The player can choose a single economy type or mix and match. Basic raw materials can be produced, including logs, ores such as gold or iron, farming products such as coffee or sugar, oil, or fish. Raw materials can in many cases be processed into higher grade items: e.g. logs into timber into furniture, gold into jewelry, sugar into rum, or tobacco into cigars. Tropico 4 adds some new industries such as weapons and chemical manufacturing. There are many examples of this, and new to Tropico 4 players may import raw goods for manufacturing a substantial change. Players may also develop a tourism industry, which is always fun and provides constant income.
As players manage their economy they must also feed (the marketplace actually works now!), educate, entertain, and police their citizens. This sometimes connects directly to the economy: farm goods can be consumed or sold, and educated citizens are required to operate more advanced industry. Various interest groups compete for attention the religious faction may want churches, communists want more apartments, and the military faction may want more soldiers but you may not be able to afford all of the above right away. If you have too many unhappy citizens it will lead to higher numbers of rebels, which you can fend off by building lots of soldiers or just appeasing your citizens. It sounds complicated, but it is easy to learn.
You also have an avatar, which you can use to shorten construction times or help in fights. New to Tropico 4 you develop and level up your character attributes rather than just picking them. For example, Level one administrator gives you +2% to commodity prices (along these lines anyway), if you complete a mission with it, you will have +4%. Maximum of 5 levels.
The biggest potential problem with a game like this is the controls. Tropico has been moderately successful because their controls actually work pretty well it could be quite a bit more successful, but I think the broader Xbox 360 community simply assumes that games of this type simply don't work for the Xbox. Yet menus are surprisingly intuitive, and managing your city proves quite doable. [The Tropico 3 menus were somewhat easier I preferred using the bumpers to switch between building types; in Tropico 4, you use the stick for both the type of building and the individual building. Using two different buttons somehow made the menus easier in Tropico 3. Yet it is perfectly manageable.]
This game does suffer some programming issues. I have not had a city crash on me, but I have had it get choppy after playing for a few hours. I have the most recent Xbox and installed the game, so I do not think it is Xbox's fault. Graphically this game features more Hawaii-like weather, with more rain and varied weather. It is very pretty, and makes you appreciate the sun. There are some new disasters which are quite visually attractive. The tone of the game is always playful and never takes itself too seriously the unique, parody-like feel of Tropico is one of its hallmarks.
This game is a step up from Tropico 3. Graphics are better and gameplay is more varied and with more options, but I do wish that there were some more substantial additions to gameplay. Imports change the game the most, and the maps are generally more spacious, but I'd have liked to see a deeper international relations and trade system, or perhaps more varied maps with the option to connect multiple islands together on the same map with bridges or ferries (think Venice or Indonesia like layout). Perhaps they could have added a more serious health system requiring management of different tropical diseases. Something to distinguish it more from Tropico 3. Yet too many changes and perhaps I would be complaining that it is too different (I loved Tropico 3!). The game already has just enough complexity to make it manageable too much more and it might just be too much.
This game would sell better if it wasn't released in such a difficult season (think Skyrim, G of W 3, MW3, Bfld 3, Rage, etc. -all released around the same time). Yet I do not believe it has gotten the attention it deserves. I am a bit of a nerd and have bought all of the new releases for this gaming season; I sell back the ones I don't like after playing them for a while. I will be hanging on to Tropico 4.
EDIT 6/23/12
Tropico 4 has a fair amount of DLC, most of it only fine, but recently a rather large DLC called "Modern Times" was released for 1200 MS points. This expansion is one of the best DLCs available for the price for any game. Offering a new campaign, spanning 12 full size missions, and adding lots of new buildings, "Modern Times" has gotten me back into Tropico 4. Some buildings are entirely new like the SWAT team building or the new 7-Star Hotel, others replace the old buildings like the modern apartment building or the organic ranch. Each alter game play, and makes the game feel brand new. The population limit has been raised, and larger populations are much easier to manage with the new buildings. One scene had me watching the fireworks from "National Day" over new office buildings and skyscrapers, while dozens of balloons floated in when I enacted the brand new "balloon day" edict. It is well worth the money, and makes Tropico 4 feel like a true sequel to Tropico 3.
