Saturday, March 2, 2013

Tropico 4: Modern Times review.



The game is “jaw-dropping”.

However, I mean that in a negative connotation. I am very disappointed by this game.

I reviewed Tropico 4 some time ago. With some very minor reservations, I really enjoyed the game. I thought it had added enough from its predecessor, Tropico 3, to warrant buying the sequel. To sum up the game as best as I can, you rule the Caribbean nation of Tropico as El Presidente. Build up the island’s economy, try to keep the competing factions on the island happy, and stay in power as long as you can…by any means possible. It is a very fun Construction and management/Government Simulation game.

When the “Modern Times” expansion pack was announced, it looked very promising. I liked the idea of new buildings and edicts reflecting the modern world and a timeline feature that allows world events to affect your island. 

It wasn’t until recently that I obtained the game (almost a year after it had been released), and that was a headache. I couldn’t download it from Steam because I had purchased a physical copy of the game and it would only recognize a digital download from them. It’s nice that they would stop me from purchasing a game they thought I couldn’t play…but I had the game! Going to the Kalypso website (the publisher) led to other problems. I broke down and ordered a physical copy on Amazon.

Finally obtaining it, installing it was another hassle. I had the most recent version of the game, 1.06, but it wouldn’t install because update 1.05 was already installed. I had to uninstall Tropico 4, reinstall it, and before doing anything with the base game, I put the “Modern Times” disk in. After several failed installation initiations and a restart of my computer, I finally got it to work and I started playing.

If only the headaches ended there. My technical problems were solved, but the game was still broken. As a new building is discovered, the older building becomes “obsolete” and no longer able to build. I first noticed this in game-year 1957, when the grocery store replaced the market and I could no longer build them.

This is what made playing this game a jaw-dropping experience.

 “What?”, is all that I could ask after making this discovery. After making sure there was no way to get the old market back, I quit the game and haven’t played since.

Why is this a deal-breaker?

Taking away control: I have less control over the game than I had before. The design and layout of my nation is now based on these forced upgrades. Part of my frustration is from an aesthetic perspective. The upgrades are ugly and/or oversized. If I wanted to keep up the “traditional” look of my island, I can’t. In my games, I always build up a nice, ritzy section of condominiums around the presidential palace. I think it creates a nice old/colonial feel. Screw that! Now I am forced to have these hideous eye-sores. If my older buildings are destroyed, I can only replace them with the upgrades.

It makes no sense, from an in-game perspective: I understand that my buildings should upgrade as my nation improves, but the improvements are based on the year. Time might be advancing, but my nation isn’t. As I mentioned, grocery stores become available in 1957. But at this point, my nation is poor and has very low food diversity. A grocery store does not fit my needs at this time! Maybe when I establish a thriving middle class and have a surplus of a wide variety of food, then I should build one. When it comes to housing, middle and upper class housing units upgrade in the mid-1960s. They are more expensive and require more of electricity (old middle class housing didn’t require electricity, the upgrade does). Having electricity by the mid-60s might be a tall order as you are more interested in producing food to consume and exporting basic raw materials to balance your budget.

It makes no sense, choice of upgrades: Since when does a solar-power plant make windmills obsolete? Why can’t I have both wind and solar power on my island? And water treatment plants replace landfills? How does filtering water replace the need to store garbage? Like having nice little bank branches on the street corner? No more! Now can you have a huge National Bank instead! Remember when the US established a National Bank and all small banks were closed and replaced with gigantic structures? No? The worst decision of all must be the decision to replace restaurants with giant, ship-themed eateries. What. The. F*ck? I’ve never been to Cuba, but I’m sure not all the restaurants there are like the taffy shop from that Simpsons episode.

No warning: I don’t expect an expansion pack to take things away from a game. None of the reviews ever suggested that most of the new buildings will permanently replace older ones. If I had known this, I would most likely have never bought the game. It was mentioned that buildings become obsolete and can be upgraded, but I thought it was along the lines of horses becoming “obsolete” and “upgrading” to automobiles; horses didn’t become extinct and still had uses after cars were invented. This is the first time I have felt like I have been suckered by false advertising. I really feel cheated.

I was really excited to play this game, but this asinine system really ruined it for me. I like the new buildings! I want solar power, water treatment plants, grocery stores, and modern apartments! I just wish they didn’t completely replace the old ones. Couldn't they give me the new building and make me decide which one I want to construct based on trade-offs? "The new apartment building costs more to maintain and build, but it houses more people and the quality is higher. Hmmm..."

Maybe I’ll give it another chance, but not for a while. If this whole upgrade thing doesn’t bother you, then you should like this game. But if it bothers you, Tropico 4: Modern Times is a huge disappointment.

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