Is Tropico 2 worth buying?

[MottledGreen]

Okay, I need to know if Tropico 2 is worth buying. Mainly, I'm interested in the opinions of players of both the original and T2. I like Tropico alot, but the demo of T2 didn't impress me much. The whole pirate theme and the focus on plundering as the only real means of expansion didn't appeal to me, I guess. But demos aren't everything, and I'd like a few others opinions.

Btw...if you like the game or don't, tell me why. Elaborate.

[Severous]

If you dont have Railroad Tycoon II Platinum Edition buy that instead.  

Pirates2 has given me more value for money than Tropico (original version only). But im not in the majority.  My enjoyment has come not from playing the loads of scenarios but on playing slow and analysing everything. There has been little of that posted before so Ive felt my observations have been of use to others.  Its that later part, ie this board, that has retained my interest in the game for longer than it otherwise would have.

In comparison between Trop1 and Trop2:

Trop1 +:
Politics and elections
Can play for many game years
Well developed islands (Mr Manganeses posted a fine example)
People have real life spans
People have valid reactions to your actions
Competitions on this forum  

Trop2+
People walk predictable paths
Free and instant roads
Things get done quickly - faster pace

Trop2-
Lack of feedback on what kills our pirates ships on cruises
Hassle of ship crew selection.
People get stuck
Cannot play fast on better developed islands - 'AI reachs a limit on what it can handle before players do' seems to be a valid comment I saw on another board.
- People dont react to what you do to them (more to their environment)

Overall Trop2 is easy to get into but played fast will hit limits players dont seem to have in Trop1.

As for value - its cheap and now bundled with other games. For me its cost about £2per month. Far far cheaper than RRT3 at £15per month.

[MottledGreen]

Thanks for the reply Severous. I'll keep your opinions in mind. With luck, I'll hear from some others too.

Hmmm...come to think of it there is one thing that I like alot about Trop2....the whole recordkeeping system (ships logs and whatnot). Something like that would have been convenient to add to Trop1.

[Coffeebean]

I like T2. It took me awhile to get into it and I don't think it has the logevity of T1 (though I may prove myself wrong on that). The Cafe has certainly added to my enjoyment of both games.
T2 has all the quirky sense of humour as T1 - if not more.
If pirates and plundering don't rock your boat,   then it's probably not the game for you, although that is only part of the game. The planning aspect of developing a well run island is there as in T1 and you can make some money using the Smugglers Cove.

[King Goldcoin]

You could also try Anno 1503 aka 1503 ad. The game has lots of buildings, huge maps, native cultures, nice graphics, BIG cities, and multiple climate zones. The game is really good, and you can buy it very cheap. The prize in Denmark is 99.- kroner. That is about 16,5 US Dollars.

[k_matic]

I bought T2 on the strength of T1, (which I played for far too many hours). IMHO Tropico 2 is even better, and I have probably payed it for twice as long already - roads get built faster, there are lots and lots of people to keep happy, there's more "hands on" things to do in general, and your island will never, ever get polluted, no matter how chock-full of people it is.
The graphics are of a very high standard (if you discount the FMVs), the sound and voice acting is phenomenal, and if you buy it now, you'll get it on the cheap too!

I think the humour in T2 comes across better than in the first game (although I do miss the fabulous voice calling me El Presidente) and there's a lot more to juggle to keep things running smoothly.
Basically, I think Tropico 2 is a fabulous micro-management/god game up there with the greats like Dungeon Keeper 2 etc - and I should know, I've been a games developer for 8 years now.   *edit* I feel that I should point out here, that I don't work for Frog City or anyone connected to T1&2, in case anyone thought I might be biased or something.

[Bones]

YES, you should definatly buy this game for several reasons:
1) Its got Pirates
2) Its got monkeys
3) Ya get yer own Treasure Island
4) I payed $23.00 for it and now you can get it for $10.00 Whats not to like ?  

[Bones]

So did ya get the game ?

[Bones]

I never pay attention to the dates on milk cartons either. That always gets me in trouble too. He, He, thanks for the heads up on that  

[Mr.P]

I never pay attention to the dates on milk cartons either.

LOL Bones, you remind me of that guy in the 'Green Day' song - Warning, who goes against every warning out there.

....Drinking milk that is so out of date it has gone lumpy, eating uncooked chicken, looking directly at the sun, taking sweets from a stranger he does not know etc.

You don't do any of that too do you?!

[Bones]

He, He, well lets see now.... if milks not lumpy how are ya supposed to eat it with yer hands? On our ship the cooks motto is " chicken tartar, its what's for dinner". Our navigator, Blind bog Wily, don't see so good in the dark so he navigates by looking directly at the position of the sun, or "that faint hazy glow" as he likes to call it. Oh ya , and I never take sweets from strangers unless I am going through their pockets after we've won a real good ship to ship battle. Yo ho, yo ho, a pirates life for me.....Yarrrrrr, free "jelly bellies" for the whole crew!!!!

[Qwert]

Tropico 1 is much better IMHO, but Tropico 2 was good as well...

[Jocelyn]

Tropico 2 is very simplistic and easy in comparison to Tropico 1.  I like Tropico 1 a lot more than 2, but I got Tropico 2 from EB for $10 and even if I do like 1 a lot more, 2 was definitely fun and worth what I spent.  The fact that it is so much easier and that there is so much less to worry about makes the game easier to get started at and a lot of fun for a while, but I found that I mastered it quickly and from that point on playing for nothing but higher and higher scores got pretty pointless.

Another thing that Tropico 1 was so much better at was much more creative and challenging scenarios.  As well as so much more variety in the gameplay.  Also, I thought Tropico's light humor was hilarious, while I think Tropico 2 tries hard and fails.  But then, I don't really think that kidnapping women and forcing them to service men is at all funny.  Overall I would say that the humor is more childish than anything else and I missed the political and social humor from the first game.

But like I said, it was worth 10 dollars and I got about a week of fun out of it.  I didn't like the demo much either, the full game is better.  Happy gaming.

[Clever duck]

  T2 needs micromanagement,  but finding the best way of doing things to get results is part of the fun.  More fun if you don't insist on saving the game before every risk you take.

  Good graphics too.

[Ravenn]

I enjoy playing T2, whenever I actually get the urge to break it out.

However, that urge is rare because it has the bad habit of progressively getting harder and harder to scroll with more and more buildings/people/etc (at least, it does for me). After one year, it's okay, but after five...or ten...nope. Whereas I can take T1, and develop the wazoo out of it, and it scrolls nicely still.

[Fox]

All you have to do Senorita, is get this wicked graphic card called "Radeon" its that good,

p.s. its $499.99. I was like Whoa!!! dang that is expensive.

[s_stabeler]

actuaslly, tropico 2 can be good on any raphics card.

[Fox]

I already know s_stabeler, but Radeon is a must have, its good for DVDs and PC games, the works!

[takiye]

Im Vietnamese, and I spent only 1$ buying 2 disc of Tropico 2

[sethwbcl91]

I would give it a 7 or an 8 out of 10. I disliked it a lot when I first got it but I like it a lot more now. Although I would DEFINITLY much rateher play Tropico than Tropico 2. I would buy it if you were REALLY in to Pirates (which I am),

2) Its got monkeys

, umm ok LOL, and if you are into plundering and you like ruling cruely.