Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Yes, it seems to be real. Kalypso have sent word that the expansion for Tropico 4, which is called Modern Times, will features the possibility for enforced modernisation of your little republic, including a space programme. They explain: “El Presidente must modernise his island nation while battling sinister underground forces that threaten the future of Tropico itself in an extensive new single-player campaign.” That means fending off the collapse of capitalism, blocking your citizens’ access to the internet, and other signs of the times. Modern Times is due out in March, but at £19.99 it seems a little pricey! Trailer below.
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Banana el presidente despot republic. I have just summed up every opening line ever written about the Tropico series. Also I’ve probably done something clever regarding SEO witchcraft. We will be number one! But are there bananas in Tropico? Really? You can now find out for yourself, as the Tropico 4 demo has been released. It’s 1.7GB (you know what – that’s 116 Peggles), which you can pick up from here or here, or even here. In there you’ve got four tutorial missions, and one campaign mission, which should give you a fair idea if it’s something you want to buy. Something you’ll be able to do on the 1st September.

Tropico games seem to be arriving just a little too quickly all of a sudden, but no matter. Amidst the torrent of free to play MMOs and grimdark shooters, a dose of sun, tyranny of economy management is really very appealing. So it’s good to hear that Tropico 4 has an exact release date – and one that’s pretty much exactly a year on from its announcement, so we’re hardly in any kind of dark about how long it’s been in development for.
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From the glint in your eye, I think you’re after some pictures of Tropico 4. I’m right, aren’t I? There are ten new ones bestowed upon the world today, which you can almost certainly look at below. Other sites may be boasting twelve new ones soon. I deemed two of them too boring. ROCK PAPER SHOTGUN WILL DO THAT SORT OF THING. The publishing industry lives in fear of our ways.

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Tropico! We can all get behind a spot of sun-drenched dictatordom, right? Not to mention a timely reminder, in this ‘social’ age of limited moves per day and microtransactions, of city-building unbound. After a brief delay, Tropico 4 is due in just two months, and appears to push ruling an island wannabe-paradise to extremes both good (rollercoasters, giant spires with eternal flames at the top) and bad (apocalypse-level natural disasters)…
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In the unlikely event that your plans for the summer revolved around the release of the as-yet undetailed Tropico 4, I am so sorry. The game, which was scheduled for Q2 this summer, has slipped to August. On the plus side, there’s a trailer! On the down side, the trailer shows very little. Urgh, this is all too rollercoastery for this early in the morning. I feel a bit sick.
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Kalypso and Haemimont Games aren’t abandoning their dreams of benevolent dictatorship simulation any time soon. We’re going to be basking in the warm light of a fourth island-managing build and diplomacy game in Q2 2011. It looks like this will be an expanded take on Tropico 3, with new buildings and political features, some new online rankings and Facebook/Twitter feature stuff, as well as revamped disaster and trade systems in the game itself. I discussed my casual fondness for Tropico 3 just here.