Banished vs Tropico Reloaded
Banished
Banished is a medieval-themed city-building simulation that can be pretty difficult to get into at first mainly due to its many nuances and lack of a comprehensive tutorial. But once you get the general idea of how things work (we'd recommend starting with easy mode), you'll start to truly appreciate the game as the challenge that it is. In some way, this game is quite similar to SimCity in many ways with the obvious difference being the themes and the lack of piping, waste management or electricity. Different maps will pose a different challenge and of course, the bigger your village is, the more stuff you'll need to manage. Although it does have some strategy elements to it - mainly in the form of village management, the game is not a war game. There is no fighting involved but your villagers will die from natural causes or disasters like illnesses or famine.However, once you've gotten the hang of the game, Banished becomes less of a punishing game and a bit more boring due to the same-y looking buildings and the soundtrack. When it comes to replayability, we'd say that the game has maybe tens of hours in it before you'll get bored and move on to the next game... and this play duration may be drastically reduced if you happen to be a pro SimCity player.
So, in short, Banished will appear to be a somewhat frustrating game at first, but once you've gotten the hang of it, the game might gradually becomes boring mainly because there is nothing else to do except to expand, expand and expand! However, we can't say that we didn't enjoy playing the game, and even for the shorter play duration it has to offer, as opposed to triple A city-building titles, the game is worth the money it costs.
Tropico Reloaded
Tropico Reloaded is a strategic nation-building game that may feel a little like one of those really in-depth city-building simulation games. However, playing the role of the leader of a banana republic rather than simply being the mayor, you have a wider reach and influence over your people - you can choose to rule with an iron grip or with benevolence - and also the ability to amass an army to defend your said republic from external invaders and internal dissidents. Of course, you can also choose to be corrupt and set aside some funds for your swiss bank account.The game's expansion, Tropico: Paradise Island allows you to not only bring natural disasters on your people but also build tourist attractions as you open up your country for others to visit and of course, to bring in tons of cash. This reloaded version even includes Tropico 2, which will see you ruling over a pirate island as the Pirate King.
Tropico lets players enjoy the fun of managing their own country in their own respective ways much like a simulation game would, and yet, there is also a strategic element to it as you'll need to lead your armies or pirate crew to defend your people from time to time. This game may appeal to fans of city-builders or people who have always imagine themselves leading a nation.