Originally published on GameSpy.com

Who knew the isometric viewpoint would be so popular? With half of GOD's current games in development using this angle to immerse gamers in all manner of intrigue, fighting, and strategic decision-making, it's great to see so much actual variation in the games themselves. While Stronghold favors castle simulations, and Kingdom Under Fire chooses to honor StarCraft by, er, copying almost every nuance of it, Tropico can be seen as something truly different. This March, you'll be able to sweep to power without the use of a ballot hole named Chad, tedious legal wrangling, or indeed any sort of democratic policies whatsoever. No, Tropico journeys back to the 1950s, and grants you an island paradise of your very own to rule over for 20 years. Think of this as a GODsend for the armchair dictator. No pun intended, of course.

A Despot In The Sun -- Choosing Your Ruler's Foibles

Before starting a campaign, or the various factors that help determine a randomly generated island paradise, there's a (usually mustachioed) ruler to pick, from numerous photographs, and all with a "one bad hombre" look about them. After your tanned monarch avatar is chosen, his attributes are then picked. As these leaders can be kicked out of power at any time, and by numerous means (such as a military coup, or successful guerilla attacks from the forests), it is wise to choose attributes carefully, as every fine distinction affects the opinion of your island's inhabitants.

As there's a significant effect on the game achieved by just choosing how mentally stable your ruler is, you'd better be careful just how madcap his mannerisms are. The attributes are split up into a number of different mental states, such as "qualities" and "flaws," because, hey, nobody's perfect -- not even a white-suited baron with a superiority complex. So, whether your leader is "charismatic," "incorruptible," "moronic," or a "religious zealot," there's some psychologically damaging quality that can turn an sunny paradise into a place of tropical terror at the wave of a crazed ruler's diamond-encrusted hand.

Feeling And Feeding The Latino Heat - Populating Your Paradise

Tropico's main premise is to influence, and not control, your island's inhabitants. With a deformable landscape (the game uses a modified version of the Railroad Tycoon engine), and camera zooming to view anything from a small shanty home to the entire island itself, this is achieved by looking at what serves your own best interests while still keeping the poor subsistence farmers and other minimal wage workers from lynching you in your luxurious palatial residence. Which, as you'd expect, can be extremely tricky, especially as there's 46 different characters and 35 different occupations for your inhabitants to choose from.

One way to keep your country ticking is by continuously releasing edicts. These policy changes influence both the people, and the two superpowers (the USSR and the USA) that continuously offer trade relations and other help. Down at a grass roots level, each individual on the island has a Theme Park thought bubble attached to their heads, where you can gauge how happy they are ("Come what may, I just don't see myself joining a revolt"), whether they're off to market ("I'm going to get some sleep"), or heading for the hills to join a bandana-wearing group of revolutionaries. Also available at the tap of a button are notes on each individual's family, political leanings, and other highly personal information. And as an individual's family grows, a worker's offspring will vent their frustrations out to anyone who'll listen. Can you continue a reign and appease generations of workers? You'll be taking part in a massive voyeuristic simulation into the bargain.

Of course, as any politician knows, the best way to influence a population, not made up of Oliver Stone clones, is to force-feed propaganda to appease the people while the real sleaze goes undetected. Set up a worker's newspaper factory, and you bring new jobs, economy, and the ability to influence residents easily. Then the farmers, which slave away creating crops to export to the USA or Russia, will feel less like rebelling. Of course, with the military, that's a different story.

Ravaging The Political Landscape - Slash And Burn, Or Gun And Run!

With grass roots politics (that is, checking up on random workers to gauge their contentment) being almost as important as massive wide-reaching policies, there are also real grass roots to worry about. Even the clouds play a part in the game, with grasslands and even clothing distribution dependant on weather patterns. This also influences where crops should be grown (choose wisely, and over 15 farms can be managed), where to place that hotel, where minerals or logging should occur, and where fat American tourists decide to spend their time once that new airport is built.

Unfortunately, that new airport may be being built in an environmentally sensitive area of the island, and sometimes, successful dictators become victims of their own success. Is your island economy doing well? Then you'll probably see boatloads of immigrants washing up on your shores -- and the native population won't like that. As well as those minions to worry about, there's the correct place to put your market place, cigar factory, and the 58 other buildings to erect and upgrade.

White Lines Don't Do It -- Drug Trafficking Jammed In Tropico

Hold on, did we say cigar factory? Yes, but that's the closest Tropico is prepared to go in terms of narcotics plants -- don't expect to see white powder factories and helicopters full of Russian dealers descending into a remote hillside to sample the goods. The closest you'll get to the more risqué side of banana republics are the "showgirls" that walk the streets pretending not to be prostitutes. All the while, as a cathedral is constructed, vacationing Americans descend from the skies despite the recent civil unrest, and your Swiss bank account grows fatter at the expense of the honest worker.

Whether you're seeking to create a new island nirvana, or you want to take on the religious machinations of a crazy loon intent on creating Sim Jonestown, Tropico looks to be a thoroughly entertaining single-player tin-pot dictator simulation. Budding Saddam Hussains, take note.

By David "Sothoth" Hodgson