Tropico 5 Preview: Raising It A Level Above Tropico 4

Taking control of the island Tropico, catering to the needs of your people and managing the economical, political, and social structures of an ever changing world, Tropico 5 is the newest game in the series by Kalypso Media that will be releasing into the later half of 2014. Guided by the player through four different eras in time each with its own set of problems, growth of power, and international diplomatic relationships.

If you haven’t guessed it already Tropico 5 is best described as a city management simulation that is effected in real-time by the player’s decisions which in turn provides a direct response by the very people that the player is required look after, in order to better the status, growth, and advancements that will benefit his or her society as time progresses forward.

"Taking the island from a bearing wasteland of grassy hills and desert plains, it's down to the player to construct buildings and monuments and have the people of the city help in advancing society as a whole, so that everybody can benefit from the unity of discovery and hard work."

Rather than playing the game just through the birds-eye view of click here and zoom in there, the player assumes the role of El Presidente, the country’s ruler and leader who will in time, lay down the dynasties of his family to retain control of the island long after his death, through appointed positions of power given by the player. It must be emphasized that as much as the game places a focus on what the player does and how one reacts to his or her own decisions in the game due to its real-time nature of change, a leader is nothing without the citizens that must be attended to.

Taking the island from a bearing wasteland of grassy hills and desert plains, it’s down to the player to construct buildings and monuments and have the people of the city help in advancing society as a whole, so that everybody can benefit from the unity of discovery and hard work. Creating new structures and bringing about opportunities for employment allows the technology and research of that time period to progress in the way of skills and the availability of what the player can unlock in the mechanics of its gameplay.

However as time moves forward, the political views, factions, and establishments that where once laid down by the player change according to how their civilization is keeping up with the times. So must the player’s own interpretations and choices of the matter, and therefore must reinvent him or herself, both on a scale of grand thought as well as physically for the purposes of the island and how it copes. Renovating older buildings for example into something more modern whether it be a library in the 19th century or an oil refinery or steel mill in the 21st, will help the city to remain relevant and worth caring about so that it remains healthy and sustainable for future purposes.

"Tropico 5 takes the immense depth and content of Tropico 4 as well as other games of similar type and raises it to a level above what we're used to playing."

It’s not only the citizens, buildings, jobs, and budgets that the player must attend too. Political issues of power and control, clashing belief systems of science, military warfare and the international importing and exporting of trading goods are just the tip of the iceberg for how much depth, content, and responsibility for what the player must retain control and management of.

Tropico 5 takes the immense depth and content of Tropico 4 as well as other games of similar type and raises it to a level above what we’re used to playing. With cooperative and competitive multiplayer to trade and share resources between, as well declaring war on one another, the player is in complete control and holds responsibility for the outcome of their own city. Releasing on its home platform the PC, scaling across to Linux and Mac, as well as the PS4 and Xbox 360 everybody has the opportunity to take part in this vast and self-growing game.