Tropico 6 reveals its isles of plunder
Nick the Eiffel Tower
If I were going to steal the Eiffel Tower, I'd definitely strap a giant rocket to it and launch it into the sky. Once it was airborne, I'd remotely pilot it back to my volcano lair and then park it in the Monument Chamber next to the Statue of Liberty (also rocket-propelled) and the Great Sphinx of Giza (trundles around on little wheels).
It's not clear how El Presidente nicks the various monuments scattered around his archipelago nation in Tropico 6, but a new video shows the Eiffel Tower standing in tropical climes, as clear as can be. You'll be able to organise raids to steal them, we're told, but the biggest change is in the lay of the land. Rather than managing a single island, you'll be connecting several islands together, which means you'll need new tech and transport infrastructure to keep everything running smoothly.
Tropico is lovely, isn't it? Like Cities: Skylines with some dodgy humour and a billion times more character. That doesn't make it a better game than Colossal Order's city-builder because sometimes I want something much more neutral, and Skylines fits the bill marvelously, but it does make Tropico one of the few urban management games that has something to offer other than zoning, power grid fiddling and the laying of pipe.
If you've missed out on all the previous games, here's what you need to know: you are El Presidente, a perfectly legitimate not-dictator, and you must rule your people across four eras with an iron fist and a velvet glove. Butter them up, then lock them up if the butter supply runs out. But try not to keep plenty of butter by maintaining trade relationships with the superpowers of the world.
Here are some of the new features:
"In Tropico 6 you manage extensive archipelagos, build bridges to connect your islands and use new means of transportation and infrastructure for the first time in the series. Send your Tropicans on raids to steal the wonders of the world, including the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower. Customize your palace at will and give election speeches from your balcony, to win the favour of your subjects."
I think it looks rather handsome and I'll be seeing more of it out at GDC next week ahead of its release later this year.