Video Game Review: Tropico 3

From the onset, Tropico 3 looks just like it is. This is a sim(ulation) game. It's pretty straightforward on that as well. The concept of the game is what might catch the attention of those who love games like SimCity and other games in that genre. If you like The Sims, this is not for you.

The scenario of this game is pretty unique. Like in the other versions (which I have not played) you are the leader of a small tropical island (Cuba). You have control over what is built, and what resources are gathered. The goal is to accumulate people, and personal wealth via a Swiss bank account. The latter is for your retirement. You come to power in 1949 and the game goes until 1970.

The main campaign, which is single player, has a limited timeframe. This makes the campaign mode rather short, taking maybe a dozen hours on standard speed. You can speed up the game, which is recommended, but that will cut down the play time dramatically though you will not miss any major events.

The other problem with the campaign mode is that the events in the game are the same each time. So after a run through or 2, you can get a solid plan to take advantage of the events to come. Also the layout of the island remains the same in campaign mode, so ideal placement of businesses, farms, and other items can be worked out.

In terms of the look of the game, it is quite nice. Zooming in to individual characters is easy. They look crisp and detailed. The buildings have a 50's look and feel. The vegetation sways to the breeze, and all the native characters look tropical (ie Hispanic).

Obviously the imagery is a play on Cuba. Including the voice of the leader (for male characters). But the look of the character does not have to be a mimicry of Fidel Castro. The character creation is simple, but allows for a moderate selection. There are clothing choices and hair options plus a few other items that allow for a character that is not completely a cartoonish caricature of people in the tropics.

The character can be models in mannerism after a dozen famous, and not so famous leaders of small 3rd world leaders. Like Che of course. Or you can create a custom leader with a couple of good points, and of course flaws as well.

The play itself is pretty much old hat to anyone who has played SimCity before. There is not a lot of challenge at the default setting. Farming is the main export, but the city can be nation can be built up to be a tourist mecca if you choose. There is also the option to be a very Fidel-like leader in that you can create secret police, remove (kill) rebels or others that disagree with your leadership, or you can build churches and higher education facilities. You can also allow for immigration at several different levels from open to anyone to no one can leave.

The sound of the game is cute at first but it will quickly become grating. It is a pseudo tropical radio station with a decent but limited selection of quasi-instrumental songs. Occasionally this will be interrupted by a radio announcer declaring various events on the island, or the mood of the people, or international events. This too is limited and will often repeat. But at times it can be comical to hear about the "18th attack against our leader's hat". And occasionally it will provide information that is important like a coup attempt.

So visually the game is decent. The sound is good, if not repetitive. The gameplay operation is smooth and direct. The tutorial is simple but enough to give you most every option you need to know, and the rest can be figured out from there with ease.

But for me, in a sim game, the replay value is critical. This is where Tropico 3 fails. It's just not different each time. Yes the population will grow or act somewhat differently each time through, but they are a minor factor. A tweak or 2 and they are basically not an issue. And by the 3rd time through, the key elements of the game are figured out. So unless you want a challenge by doing something drastically different, you can be pretty assured of the results.

Tropico 3 is meant to be a light-hearted sim targeting Cuba and leaders of "banana" nations. It has a strong effect of making fun of people from the tropics, more laughing at than with. It is limited in replay value and is short on scope. It has decent looks, good but eventually annoying sounds, and a simple to figure out set of control maps.

I would not purchase Tropico 3 at the current price of roughly $40. I might buy the game at $10 in a bargain bin, or on clearance sale. And I might be more interested in the game if I were new to simulation games than if I were an old pro at SimCity.

Overall, avoid this game.

Connecting Cuba's Seguera and Hollywood

I have to wonder if Michael Moore ever bothered to check out the local radio station when he was in Cuba. If he did he might have noticed the dearth of diversity in the music heard there. Or at least that was how Cuba was for a long time.

I’m not saying that latin music is not diversified, nor that it is anything but great music. What I am saying is that in Cuba the type of music available (at least for a time in recent history) is anything but widespread. Or at least it was until Jorge "Papito" Serguera died.

Serguera was the man responsible for the banning of huge genres of music and artists from the airwaves of Cuba. One of the bands he restricted included the Beatles, a group he admitted to listening to in private and enjoying – though the public could not do so as well. That might have likely been due to the song Money (That’s what I wa

“Money don't get everything it's true.
What it don't get I can't use.”

Cuba is definitely one of those nations that reminds me of Hollywood liberals, China, segregation and the old USSR. The kind of mentality that divided people “for their own good” or acted to “help” the people since they can’t help themselves. The single-minded attitudes that claim equality and freedom for everyone, except if they think differently or want to act on those freedoms.

