Tropico 5: Complete Collection

It's the same old Tropico, complete with Penultimo, and a "Miss Pineapple" equivalent (Vasquez) that wishes her boyfriend Raoul good luck with his rebel uprising... along with sarky comments about weather and current affairs. The humor is as subtle and catchy as ever. And while my first impressions (of the Kalypso Media version) were that it might misfire, it is absolutely the best of the series, by a long way. It just takes a little... adjusting... to get used to the new format. Because, that's where the old Tropico ends, and this new game starts. This Tropico feels very different, but the truth is, it has "grown up". Become a serious Banana republic simulator, underneath the laughs and same old shallow veneer. It has evolved. Grown serious depth underneath that veneer, and it takes a little getting used to. But once you're there, there is no going back. THIS is the Tropico I always wanted. I can dip in and out (playing the Kalypso original) as I want, years later, and it's like I never stopped playing. Yes, it becomes that familiar, once the "adjustment" to the new style is made. The biggest shock, is finding the game is broken up into four eras, starting with "Colonial" where it's a race against time trying to win independence before your Commissioner posting ends. Consider your options, when invited to "Kiss the Royal Ring"... If you gain enough popular support for independence, you enter the World War. Axis and Allies. Side with either. Balance your politics, or commit to one. Then comes the Cold War. USA and USSR. Same story. Until, finally, you hit the Modern Era, when there are 5 factions to invite into embassies (USA, Russia, China, EU, Middle East). You head up a Dynasty, and may gain children with their own quirks and "pet projects". Any one of the dynasty can stand for election. And they level up, by using funds form the Swiss bank account. Finally, that money has a purpose... Edicts are also now tied to Eras. So, some edicts are not available until near the end of the game. And, some you have to research during the era itself. Research is trivial - certain buildings provide "research points" and away you go. It's simple enough, and depending on the mission and/or scenario, you'll prioritise differently in each game. Need tourists? Better research the airport, then. The political factions on the island remain. And, as usual, it's impossible to please everyone. They are paired off, so if you please one, you'll upset the other. Vintage Tropico. But, the fgame gives plenty of "optional missions" to raise standing with one faction, in ways that does not harm the other. So, it's Tropico, but not as you know it. Also gone are the "wages". And this is almost harder to adapt to, than Eras. Now there are "relative levels" (Broke, Poor, Well Off, Rich, and Filthy Rich). It means you don't have to keep on tweaking actual numbers of dollars up or down, but "match" income levels with housing and entertainment needs. The best apartments cannot be inhabited by just anyone, you know... it takes some level of wealth. Residences have a "required wealth", and mostly only span 3 levels at most. So, Broke people will ALWAYS live in Shacks, until you research "Social Security" and have enough "cheap" housing (like Country Houses) that can accommodate Broke folk. Apartments allow high density, but regular houses have a "nighbourhood watch" upgrade that lowers crime - so it can be beneficial to have a big cluster of houses. Buildings have "efficiency" - how well they operate, depends on multiple factors. Number of workers, how well they are paid, whether you have bought certain upgrades, and even whether they "interconnect". A Cattle ranch can provide Fertiliser to boost local crop fields (which are at last a fixed and finite size, to be planned properly, Hooray!) A Museum can assist High Schools (via Field Trips). A Recycling centre doesn't just clean up the pollution, but boost the efficiency of your steel mills, and electronics plants... makes sense - mostly. Apartments are more desireable if they adjoin a road. There are lots to explore and find, but that's part of the charm. Trade routes are now dependent on number of docks (and Drydock upgrades), that govern how many ships you have for trading. A lighthouse and Customs Office can affect prices and deals offered. Most frustrating, is that the best deals often require you to be really cosy with the superpower offering the trade... But there are "smuggler" options available too, if you build smugglers docks. For me, this game has a near perfect level of detail, while keeping data accessible. The thin flat arrows in the menus are almost invisible, so I was into my fifth mission, before I discovered I could scroll the page to see "more" options and info, and discovered I could see the "significant citizens", providing a two second click to find the crime lords I was looking for. The good news is, all the information is there. The bad news is, that sometimes the interface design sabotages you, making it harder to find, until you suss it. And that's the great thing about Tropico 5. Because, it IS Tropico, but with a good dose of realism AND simplicity. As for the Invasion by Tanks - yeah, if you offend or ignore one of the superpowers, siding with their enemy, they will threaten your sovereignty and invade. If you supply the Allies with Steel, the Axis will get quite angry about it... So, build the embassy, invite them in, and praise them now and then to keep their warships at bay. Or, invest in your own military (clusters of guard towers with machine gun upgrades can shred enemies) and stand proud and independent. You might also offend your citizens to the point that they rebel, or worse yet, the army stages a coup. But the game always gives you warning signs, and (mostly) enough time to react. You also get to pick difficulty levels of politics, and economy, and disasters. So, if you want insurgency and lots of easy money to suppress it in true dictator fashion, you got it. Or, you can opt for an economic struggle, where the people (and weather) are on your side. The original campaign seemed extremely short. But, there was a twist in the tale, as only Tropico can manage, in the most hilarious fashion, that doubled the length. For the whole game, with all the DLCs, this is a worthy successor to the Tropico series. The Eras make it feel quite different, but mostly this is just the grown-up version. Same old Penultimo antics, but supplemented by a depth that all previous Tropicos lacked. Now that I'm playing it, I've never gone back to the earlier Tropicos.