$9.99Tropico 3 Your island, your rules
Build a Caribbean nation from a banana republic into a power to be reckoned with, one rigged election at a time.
Is Tropico 3 worth it?
Tropico 3 is worth it if…
- you like city builders where politics and satire matter as much as the economy
- you want to try being a benevolent reformer one run and a ruthless tyrant the next
- you enjoy juggling factions, elections and two superpowers at once
- you like games with a strong sense of humor and a great period soundtrack
- you want a sandbox or a 15-mission campaign, plus random maps for endless new islands
Screenshots
Staying in power, by any means
Tropico 3 is a city builder with a twist: the city is yours, but so is the politics. Every Tropican has a life, a family and political views, and factions with their own agendas want things from you. Communists want housing, capitalists want profits, the church and the military have their own demands. You can charm, persuade, intimidate, oppress or cheat to keep your grip. When elections come, make promises to the electorate or slander your rivals for the crucial votes. Then give a speech in person: your avatar takes the podium, and what you say decides whether the crowd cheers or turns.
A Cold War playground
Your island sits between two superpowers, and both want influence. Play the USA and the USSR against each other for aid and trade, or pick a side and live with the consequences. At home, you choose what kind of state to run: a tourist paradise on the beach or an industrial power of factories and exports. The satire is the point. It is a tongue-in-cheek take on third world politics, corruption and totalitarian regimes, complete with a stylised soundtrack and an ironic radio DJ commenting on your rule. The humor runs deep enough that the politics stay funny even when they get sharp.
Building your banana republic
Under the politics sits a proper island builder. You lay out roads, place farms, housing, factories and tourist attractions, and manage food, raw materials and exports as the population grows. It is detailed at ground level too: vehicles drive your roads and each citizen goes about their own life. Your avatar can walk the streets to congratulate the people, or just sun-bathe on the Caribbean beach while the island hums along. Because there is no quick build, construction takes its time, which pushes you toward shortcuts of the corrupt kind. A very presidential excuse.
Can you play it your way?
Can you play beyond the campaign?
Yes. There is a sandbox mode, and a random map generator builds a fresh island whenever you want one. A timeline editor is also included. Between the campaign's 15 missions, sandbox islands and randomized maps, each regime you run can be a different experiment: tourist paradise, industrial state, or open tyranny.
Can you play with other people?
There is multiplayer, and one of its tricks fits the theme: you can visit the island of another player and see how their dictatorship compares to yours. The rest of the game is singleplayer, so the campaign and sandbox are entirely yours to rule.
Who is El Presidente, exactly?
Whoever you make them. Your avatar is customizable, with traits you pick shaping how your rule plays out, and the avatar is under your direct control: send them to give election speeches, congratulate the people, or lounge on the beach. How you lead, generous or iron-fisted, is a choice the game keeps offering you.
