You have taken over control of a casino, but must build it from the ground up. You decide how to design the interior, what gaming tables to purchase, what accoutrements need to give it a quality atmosphere and what staff you will hire.

You can also decide whether or not you want to rig games, or if you want to spend money on advertising or transportation. After all, patrons may need to know about your place, need a ride there, and then help losing their money.

Casino Inc., a PC release from Konami, is a well-designed economic sim, that will challenge players to create a moneymaking business with a series of goals that must be accomplished along the way. It looks good and plays well; the only problem is that had already been done. There may be differences in the general styles, but Casino Inc. is a close cousin to the Sierra release Hoyle Casino Empire.

You begin your quest to create a thriving business in the tiny town of Little Hope Springs. Gambling has just been legalized there, and aside from the movie theatres and restaurants, the only real competition is from one other casino. Visitors are already flocking to the town and filling up the hotels in anticipation of the fun they will have lining your pockets with their money.

But first you have create the perfect environment in order to lure them to freely spend their cash. Think you should rig a table? Maybe add security? Hurry, be quick, the floor is becoming trash covered, it is time to hire a janitor. Maybe you should hire some entertainers. Is a small wet bar enough, or should you add some food?

Choices, choices, choices … Casino Inc is rife with options for the player to pursue, and the easy player interface allows you to buy, position, sell or store attractions quickly and effortlessly. NPCs will alert you to likes and dislikes about your casino, and maybe you might see two of them fall in love with one another. If your place is a happy adult playground, almost anything can happen.

If your business is properly managed, you may even be able to afford more plots of city land to expand and drive your rivals out of business.

Casino Inc. sports eight different gaming tables, a variety of food and drink options and you can unlock more attractions as you go along.

The game also features bright, colorful graphics, an easy-to-use interface, and a soundtrack that is a good support player to the graphical elements.

In general, Casino Inc. is a nice-looking, smooth-playing game. Unfortunately, aside from some minor differences, this game is quite similar to the Sierra title, Hoyle Casino Empire. Both teams appear to be cut from the same swatch of cloth, just shaped a little differently.  For players of the competitive title, you will likely want to pass on this one. But for players looking for a decent business simulation that keeps the general flavor light, you might want to gamble on this title.

This game is rated Mature for gambling, mature sexual themes, use of alcohol and violence.

Gameplay: 7.4
Rotating cameras allows players to watch the steady flow of business, with minor pauses thrown in for redesigns or to purchase more equipment, hire more staff or take charge of managing the daily activities surrounding your business. The game also had a few slowdowns in moving an item around.

Graphics: 7.5
While the game looks good and the animations are solid, if you take the time to really look at the characters, they do not have a great deal of different movements. Maintenance staff will go through the same motions repeatedly.

Sound: 7.5
The bells, whistles, card shuffling and other casino sounds are captured well. While solid, the game just does not feature anything new or innovative.

Difficulty: Easy
The tutorial will walk you through the basic aspects of this game, and the interface will enable you to jump right in and go quickly. The three difficulty levels are linked to the three towns you can build your business in.

Concept: 6
Although there are some general, cosmetic differences, this is virtually the same game as Sierra’s title.

Overall: 7.1
This title looks good, and plays well, but the basic concept and general feel of the game has already been done.