Have you ever dreamed of owning an island all to yourself? A small personal setting, sunny and green, placed in the warm waters of the Caribbean, in which you could sip a good planter in the shade of the palm trees? Tropico 3 lets you realize that old fantasy…and more! Because the beautiful island of Tropico is not the second home of a billionaire in search of exoticism. It is a state, a real one, and you are its head, democratically elected. In the purest tradition of the rulers of banana republics, you nevertheless take your role so seriously that it is safe to say that the island is yours alone. It's very simple, you decide everything, and that's good because everything is to be done. Apart from your palace, one or two farms and a few huts where your agricultural workers survive, Tropico is virgin territory, which the great builder that you are will have to clear.
misery in the sun
Your task is daunting, your chests are empty, but the island has no shortage of highly prized resources. Ore veins, hydrocarbon deposits, by digging a little, and above all by activating the appropriate filter on the general map, you will find big! The geography of the places, the climate and the nature of the soils also allow you to embark on various cultures. Some – maize, papaya – will make your homeland self-sufficient, others – tobacco, coffee, sugar – will make you rich once loaded aboard a cargo ship. destination of the old, or the new, world. Delighted to work in the middle of nature and under a blazing sun to serve the national interest, your fellow citizens will demand some counterparts: decent housing, reasonable travel times, entertainment, a good salary, an adequate religious offer, an educational system decent, efficient care services, and many other peccadilloes that allow a country to take off. In Tropico 3, the important thing is to start well and do things in order. No need to build a high school, a university and a power plant in the first year, such constructions would ruin you instantly and their maintenance costs would complete your pockets. So we start small, and we grow little by little, until we can make the necessary investments to transform our end of the reef into the world's leading cigar producer and/or into Las Vegas at sea. Whatever the missions played in the game main, whatever the parameters chosen in the free mode, you will always have to go through this phase of getting started. An annoying feature, especially when you get to the eighth or ninth map and you discover yet another island with no mines or decent buildings.
Augusto Guevara ou Che Pinochet?
Despite objectives that vary from one level to another, the campaign mode therefore looks like an eternal restart. Starting over from scratch is all the more boring as the interface is imperfect. Usual recipe, you select from a menu – quite coarse and not always reactive – the building you want to build, then position it wherever you want on the map. Problem, you don't have any terraforming tools, and if the ground isn't nearly flat, you'll have to choose another site. The same problem arises with the roads, which you have to draw while constantly fighting against the computer, which systematically reproaches you for angles that are too strong, for height differences that are too great, and ignores the very notion of bridge or tunnel. The circulation between the different points of your island, generally barred by some beautiful reliefs, is therefore long and difficult, and it is better to organize the space so that industries and housing are close to each other, which is not always easy . These handling flaws keep Tropico 3 away from its audience. A priori intended for casual players, who appreciate city-builders without having spent thousands of hours on Sim City & consorts, the title of Haemimont Games finds itself swimming between two waters. On the one hand, the limited range of buildings, the impossibility of really customizing the adventure and incomplete and unclear statistical indicators will keep purists away. On the other hand, the not always practical interface, the sluggish pace of the game and the mix – interesting and rather rich – between micro and macro management, economic management and exercise of power, will put off beginners. The two audiences will nevertheless be able to find material to have fun, if they agree to make some sacrifices. Very pretty, with a Latino soundtrack in the best taste and a funny French dubbing, Tropico 3 still benefits from the joyfully politically incorrect tone that made the charm of the series. The title offers a whole bunch of pretty crazy options allowing you to ensure a better tomorrow, from organizing small "accidents" targeting the main opponents to embezzling funds via special banks. A strike? Bribe the ringleaders or send the army to slaughter them. An election with an uncertain outcome? Buy the vote of certain voters or declare martial law. Possibilities rarely offered by games of the genre which can, on their own, justify a stopover in Tropico. However, do not expect to spend your holidays there: as in real life, after a few hours on an island, you get bored...
