"The original Tropico received worldwide acclaim when it hit store shelves in 2001," said Kelly Sumner, president of Gathering. "We wanted to preserve the light tone of the original, and found that the pirate theme in 'Tropico 2: Pirate Cove' allowed us to do just that. 'Pirate Cove' retains the tongue-in-cheek humor and island setting of the original, while providing compelling new gameplay."

Players of "Tropico 2: Pirate Cove" can:

• Increase their pirate stash with an innovative economic model - the growth of the island hinges on the success of pirate raids against unsuspecting sea-goers.
• Improve their workforce and capture valuable prisoners on the high seas. Captives build your industries, craft your weapons, and can even be ransomed for money.
• Create a supreme pirate haven through 16 episodes of swashbuckling storylines filled with lily-livered landlubbers, shady mates, and wisecracking parrots.
• Customize their pirates to make them possess distinct personalities - Sea Dogs require profitable employment, plentiful companionship, and the best in pirate accommodations.
• Lure history's most devious pirates (such as Blackbeard, Henry Morgan, and Black Bart) to their secret isle - these dreaded pirates enhance power and expand the players' treasure.
• Customize victory conditions during sandbox play.
• Issue edicts to rig gambling halls, force captives to walk the plank or even instigate a war between dominant world powers.
• Reward their buccaneers with personal estates and watch them build their own booty-filled mansions.

About "Tropico 2: Pirate Cove"

As an all-powerful Pirate King, players must manage a seventeenth century band of buccaneers in "Tropico 2: Pirate Cove." To attract the most frightening of history's sea-faring bad boys, Pirate Kings must keep their charges brave and well-supplied between voyages. The island's "yo-ho-ho's" must stay at a feverish pitch in order to keep the King's buccaneers satisfied with drinking, wenching, gambling, feasting, and the best in pirate accommodations.

Success in Tropico 2: Pirate Cove depends on careful management of the pirate population. As dead men earn no plunder, the Pirate King must keep his pirates well equipped for potentially lethal missions. Sea dogs require muskets, cutlasses, cannons, and the skills to use them when they venture forth to plunder the Spanish Main. Pirates equipped with a parrot on their shoulders and a scary black hat are more likely to strike fear into their victims' hearts.

For more information on "Tropico 2: Pirate Cove," visit the official website