Caesar's Palace

The thrill of possibly winning real money, free stuff, buffets, lights, beautiful scenery, hot call girls and hotter showgirls, such is the allure of real casinos. Unfortunately, that is also a list of things that Caesar's Palace for Game Gear is devoid of.

Caesar's Palace has about every major game found in the casino at that time (1994). There are tables for blackjack, roulette and craps; machines for scratch cards, horse racing, video poker and slots, plus and area for keno. Trouble is; none of those games are fun in their own right. They work as nice distractions in other titles as mini-games. But then, in those games there are usually rewards for winning and that is what makes playing video poker or blackjack fun. The same is true for real life. But in Caesar's Palace you just accumulate imaginary funds. Winning just means you get to keep playing, and whether that is a reward is questionable.

There is no story and nothing to buy or unlock. There are not even any other patrons in the casino, it's just you. But then again, why are you there? The developer obviously did not use the titular establishment as a basis for the one in this game. If the interior were this boring in real life, it would have gone out of business long ago!

In short, there is no motivation to keep playing because there is no hook to pull you into the game. The only two things that could conceivably be considered highlights are seeing the security guard politely ask you to leave the high roller section and the moderate catchiness of the one continuously looping audio track. That should give some idea of just how wonderful this game is.

Caesar's Palace likely was only made to make people think that winning money in casinos is this easy in reality. That is actually a good idea. If only they had employed the same cleverness in making the game. Where the hell are the showgirls?!?