But at least Cuba, and Serguera, were upfront about their actions. Hollywood is not. Numerous executives and celebrities tout the banner of liberal, and yet so little is ever done about the disparity of movies and television to real life. Hollywood wants to shout about the injustice everywhere in the world, except in the studios and lots that it runs. Kind of like Barney Frank and the mortgage crisis.

There isn’t an overall theme in this post. I just heard about Serguera’s death and his actions to limit the minds of the people, to deny creativity, to kill the souls of freedom and expression. And I just noticed how much of that same kind of thinking exists today in Hollywood and politics.

A real shame when you think about it.

USA beats Cuba, leads CONCACAF Group 1

Cuba vs. the United States. It’s a competition that occurs in many sports competitions, and in each it is usually a vibrant match with heaps of media attention. Basketball, little league baseball, you name it, and it gets attention. Except futbol – called soccer here.

Maybe it’s because the expectations were high for America. Maybe it’s because we haven’t lost to Cuba in futbol since 1947. Or it could be that this match-up took place in Cuba itself, and the media didn’t want to advertise the game much.

But I did see the game. I wasn’t impressed by the play of Team USA, or the Cubans for that matter. For all the attention the game should have driven, there were more than a few seats empty in the stadium – likely due to the recent Hurricane that had just hit the area.



Still I think the game needed more attention. When Cubans are sitting in the stands wearing bandanas of the U.S. flag covering their face for fear of being identified as a U.S. supporter on television, attention needs to be made.

But the match was lackluster at best. The U.S. played sloppy in my opinion. It wasn’t the wet pitch, or it’s less than level grass field. It wasn’t the lighting, which suddenly dimmed as the game neared the end. It wasn’t even the nice save by Tim Howard in the 88th minute, which made all the difference.

The U.S. just didn’t gel as a team, though it was a team effort that lead them to the 1 – 0 win over Cuba. The fact that the US is now leading with 6 points in the Group 1 CONCACAF qualification for the 2010 World Cup, is more luck than skill. And don’t be surprised if Trinidad & Tobago win when the USA plays them next.

Brian Ching looked good in the game, and was in several important plays. Landon Donavan was useless, and I wondered if he was on the pitch for most of the game. The mid-fielders seemed more interested in going backwards than advancing the ball to the strikers. DaMarcus Beasley was really bad.

This is not a team that will do well. Yes I want them in the World Cup. But I’d like to see them get to the quarter-finals too. I’m not so besodden as to believe they could win a World Cup without the opposing team all spraining their ankles. But I’d like to see a serious challenge to some of the world’s better teams. This team will be lucky to get a win, tie and loss in the first round.

Of course they have to beat Trinidad & Tobago. They probably will, or at least tie. And they will move on in the spring. But it’s no wonder that the world just doesn’t respect our national team the way they played.

World Cup Qualifier: USA vs. Cuba in Cuba

The qualifying round of the next World Cup are currently on-going. The U.S. team has started of well with a win versus Guatemala, though it was a mere 1 – 0 score.



But the next challenge to Team USA is perhaps the most steeped in the unknown.

On Saturday, the U.S. will be facing Cuba. Now in general that is not such a daunting task. History of games versus Cuba bode well for the U.S. There have been 5 wins and 1 tie in this match-up. But there is one big difference this time. The U.S. is playing in Cuba.

That one difference adds a lot of intrigue to a game that should be won by America. What are the local Cuban fans going to do when we take the field? How will the mood of the game be? Will the players be allowed to speak to each other prior to the game? Will the American players be allowed out of their hotel, or left to feel trapped inside like prisoners?

And of course there is the big issue that is beyond sports or politics, the effects of Hurricane Gustav – which hit Cuba several days before devastating New Orleans. Not to mention the impending onset of yet another hurricane possibly in the next week.

The experiences of Landon Donovan against Cuba may give us some insight

“They've always been nice and respectful when we've played them," he said. "I don't expect there to be an issue.”

And

“Yeah, we should beat Cuba in Cuba. If Trinidad beats Cuba in Cuba, we should win.”

Now is this accurate? Well only time will tell. The only other time that a U.S. soccer team has set foot on Cuban soil for a match was back in 1947 for a friendly game. The U.S. lost that match 5 – 2.

On Saturday we will get to see if history will repeat itself 51 years later, or if this match will have the chance to rise even above futbol and the World Cup and make a statement about the human spirit overcoming disasters like Hurricane Gustav. For me, if it becomes the latter then I don’t care if the game is a tie (ok honestly it wouldn’t matter if we lose either, but I want to see them win).