Tropico 4 is a strategy sim game that puts you in the shoes of 'El Presidente', the leader of Tropico. You can be a benign dictator, or a mean one, it's up to you!

To succeed in Tropico 4, you have to manage the economy, build infrastructure and political support, while keeping the people happy enough. Natural disasters and superpowers now interfere with the business of dictatorship, so you have to manage them as well as your people.

Tropico 4 is cheerfully presented, and while it's surprisingly deep in terms of gameplay, it never feels too serious. The pace is gentle, but you can speed-up and slow-down time whenever you want. If you've ever played SimCity, or any of the countless similar games it spawned, you'll recognize the gameplay here, but the tropical setting and tongue in cheek atmosphere make it stand out. The upbeat salsa sountrack gives the game a surprising lift too!

Tropico 4 isn't the most attractive game around, nor is it groundbreaking as a Sim City-alike. However, there are enough events during the campaign to make it more interesting than a dry society management game.