemployedtakingthemyriadopenjobsthatareavailable?AmInotpayingenough,dotheylive

too far away, are they allergic to tobacco? Small issues perhaps, but irritating nonetheless as

wastedconstructionhurts thebottom lineandevena fewpoints inhappinesscanaffectyour

approvaland lose youanelectionwhich isan immediategameover.Resourceandbuilding

managementalso lacksomepracticalfunctions.Icouldntclickabuttonandseeallbuildingsof

onetypeataglance,soIdidntknowhowmanytavernsIhadwithoutscanningthemapandtrying


5/6

topickthemoutofthesprawlingurbanmess.Icouldntmassupgradeallguardtowersorbases,

butIcouldmoderniseallapartments.Itwasntaseriousproblem,butthetimeandfaffitcould

havesavedwouldhavebeenappreciated.Resourcesareanotherareawheremore information

andwaystoparseitwouldhavebeenuseful.Ihadnoideawhethermyplantationswereproducing

enoughrawmaterials forthe factoriesandthetraderoutes,orwhethermorerawgoodswere

required in the end I just set up more plantations and hoped for the best.

Thefeelgoodnatureofthegameisundeniable,andisthanks,innosmallpart,tothemerciless,

unrelentingCubanmusic.Asannoyingasitmightgetattimes,especiallywhenavolcanodecides

tovomitalloveryour lovinglycultivatedcity,oratornadoarrivestoruinyourdayandyouare

scramblingtodealwiththeeffects,itmakesithardtoremainpissedoff(especiallyassomegoofy

message from theeveruselessbut faithfulPenultimocanbe reliedupon tograceyour screen

beforelongtoaddsomecheer).Visually,thegamealsopleases,withyourflourishingislandcolony

renderedinprettydetail,fromyourlavishpalacetothetiniest,sadshacksonthecitysoutskirts.

Waterlapsatthebeaches,cropsspringupinneatrows,andcarschargeupanddownyourever

expanding road network, all giving the realistic impression of a vibrant, colourful city. Itwas

interestingandeasyontheeye,andtheoccasionalnaturaldisasterswerealwayswellpresented

andgrudginglyenjoyed.Although,forme, it lackedacertainsparklethat Ijustcouldntputmy

fingeron(nottomentionawiderandmorecharacterfulselectionofbuildings)itcouldbesaidthat,

with its fifth instalment,Tropicois getting long in the beard.However, I found an immersive,

enjoyable time sink,which refused to take itself seriously, andwhich deliveredjust the right

balancebetweenseriousandcasual. Afewissuesandannoyancesaside,gameplaywasabsorbing,

makingit

all

too

easy

to

see

the

hours

slip

away.

What

better

praise

could

there

be?

Pros

Relentlesslyupbeatandcheerful

Cheesycomedyraisesasmileandkeepsthewholethingfromslidingintotheserious

sideofthesandpitwheretherestofthegenregenerallyhangout.

Walksafinelinebetweenshallowanddrowningintermsofdepthofmanagement

Interestingandwellpresentednaturaldisasters

Looksandsoundsgoodnicewater(firstthingIlookat,sorry)

Justonemorehourgameplay,makingitaslytimesink.

Cons


6/6

Playerisessentiallyneuteredduringcombat,unabletodoanythingtocontrolordirect,

andislefttomerelywatch.Achoicewouldhavebeennice.

Afewtweaksandupgradesaside,combatismoreaboutstrengthinnumbersthan

strategy.

Thechoiceofonlytwoislandswasashameabiggerselectionwouldhavebeenmost

welcome

Subjective,perhaps,buttomeagreaternumberofedictsappeareduseless,

hamstringingtheplayertoomuch,orcreatingissuesratherthanbeingofany

conceivableuse.Perhapsmoreusefulfortestingandtorturinginsandboxmode.

Theabilitytomassupgradecertainbuildings,suchasguardtowersandbaseswould

havebeenuseful,especiallyasyoucoulddothis(tosomeextent)withothers.

Moredetailanddepthinbuildingmanagementwouldhavebeenusefulandwouldhave

savedagreatdealoffrustration/trialanderrorwithregardtohomeless/joblesscitizens.

Somethingfeltmissing.Aspark,alittlemorecharacterinthebuildings,awidervariety

ofbuildings...

just,

something.

SummaryCartoony,sillyandgenerallythumbing itsnoseatgenrekinwhotakethemselvestoo

seriously,Tropico 5is an enjoyable, unique experience, presenting an absorbing management

gamethatseemshappyinitsownmerrylittleniche,playingidlywithanucleardetonator.Afew

issueswith the combat andmanagement information aside, the game strikes a goodbalance

betweendizzyinglyindepthandshallowandunsatisfying.Ifthemeasureofagoodgameishow

manyhoursitcaneatbeforeyouretire,blearyeyed,thenTropico5ismorethanuptoscratch.If

youhaveeverwantedtodonsomeaviatorshadesandruleoverasliceofislandparadisethenthis

is the game for you an oddball, beardy blend of management, questionable morals, and

mercilesslyupbeatmusic.

PC Game CD Keys:

EAGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamescdkey.com/publisher/ea.html

RPGGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamescdkey.com/pcgames/rpggame.html

ACTGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamescdkey.com/pcgames/actgame.html

FPSGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamescdkey.com/pcgames/fpsgame.html

Adventure

Games

CD

Key

http://www.gamescdkey.com/pc

games/avg

game.html

RacingGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamescdkey.com/pcgames/racgame.html

SportGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamescdkey.com/pcgames/sptgame.html

FTGGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamescdkey.com/pcgames/ftggame.html

RTSGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamescdkey.com/pcgames/rtsgame.html

SLGGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamescdkey.com/pcgames/slggame.html

tropico 5 – review

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