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I was a big fan of Tropico 3, while it took a while to learn and was a little 'convoluted' in some of the controls. This version is much like Tropico 3, but it seems like they have improved on some of the control issues and made it much easier to learn with a very useful tutorial. Over all, it hasn't changed that much since the last version but it is still very enjoyable. If you have not played older versions, then it may still take a while to catch on, but I find it addicting. I bought this out right because I knew I would like itbut if you have never played before it is certainly worth (at least) a rent before you buy.Best Deals for Tropico 4
I am a big fan of Tropico 3 and spent many many hours playing it. Tropico 4 is virtually Tropico 3 with a large overhaul. The game is in HD, so the graphics are better. Most all of the buildings from Tropico 3 are in Tropico 4, but there are a lot of new ones, including the buildings that was on the computer expansion pack from Tropico 3 that never came out for the console version. Tropico 4 has a lot more government needs that will keep you busy through out your play time. The game is also more user friendly compared to Tropico 3. Some times the fine print is still hard to read but it has gotten better. If you like city building games then Tropico 4 is a great buy.Honest reviews on Tropico 4
It's long been a figure of our imagination to create things to our liking. From stacking countless Lego bricks to make your own personal metropolis, to digital animation used today; or you could choose to avoid the building process entirely and become an el presidente and terrorize the citizens of Tropico Island. The options are up to you for what you want to create.Tropico 4 by Haeminot Games has never been one to fool an audience. Tropico is real time simulator, which barrows many elements from Sim City, but brings many elements that aren't found in genre and help make it what it is today. One of the things that your easily going to like about the game is you are not invisible. Unlike other games, the citizens of Tropico Island dearly note your actions. If you end up acting like Fidel Castro, the citizens on the island will start a revolution (VIVA LA REVOULTION). Sooner or later, your military will have to suppress the uprising or else the citizen will over throw you from government.
When I first started playing Tropico 4, I killed every protester, let in ever immigrant and didn't supply enough housing for my citizens. Fast-forwarding three years in my el presidente term, my days were numbered with every citizen on the island trying to gun me down. It's these moments that make the series stand out because your actions have deep ramifications and help create a unique experience for yourself. My only gripe with this is I wish this was expanded on in the in the Modern Times expansion.
Tropico 4 finally welcomes it's self into the 21st century with the latest expansion called Modern Times and with that comes the latest goodies. New building, taller landmarks and a more traditional look that make cities resemble with what you are currently living in. If you think it was impressive how Tom Cruise scaled the tallest tower in the world in Dubai, then it's easily to do so (if you have the money of course) to create your own 21st century empire. Along with updated buildings, real time simulator fans will greatly appreciate the curved roads options to adequately customize your city. All together however, the look just feels like fancy re skin. Don't get me wrong, modern times gives the player more options from the outset and I love what it brings to the table, but the expansion fails to fix problem found in the original game.
The presentation values in Tropico 4: Modern Times are one of the biggest disappointments about the game. Either it's the Xbox 360 or the game it's self, the regardless of amount of time you spent ruling the city as el presidente. Tropico 4 fails to create a living breathing city, even though it dose a lot of things right with customizable buildings, eco friendly options and etc, but it miss a crucial part.
Citizens on Tropico Island won't appear on screen, even though you have a huge population in your city. Now to a certain extent the game dose do this, with the citizen's frequently revolting and sparking revolutions on the island, but it's still very few and far between. I wanted to see my citizens in my town crowded together, or see mass traffic jams due to the amount people on the island. For this reason alone, I felt kicked back from the experience and never was fully immersed.
Besides personal problems, the user interface on the Xbox 360 is still behind where it should be. Organize and micromanaging your city can be troublesome and frankly a pain to create your city to your liking. Rotating objects isn't as automatic as it should be, but it's still doable none else. What is going annoy most players is the of lack on screen guidance. Placing a farm in the right area can be a difficult for some because it doesn't explain what you should be aiming for and what to avoid. Now the game dose have a great tutorial system, but outside the tutorial system the game fails to teach you the proper success.
Modern Times is a good addition to the Tropico series, but the expansion still has the same mistakes. It's great that the Tropico 4 made the jump to the 21st century, but it's almost to little to late at this point. When you start digging and finding out what the expansion is all about. You will still see a game that has great potential, but is squandered by mistakes.
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Sometimes the sequels to games are not as good as the original. This is not the case with Tropico 4. I played Tropico on my PC. Missed 2 and 3, when a good sale came up I discovered this for the Xbox, and now fight with the kids for time on the Xbox! The first reviewer did a great job of summarizing what you have to do which is basically build an island, economy, people, housing, industry, transportation, and government. The graphics are great IMO. I love SIM games so this is right up my alley. My kids don't seem too interested, but my son is more the "shooter games" type, and my daughter is really not into games at all.So for this 40 year old kid at heart I say go for it and enjoy that Xbox, not just for kids anymore thanks to Tropico 4!
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