I had not heard of the Tropico series before this came on sale. I figured it might be a fun, yet cheezy, city game. Well, it is a bit cheezy, but it is super fun. The "advisors" are often quite humorous. There is no "right" way to play the game. There are a series of scenarios to complete, in order. Only one of them gave me some trouble until I decided not to do the first task until I had built up the economy and had a ton of money. Very, Very fun, funny, and well-done. I only wish that they had one-way roads and other road options available. I suggest getting the mod that allows for easy crossing of roads (without intersecting).
Playing my 3rd game... I'm doing great. I have 10 cities and "Authority" to have 12 cities, and my income is about 2,000 per turn. Unrest is zero to manageable in every city. I'm building shrines, and pavillions. Nify. Then one of my two leaders dies and unrest goes way up, and "Authority" goes down a bunch. Very bad, but maybe we can get through this. Then my other one dies, and I have -9 Authority. Nobles rebel and 1/2 of my cities are lost due to the random number generator killing my leaders. The in-game help is better than some, but still doesn't explain much. The "official" faq is not much better, and is mostly just a repeat of the in-game descriptions. Lots of unanswered questions...
This is a wonderful classic tale with a bit of an additional steampunk-type addition. I completed the journey in 61 days for my best time. This is a good game that is not complicated. Some games may take 40 hours just to get going. This can be played through in about 10. Sometimes being successful is nice.
I like that this is a macro-management rather than micro-management of transport. You build the stations, routes, and train types and let it run the route. In games like Sim City, you zone for buildings, in CIM the city is already there. You can buy a building or two and demo them for a better route, but buying them is costly. Trains, boats, tram, subway, elevated, and helicopters make for an interesting bunch of options.
Broadsides seems like an ancient concept, but it is good when gotten used to. Since the 'battle' ships are all on a basic 2-d plane, there's no real issue with motion sickness and not knowing which end is up. Weapons, missiles, and fighters all move in 3-d space. Sure, sometimes physics is a bit simplified, but that is to keep the game a game. This is good fun. And, the music is great too.