In order to help you develop your governing skills, the docs contain many profiles of memorable and notorious dictators of old. Thankfully, the authors have been good at keeping a good balance between the left and right. Pop Top cannot be accused of prejudice in their selections of dictatorial rogues. It is amusing to see that the star of the in-game cut-scenes bears a striking resemblance to a Mr. F Castro from an island named Cuba. In your office, you will find a lit cigar. For those of us who smoke cigars, it is very tempting to have one in the mouth as you play the game. A glass of rum (a possible product of Tropico) would surely make the scene complete. But back to reality.

Requirements for the game are fairly basic: G3 processor, 32 MB RAM, MacOS 8.6 and 850 mb. For those running OSX, the game has been Carbonized. However, there is a warning included in the docs that installer times for OSX are very slow, up to 3 or 4 minutes! So far, I have been unable to use the game under OSX. However. the game runs very well under 9.1. The graphics are adequate and the game supports Open GL. The sounds are wonderfully accurate. If you move your cursor between buildings, reflective sounds emanate from your speakers, occasionally interrupted by planes (if you have an airport). The game contains the sounds of everyday life on a Caribbean island. The detail is astonishing at times. Building sounds come from new additions to the island. Tourists wander around gormlessly looking for entertainment. If you are really unlucky, you are privileged enough to hear the sound of gunfire as your palace is overrun by rebels who resent your benificent rule.

This is an excellent game from the very clever minds at Pop Top. It is by far the best sim game this reviewer has ever played and probably the only one that he will return to in the future. Tropico ranks as one of the best games ever created for any platform, ever. It is a high water mark for the simulation genre and one that will not be bettered for a long time to come. Tropico is an instant classic and a must-have for every gamer with a an interest in non-action games.

(***** out of *****)