VEGAS CASINO 2

 VEGAS CASINO 2 (VG2) is a craps and roulette simulation written by Tarheel
Technologies and distributed by Mastertronic. As VEGAS CASINO was "The Ultimate
Gambling Compendium Program," it must be assumed that VG2 is merely a misplaced
or delayed part of it, rather than a sequel or an original program. In any case,
the low-priced ($9.99) VG2 supports as many as four players and offers decent
graphics, easy play, keyboard or joystick control, a betting help screen, and
copy protection. The package comes with a flippy disk. The Commodore 64/128
version is the basis of this review; IBM-PC version notes follow.

 Once you've figured out the rules of roulette and craps, and determined the
correct keystrokes (the ones listed in the manual for the C64 are wrong), VG2
plays easily enough. The rules are based, for the most part, on those used in
Las Vegas. The best thing about VG2 is that each player's $1000 bankroll never
changes, regardless of wins and losses. Although the money isn't real (it's not
even fake!), this is much better than actually going to Las Vegas with $1000 and
returning home with twelve cents. The screen photos on the back of the package
do show bankrolls larger than $1000, but in the game itself, the cash outlays of
the players never changed.

 The rules of roulette are simple: Place bets on the numbers and spin the wheel.
The rules of craps are simple: Place bets on any of the many possible outcomes
and roll the dice. Craps has many betting options and excellent odds; roulette's
options are limited and the odds mostly favor the house. Rather than attempt to
list all the possibilities, many of which seem senseless, I'll let VG2 itself do
the explaining: When you place the cursor on any part of the betting area (in
either game), and press F8, a help screen will give the odds, payoff, house
commissions, and results of a win or loss for that particular bet.

 For roulette, the C64 screen display consists of wheel and player bankrolls at
the top of the screen, beneath which is the betting table, beneath which are
four color-coded blocks that designate the chips for each player. For craps, the
C64 screen display is the same, except that there are dice at the top of the
screen.

 Both games are controlled with either keyboard or joystick, although all the
joystick did was move the pointer around. Because bets must be placed and
wheel/dice put into action with keystrokes, you might as well use the cursor
keys to move the pointer and avoid the joystick entirely. Point to a chip block,
and each F1 keypress picks up a chip; move the pointer (which now carries the
chips) to the betting table, and each F3 keypress drops a chip on to your
betting choice. F8 calls up the help screen.

 When you've placed all bets, press the Return key: The roulette wheel spins and
the bankroll display is replaced by an extreme closeup of the spinning red and
black wheel slots. In craps, a tiny pair of dice rolls across the betting table.

 Graphics on the C64 are fair, although some of the numbers are fuzzy due to a
strange and muted pastel color scheme. The limited keystrokes make gameplay
easy, and since your bankroll won't ever change, you can play for a month and
never lose any money.

 The VEGAS CASINO 2 package comes with one copy-protected flippy disk and an
instruction booklet ("booklet" is an exaggeration).

 VG2 looks okay and plays easily enough but, contrary to the claims on the
package, it isn't really so close to the fast lane that it'll make you feel as
though you're "on the strip." In fact, VG2 is extremely low-key. Everything is
accomplished with a minimum of fanfare, which I suppose has something to do with
the $10 price tag.

 IBM-PC VERSION NOTES

 The IBM-PC version is much the same as the Commodore 64 version. The program
supports IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2, and Tandy 1000 machines, as well as most
compatibles. (The test machine, a Northgate 386 with six megabytes of RAM, hard
drive, and VGA, was compatible.) You'll need 256K and a CGA, EGA, VGA, Hercules,
or Tandy graphics card.  The 5-1/4" flippy disk is copy-protected, which did
away with the hard drive. VGA looked more or less like EGA; both modes provided
game screens with better clarity than the C64 version.

 Mouse, joystick, and keyboard are the control modes supported; however (as with
the C64 version), the keyboard worked best. While either mouse or joystick will
move the selection pointer, both devices caused it to jump wildly around the
screen; sometimes the pointer got stuck in two positions simultaneously.
Keypresses are few; if you stick with the keyboard, you'll have no problems with
gameplay.

 Neither version will make you want to do handsprings, but the program seems
more tractable on the IBM. The C64 version is an afterthought, as if the
programmers of VEGAS CASINO 2 decided users should be given something extra for
their ten bucks.

 VEGAS CASINO 2 is published and distributed by Mastertronic.

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