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Yutaka "Yoot" Saito has earned himself a reputation as the king of quirk. His oddball titles like the talking fish/man simulator Seaman and the Real-time Strategy/Pinball hybrid Odama have made his name a brand that fans of absurd and the bizarre recognize. But fewer remember his first title, licensed to Maxis in the West as Sim Tower or its refined sequel Yoot Tower. With The Tower SP Yoot and the gang at Vivarium go back to roots with a reworking of his classic skyscraper simulation series.
SimTower was never really the sort of game that could occupy one's full attention. Back in 1997 it was a fun little set of building blocks, and a great game to have open on your desktop while waiting for those webpages to load. Players would build their "vertical empire" full of shops, restaurants, condos, offices and hotels, attempting to generate revenue for further vertical expansion. Its sequel complicated the formula a bit, forcing players to accomidate more needs of their tower's occupants, and added different demographics with different desires. It also had a bit more of a goal based structure to its progression with VIPs who would give your establishment a higher rating if they enjoyed their stay.
The Tower SP visually resembles the first title (which is a bit disappointing for what little the graphics matter), but it's actually a bit of a hybrid, and a bit of a new game altogether, pulling elements from both games, stripping others out, and adding a few of its own. As in the second game you'll be able to choose from a variety of establishments for your tower-dwellers to patronize, but the variety of stores and restaurants is not as wide as Yoot Tower's. There's still something to appeal to every demographic in your skyscraper, though, so this was probably just done to eliminate redundancy. Similarly, apartments are no longer an option, as they're not functionally unlike offices (your other rental property). Everything in The Tower SP seems to have its place and distinct purpose.
This is probably the best balanced entry in the series yet. It doesn't have the limiting difficulty of the second game, nor the over-simplicity of the first. But, alas, it's still prone to their worst flaw: inevitable waiting game. When you've finished building and exhausted your funds, there's little to do but wait for more money to roll in. It's not hard to reach profitability with your Tower, and it's difficult to get too deep into the hole, so sometimes all there is to do is sit idly until it's time to collect rent. A fast-forward button eases this pain a bit, but it still seems like the kind of game you'll want to play while doing something else. And maybe that's been the point all along. The handheld format seems well-suited to this, and I'd be lying if I said the boring stretches kept me from playing the game for hours.
Vivarium has also taken the time to update the presentation a bit. There's now a nice tutorial to guide you in the beginning, and instructions by your benefactor, an elderly tycoon by the name of "Yama." Yama will also give you goals to achieve as you build your tower, to earn a four-star, and eventually the coveted "Tower" rating. Although the game continues on forever just as in previous incarnations, there's some pomp and circumstance surrounding your completion of the final goal, and doing so will open up new building projects to move on to. This gives the experience a longer shelf-life for those who need goals in front of them.
Anyone with some love for the old games is going to be happy with what Vivarium has done with SP Newcomers should be a bit more wary. Even in its updated form, this is a dated game, with simple gameplay. I enjoyed my time with it, and I think others will, too, but it never managed to completely reel me in. But for those looking for something to pick at between bouts of real life, The Tower SP could be just the ticket.
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