I picked up Tropico 3 ages ago. I vaguely remembered reviews being quite positive, and it being described as being like Sim City, but on a tropical island – Sim Castro. It sounded like the sort of thing I could relax with on a weekend, or get lost in and forget what time it was.

I finally got around to giving it a go the other day, and though I was right about what the game would be like, I had no idea it would be so hard to get in to.

The main problem the game has is that it’s got a tutorial that doesn’t actually teach you how to play the game.

I mean, it teaches you the cold hard mechanics of how the game is played: X button selects things; How to move the camera around (left & right sticks – I’m glad the game told me this because there is no way I would ever have guessed at such a control system); How to build things, fire workers, and make a speech.

But it doesn’t tell you how to actually play the game. On a new island, what is the first thing I should build? In a general sense am I better off with tobacco, pineapple, or papaya farms? When my citizens are complaining about housing, but won’t move in to the nice houses I’ve bought, what should I do?

People keep becoming rebels – how should I stop that trend? Or the growing number of peaceful protests against my rule?

There are three types of clinic I can build, what are the differences and when should I bother with the others?

Do I need roads to connect all of the buildings I have created, or are some fine without being connected to the island’s infrastructure?

It really does go on and on. It seems, from what I’ve seen, to be an incredibly complicated game. I just wish I knew what the hell I was doing without having to go to GameFaqs and read someone’s writing on roughly what the hell to do – a trainee dictator’s guide.

What I find even more baffling is that I managed to complete the first campaign mission even though I had no idea what was going on. The game isn’t punishing my complete lack of knowledge, or holding me back until I can demonstrate a suitable level of skill. I am a bit worried about moving on to the next island, to be honest.

Oh, and the text is ridiculously small. I think at Daylight Games I will also make sure everyone sits the correct distance away from their TVs, rather than with their noses pressed up against them.