Tropico Preview from GamesDomain -- January 5, 2000
At the heart of Tropico is a business game. You have to bring in the cash to keep yourself in power, the two most direct routes being through farming, mining and industry or through getting tourists to visit the island. At the same time you have to control your spending as you put up new buildings, pay your workers and use some of your dollars to exert your political will.

Tropico Preview from The Corporation -- December 12, 2000
"Whereas most strategy games focus on money, buildings or inanity, Tropico, as PopTop president Steinmeyer puts it, "is about exercising influence on people, to make them happy, or failing that, to repress them and/or otherwise keep them from tossing you out of office."

Tropico Preview from GameSpy.com -- November 28, 2000
Don't expect to see white powder factories and helicopters full of Russian dealers descending into a remote hillside to sample the goods. The closest you'll get to the more risqué side of banana republics are the "showgirls" that walk the streets pretending not to be prostitutes.

Preview from Gamers.com -- December 4, 2000
Have you ever wanted to rule starving, naked, illiterate peasants with an iron fist? Tropico makes all that possible; the moral fallout is entirely up to you.

Second Preview from Gamespot -- November 16, 2000
Whether you're a benevolent ruler who looks out for the well-being of the citizenry or a heavy-handed dictator who cares for little beyond personal wealth is completely up to you.

Preview from MegaGames
Each building will have a stereotypical “Latin-American” feel to it. Buildings will show the effect of poverty, aging, and decay that was present in the Cuba of the 1950’s.

Sam Kilshaw's Preview from The Playing Fields
And if nothing else it’s the first Sim game that allows you to set up a brothel - something, I’m sure, some of you have dreamt about since the age of 16!

Stephen Butts' Preview from IGN.com -- May 26, 2000
Tropico, being developed by PopTop Software, finally bypasses all the illusions of benevolence and conscientiousness that seem to pervade most ruler games.

Preview from Gamespot -- May 12, 2000
PopTop Software's Tropico is a management strategy game in which you assume the role of dictator of a small island in the Carribean. You'll start the game with a low population, very little money, and very little in the way of technology.

Mark Asher's Preview from Computer Gaming Online -- May 13, 2000
Tropico promises to be a unique game, one that combines the building you see in titles such as SimCity and Railroad Tycoon 2 with a light-hearted infusion of Latin American politics.

Gestalt's Preview from Eurogamer
Tropico looks like being one of the most innovative and downright fun titles of the year, with a mix of gorgeous graphics and cheesy latin music to give it the right atmosphere.

Interview with Steinmeyer from The Corporation -- July 25, 2000
We don't see any reason for Tropico not to do as well as RT2 and HOPEFULLY better. It's a game of building, planning and reason. This is what people seem to enjoy in strategy games.


Interview with Phil Steinmeyer from www.Game-Interviews.com
At it's core it's a building game but it's really so much more. And there's no one we'd rather have discuss Tropico than Phil Steinmeyer, who gives us the details on the gameplay, depth, and dynamics.

Interview with Phil Steinmeyer from Checkout.com
"We've been very gratified at the enthusiastic response Tropico has received so far, proving my doubts about its commercial appeal to be unfounded."

Interview with Franz Felsl from Action Trip
"On this island you must build up it's social, political and industrial infrastructure while balancing the countries budget, filling your Swiss Bank Account and juggling the peoples loyalty. While doing this, the world around you changes and makes demands of your resources."