GameSpot editors' review
-
CNET editors' rating:
stars
Good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 04/24/2002
- Updated on: 01/28/2004
- Released on: 03/17/2002
- Originally published on GameSpot: Casino Mogul (PC) Review
Casino Mogul might just give you a migraine. It has some significant problems, not the least of which is its monotonous and grating soundtrack. The game draws a great deal of inspiration from RollerCoaster Tycoon (and by default from Theme Park), and it lets you manage a casino from carpets to craps. It's yet another game trying to jump on the "tycoon" bandwagon, though it features a good premise that is almost enough to outweigh its frustrating design flaws.
Teach them how to give you their money.
You start simple. At the beginning, all you have is a big empty room. You can build slot machines and a cashier's booth. Other games and attractions have prerequisites. To build a bar, you need a janitor's closet. To build blackjack and Caribbean stud poker tables, you need a pit boss station. To build more-complex gaming tables, such as pai gow poker and craps, you need to offer gambling lessons. Later, you can add a hotel, gift shops, a sports book, and a keno room. Casino Mogul's pacing is just right in this respect--when your simple games start earning money, you'll have enough to move on to the bigger games. When those start earning money, you'll have enough to move on to the high-cost additions.
The pacing is not so good in other respects. Your casino can hold only a very limited number of patrons, and in order to raise the capacity you need to expand. However, there is a noticeable discrepancy in the amount of space you'll need to accommodate a profitable crowd and the amount of space you will actually need for slot machines and gaming tables. Good planning is punished in this respect, because you'll find yourself expanding simply so you can attract more visitors, and not because you need the space. This causes a problem with your janitors, who have to cover more ground and clean up the trash of guests who are often wandering around with nothing to do.
You'll encounter yet another problem if you decide to fill up the empty space with cheap slot machines and blackjack tables, just so you aren't staring at hundreds of square feet of gaudy carpet. Almost everything you build in your casino has a maintenance cost, and that cost is the same no matter how much it's used--a slot machine that's just sitting in a corner will cost as much to maintain as one that sees a good deal of action. Because of this, trying to plan a casino that's lively and full is not a viable option. Bankruptcy is always just around the corner, and the game offers no loans or assistance to help offset losses. So once you start losing money, it'll be gone in no time. Similarly, the objects in your casino will deteriorate at a constant rate, so building four identical slot machines at once will ensure that they'll all break down simultaneously.
Broken machines aren't the worst of your worries. In fact, the worst of your worries is people dying in your casino. The excitement gets to them, and they have heart attacks. Lots of heart attacks. To counteract this, you need to build first-aid stations. The medics at these stations will scurry over and try to help those in cardiac arrest, racing against the devil. Literally--the prince of darkness himself marches through the front door at the first sign of a heart attack, trying to beat your medics to the dying guest. It's a ridiculous sight, and one that would be funny if it didn't happen so often. A dead guest can't bet, and you'll likely lose money in the subsequent wrongful death lawsuit.
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