Yoot Tower

Actually, the name is spelled YOOT ToweR; Yoot Saito loves zany capitalisations, as is evident from the name of his company, OPeNBooK. This is a sequel to SimTower, distributed worldwide by SEGA. On first glance you'd say it uses mostly the same graphics as SimTower, but only at first glance; nearly all of the graphics have been redrawn, but are very similar to the ones used in SimTower.

Compared to SimTower, Yoot Tower offers more choices, demands more micromanagement and is on the whole more difficult to play. For the details, read the reviews I link below. I have not played it very much and found it indeed far more difficult than the first game.

Once again, there are only two versions: Macintosh (System 7.5, PowerPC with 32M, or 16M, RAM) and Windows 95 (Pentium, or Pentium 90). I found that different reviewers give different system requirements, so I'm a bit vague here. The Macintosh version came out a month or so before the PC version, some time early in 1999.

From the Outside

Unlike SimTower, Yoot Tower allows you to view your building from the outside. This is what the building from the screenshot above looks in outside view.

Reviews

What Mac Gamers Say

There are many reviews of Yoot Tower on Mac gaming sites, and they all seemed to like it. There are two facts that none of them fails to mention: that it came out on the Mac first, and that it forces you to set your monitor to 256 colors manually.

• Complex, challenging, addictive, is Misha Sakellaropoulo's verdict:

  For Mac users, it's been a while since a solid simulation game has come along. Yoot Tower erases that trend as an addictive, challenging, and enjoyably complex title. Not only that, but thanks to Yoot Saito's personal dedication to the platform, you can be playing Yoot Tower more than a month before your PC counterparts will.

• Desire to beat the computer can be addictive, Kaiser Von Brinkman lists under both the pros and the cons of the game:

  For all the logistic fun, Yoot Tower succeeds as a sim but it fails at being a game of the late '90's. The graphics are frankly lack-luster. When launching Yoot Tower, you get a dialog box telling you to change to 256 colors (Yoot only supports 256 colors). People are portrayed as stick figures even at the closest zoom-in range and names of stores are hard to make out at the closest range as well. Of course, most people who buy sims get it for the power factor, not for their highly-detailed, well-rendered sprites. The one good thing about the low-res graphics is that lower end PowerPC models owners can enjoy playing Yoot Tower as well. On the other hand, as the game advances all the action may begin to take its toll on even a G3.

• Overall this is just a great tower simulation, Dave Price says:

  If you still like to play SimTower once in a while (I still do) then I would recommend buying this game. (Until March 2 it's only $30!) The new features are well worth it. It'll add life to your life, and especially to those living in your towers. If you haven't ever played SimTower, then you have no excuse not to buy this game.

• What it lacks in graphics it makes up in gameplay, Charles Sharp decides:

  Yoot Tower, brought to us by Sega Entertainment and Yoot Saito, is the latest addition to the long line of popular simulation-type games. As the unofficial sequel to SimTower, it includes much of the predecessor's original gameplay, with some new features most simulation fans will enjoy. Since it was Mac-first release, I expected a lot from Yoot Tower, and, boy, did Yoot Saito fulfill those expectations.

What PC Gamers Say

Yoot Tower went nearly unnoticed in the PC gaming world. I found only a single professional review, there is no dedicated fan page, just a single page on a site otherwise about SimTower.

• Still no giant monkeys, Stephen Butts observes, but has otherwise no complaints. He gave it 7.8, his readers 7.7 out of 10.

  Although the game looks and plays a lot like SimTower, it's got some new elements. Unfortunately, this is the type of game that requires hours and hours of play to truly appreciate. As with all of Saito-san's games, this one is nearly infinitely deep and engaging and I look forward to unlocking more secrets of Yoot Tower in the weeks to come.

• Two thumbs up, the reviewer of HOTU cheers:

  Overall, Yoot Tower is an excellent game of business management that is not for the easily frustrated. It can get monotonous at times, and is a game that only devoted micro-managers will be successful at. However, if you're looking for a challenging business sim, you will likely become a Yoot addict like me.

• A complete waste of time, Falsiloquos dismisses. This reviewer is a bit clueless; SimTower was not made by Maxis, just distributed, and that Yoot is the name of the creator of the game should not be a secret to anyone who has played SimTower. After all, it is stated pretty visible on the splash screen.

  Yoot Tower is a game that quite simply should never have been made, and it definately should never be played by anyone!

• McLure's Yoot Tower Stuff was just a single page on a site otherwise dedicated to SimTower.

  Even if you enjoyed playing SimTower, you may hate playing YootTower. I do not recommend buying YootTower; it just does not have the playablilty of SimTower.