Latest News
The transition from February to March is the shortest turnaround time to get free games with the Games with Gold program. Also, at least for this March, there are multiple GOTY contenders in this batch.
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The Sony exclusive Velocity 2X will make its way to Xbox One and PC later this year thanks to Sierra Games.
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Microsoft released a teaser of the upcoming Fast & Furious expansion for Forza Horizon 2 by showing a 1970 Dodge Charger R/T and a 2012 Nissan GT-R racing side by side on a curved road.
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Latest Articles
Evolve hasn’t been out for 72 hours yet and gamers have already decided to make it public enemy number 1. This is thanks to the umbrella claim of “2K charging full price for an incomplete game, as well as for DLC that should have been included with the original purchase.... [read more]
So far we’ve told you what to do in San Antonio as well as where to eat and drink while at PAX South. Now we have a few quick tips for those traveling to our great city. ... [read more]
We're less than a week from PAX South and everyone here is excited. Not only is one of the biggest gaming events coming to our home city of San Antonio, but we're going to have our own panel. ... [read more]
Latest Reviews
Every time I tried to play either Dragon Age Origins or Dragon Age 2, I’d find myself playing for the first 10 or so hours before turning it off and playing a different game. I gave it one more chance with Dragon Age: Inquisition.... [read more]
Originally announced at the PS4 reveal event in Feb. 2013, Driveclub was due for release as a PS4 launch title. Development misfortunes led to an 11 month delay and the game was finally released in the first week of Oct. 2014. The game faced major challenges at launch as the... [read more]
11 bit studios made a name for themselves with the Anomaly series where they flipped the script on the tower defense formula. They flipped the script again with This War of Mine that doesn't put you in the shoes of soldiers fighting a war, but rather the people trying to sur... [read more]
Latest Videos
On display at PAX South was a game called Starr Mazer, which mashes shmup gameplay with point-and-click adventure gameplay. 8-Bit Eric tried to do an interview with the developer, and well, you'll have to see what happens.
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8-Bit Eric takes a look at Shiny the Firefly on the Wii U. An indie game developed by Padaone games where you control a firefly on a rescue mission to protect its babies.... [read more]
8-Bit Eric takes a look at the Wii U puzzle game Ping 1.5+ from Nami Tentou Mushi for the Wii U.
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I can distinctly remember that day way back when I was ten years old, going to the local library and watching as a bunch of kids gathered around the only computer there. They were playing Sim City 2000, a game which would quickly become one of my favorite pastimes, and one which I still look fondly upon today. But the Sim City franchise saw a swift collapse with the release of the underwhelming Sim City Societies, so when I was asked to review Tropico 4 which I had heard was a similar experience to that franchise of old, I was more than excited. Although the game has been panned for being little more than a minor upgrade of Tropico 3, having not been familiar with the franchise until this point, I am going to try to offer an honest review based on the merits of the game itself. So light up a Cuban, peel a banana, and let’s get into Tropico 4.
SWEET, CUBAN TOBACCO
The World Is Yours - Tropico 4 is an island simulator in which you are creating and maintaining a dictatorship, and it does a great job of selling this and immersing you in the environment. I was initially unimpressed by the standard “build this here, build that there” approach early on. After I whisked through the brief but informative tutorial and learned all of the game’s tiny factors, though, I was sold. There are many things to consider such as food production, importing and exporting goods, and monitoring citizen happiness, which acts as the backbone for the game. Though it operates on a smaller scale than Sim City, it feels much more intimate because of this, and will be a real thrill for anyone who enjoys playing God.
Sweet As Sugar - Most importantly, Tropico 4 is a lot of fun. The interface is simple, and though there are a lot of things to consider when constructing and maintaining the island, there isn’t a huge level of micromanagement to worry about. With a campaign setting available, and with each campaign having multiple player objectives that yield small rewards, it feels a little more focused than some games of this type. But with a full sandbox mode also included, there will be plenty here to keep anyone occupied long after the campaign is finished.
White Sand, Blue Water - To close up the package, the game is incredibly well presented. The music in particular is absolutely fantastic, keeping a heavy Cuban vibe the whole way through, and the dossier overlays, silly caricatures and heavily accented voice acting helps maintain a very light hearted theme, especially considering the somewhat dark subject matter. (Just you try and tell me that my sweat shop canneries aren’t kind of twisted. I dare you.) Apart from a bunch of calculations and numbers being processed in the background, there really isn’t too much to games like this, so presentation is a fairly important element and Tropico 4 does it very well.
CORN FOR DINNER AGAIN?
By The Numbers - I don’t have a lot of negative things to say about the game, except that at a certain point, it will no longer be difficult or interesting to run your island. Tropico 4 offers many opportunities to adapt, but there is often only really one right way to proceed. Campaign mode can feel a bit rigid at times because of this; even though specific objectives are nice for those who need guidance, they often feel like an unwavering blueprint on the types of buildings you should construct, and in a sandbox game such as this, following a specific build order can get boring pretty quickly.
