Ah, Tropico 3. My new favorite game. No, I'm not some advertising vehicle now, but I want you all to know how strangely addictive this game is. The premise is that you are a new leader of a remote island in the Caribbean Sea, during the time of the Cuban missile crisis. The two world superpowers, USA and the USSR are constantly eyeballing you. The objective is simple, to build a thriving nation known as Tropico on this island, while balancing the national treasury, the population's attitude towards you, including several factions like the militarists, the environmentalists, the religious, the nationalists, and the intellectuals. Some of these people are moderate supporters and others are die hard for their faction, a lot like in real life. You earn support from them by doing certain things. Banning contraception can earn you respect from the religious but you'll lose respect from intellectuals. You can also get involved in foreign policy. If you can build good relations with either the US or USSR quick enough, you can have them build a small military base on your island to protect them from the other superpower.
This game is what made me give NationStates a second look, and actually get into the idea of simulating the ruling of my nation. Unfortunately, in Tropico, it's pretty damn hard. You can find that your island truly sucks in the first two years of you being in power. In NationStates, there is no real way to lose. There are so many issues that your nation can fluctuate in a matter of days from being a poor crapshack, and having all the money your peasants could want.
This game is somewhat similar to Fireaxis and Sid Meier's civilization games. Those more popular along those lines could also be the attraction to NationStates for most of you. What's your opinion on these? Have you played computer or Xbox games like these? Let me know.
