The thing about gambling is that when you're hot, you're hot; and when you're not, well, you're just not. That is the one good thing about V.I.P. Casino: Blackjack: the only dimes you're going to lose are the ones you give up to purchase this stale title. It's not that V.I.P. is a terrible game; it does what it means to do. Unfortunately, playing Blackjack on your Wii for fake money is about as much fun as it sounds: not any at all. Perhaps a Wii Ware title bolstering a whole bevy of assorted casino games would have been a good idea, but considering the mass amounts of space this dead weight title takes up, that thought may be a little too ambitious.

I'll be honest; there is really not much to say here. If you have ever played Blackjack, then you'll immediately know how this is going to play out. You get two cards: if they stink, you can say "Hit me" to get another one, and then if your sum is hovering around twenty-one, you say "stay" and see what the dealer has. Go over twenty-one, and you bust. Simple stuff really, and frankly, it does not translate all that well to the videogame world. Things can get slightly more interesting if you are playing with three of your friends, but if you are an actual Blackjack aficionado, I highly doubt you would prefer to do your gambling on the Wii.

One interesting thing that other developers may want to take note of for future Wii Ware offerings is V.I.P.'s inclusion of achievements. With roughly twenty achievements to unlock, perfectionists will find plenty of reason to come back for more. The only unfortunate thing is that a few of them require you to play this game for over half an hour to an hour, which could be considered a violation of the 8th Amendment. As you know, this Amendment prohibits the use of cruel and unusual punishment.

This game is what I would call less than exciting, and the plodding tempo in which you play certainly does not help. Hands can take far too long to get going, as you have to watch the dealer divvy up the chips and prepare the next deal. Perhaps the overall generic feel of V.I.P. could have been aided by a brisk pace, but there is no such luxury here. It is not a good thing to be boring to play, but being boring to watch as well is a bit too much.