14 DAY TRIAL // Tropico 3 is, as the other games in the series, all about ruling a tiny, tropical, vaguely Latin island caught in the middle of the Cold War. And as history proves, many dictators lived and died on the power of the speeches that they delivered in front of the nation.
The tradition of the long speech, so well exemplified by leaders like Fidel Castro, has recently become less visible but in the world of Tropico 3, developer Haemimont Games is determined to keep it alive.
El President, the ruler of Tropico 3, will need to talk to the citizens of the country, especially before elections. The player does not directly create the speeches because that would be tedious. An in-game secretary actually crafts the text but the player can determine all the details and, of course, insert the level of demagogy he or she feels appropriate.
Because speeches take place before elections and El Presidente trying to keep up the appearance of democracy oratory is one of the best legal ways of swaying voters. The player can determine what promises can be made to the electorate, which of the superpowers are praised and which dissed, what problems of the country to address.
The general situation of the game also determines part of the tone of the speech, with terms like “comrade” only being used if the island is leaning towards communism. Of course, the promises made and the speech can come back to bite El Presidente and a significant part of the speech can be reserved for self-praising.
Tropico 3, which already looks great, is set to be published by Kalypso Media at some point in September 2009 for the PC and the Xbox 360. A demo should be outed before the release date, to give gamers a taste of the tropical life.