Shortly after the third game in the acclaimed Tropico series hits PCs, Xbox 360 owners will be able to step into the polished loafers of El Presidente, managing the day-to-day operations of their own tropical island. The game will be largely identical to the PC game, with some interface elements changed to better take advantage of the Xbox 360 controller, which is always a good thing.

Here are the first screens for the Xbox 360 version, depicting a lovely little slice of console island life.

Tropico 3 ditches the second game's pirate motif in favor of a return to the original Tropico, with players once again stepping into the role of El Presidente, managing the day-to-day affairs and development of the blossoming island nation. Kalypso is offering a select group of players the chance to help make sure their vision is true and unfettered by game-stopping bugs. All you need to do is head to the Haemimont Games website, fill out the closed beta application, and then wait. Oh the waiting you will do. So much waiting.

Actually the beta kicks off on July 13th, so you probably won't be waiting that long. For more information on Tropico 3, visit the official website.

When German developer Ascaron entered insolvency in April, things were looking grim for the studio's properties, which included Port Royale, Darkstar One, On the Ball and The Patrician. Luckily for fans, Kalypso swooped in, grabbed what they could, and now have set up a new nest for Ascaron's properties, with The Patrician III on track for a summer release. Stefan Marcinek, Global Managing Director for Kalypso Media Group, explains the new studio's formation as move towards greater independence.

"For Kalypso, this move is not just an expansion of our own studio capacities, but will also allow us greater independence in our games development. We currently have four new titles scheduled for release in 2010 which are being developed in our Munich and Gütersloh studios"

While this is excellent news for fans of Ascaron's other projects, it leaves the future of the Sacred series up in the air, though maybe the poor performance of the console versions have already sealed that franchise's fate.

The third title in the popular Tropico series of island management sims once again places players in the role of "El Presidente", the ruler of an island in the Caribbean during the Cold War era. The game centers around developing your island nation, keeping the citizens happy while juggling the various political factions trying to win your influence.

It sounds very much like a remake of the original Tropico by Bulgarian developer Haemimont Games, rather than the full sequel delivered by Frog City Software, the developer of Tropico 2: Pirate Cove. If it manages to carry over the tongue-in-cheek humor from the original title as well as the themes, characters, and settings, it could very well be worth strategy gamers' whiles to plan for an island vacation this fall.