Metascore
85 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 28 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 28
  3. Negative: 0 out of 28
  1. 100
    It may be a bit heavy on the micro-management, but if you’re at all interested in the God game genre, you’ll be hooked on this game for a long time.
  2. If you had fun playing SimCity years ago but don't know if Sim gaming is still for you, give Tropico a whirl. Heck, if you just like Latin Jazz/Mambo music, you should pick up Tropico.
  3. By offering something that is not only new but extremely challenging PopTop have done the strategy gaming fraternity a real service and hopefully the legacy of Tropico will be that more games developers are prepared to attempt political simulations in the future.
  4. If you are a big fan of "The Sims" and are looking for a little vacation from that game, crack out the margarita mix and sun block before heading on over to the exceptionally good Tropico. May your reign be long and your Swiss bank account large!
  5. It is incredibly well rendered, with an amazing soundtrack and it sports many of the elements of the higher-end civ games, without the baser responses, such as warfare.
  6. 90
    And by combining an open-ended design with a wonderful (if somewhat politically incorrect) sense of humor, Tropico provides one of the finest and most dangerously addictive gaming experiences of the year.
  7. A hearty "¡Viva Tropico!" for giving gamers such an innovative and fun game to play. While play may get a little repetitive during long game sessions, you'll definitely want to come back for more before too long.
  8. Tropico is one of the most fun and addictive strategy games of the year and perhaps the best strategy game to date.
  9. 88
    There is a ton of personality and humor in the game to go along with the great political simulation that hasn't really been done to this extent before.
  10. It is eminently replayable. There are so many options -- the island's physical characteristics, victory conditions, El Presidente's personality quirks -- that it never plays the same way twice.
  11. Definitely one of the more interesting governing and building game out there. It is unique in a lot of ways, and the gameplay is excellent.
  12. The political wrapper that PopTop has built around the core of the game is sophisticated enough to appeal to all types of strategy game players. The game also has enough heart, soul, humor, and humanity to make it unique.
  13. The addition of real politics, planning, and consequences to the decision-making process adds a level of suspense not present in other building games.
  14. More than once, I played the game for over 8 hours in a single day. It’s the type of game that you play “just a little longer” until you realize that your wife has left you, you haven’t eaten in weeks, and you smell like an old shoe.
  15. 85
    A shining example for how to create a fun and challenging game based on an extremely boring and dull concept. Clearly one to earmark as a future hall of famer.
  16. A very complex and fun to play strategy game, with enough modular options to keep the gameplay different each time you play it.
  17. If you can overlook the niggles with the island's economy, Tropico is one of the best city building sims of recent years and certainly the most amusing.
  18. Even hardcore sim-nuts won't have any quality issues with Tropico; it's the less-experienced who will find themselves initially bewildered, even with the talky tutorial--there's just a lot of detail here, and Tropico seems to take for granted that players know the city-sim drill.
  19. While it mostly succeeds at what it strives to do, the gameplay may be dampened for some by its few short-comings.
  20. You begin by selecting the background for your on-screen tyrant—anything from leftist journalist to drunken gambler to flatulent womanizer.
  21. It's difficult to come up for an overall score for Tropico as it does so many things right, but at the same time, tends to become a bit repetitive after extended periods of play.
  22. The graphics on Tropico are rich; you can almost smell the sea air while you're a mouse-click from arresting a political adversary.
  23. While personality alone is not reason enough to buy any game, the humor and level of detail in Tropico certainly makes it a worthwhile investment.
  24. It's the perfect game to sit down with for a couple of hours, with a margarita in one hand and the mouse in the other, and just tinker with your whacked-out island.
  25. Although the game is fun while it lasts (with plenty of stuff to build and plenty of macro-areas to manage), the pre-defined scenarios do not offer any qualitative innovations. They're just harder, and with different starting configuration.
  26. Tropico passes as a strategy game - just don't expect it to rock your world. [July 2001, p.58]
  27. Instead of being funny, Tropico stops somewhere around being congenial, and instead of offering complexity, it offers meaningless options. The result isn't a bad game, but it is disappointing.
  28. A very good game that really pushes the envelope is terms of immersion and difficulty.
User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 33 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. NicholasL.
    10
    Very good.
  2. Amazing, amazing, amazing, and simply amazing. Love playing this game so much. Beautiful graphics, stunning scenery and architecture, interesting story and great musical score. Definitely one of the best "build your city/society" type of tycoon-ish games I've played. Excellent!! Full Review »
  3. MartinC
    10
    Excellent game if you like playing god. The music is great, gameplay is solid and even in 2009, 8 years after buying this game, I haven't gotten bored of it. I could not recommend this game more to anyone, and here's hoping the soon to be released Tropico 3 is as good as this one! Full Review »