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Deja Vu II: Lost in Las Vegas

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ICOM Simulations
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Deja Vu II: Lost in Las Vegas is a point-and-click adventure game and serves as the follow-up to Deja Vu: A Nightmare Comes True, set within the 1940s noir detective milieu. Created by ICOM Simulations, it represents the concluding entry in the MacVenture lineup. Originally launched in 1988 for the Macintosh, it was subsequently adapted for systems such as the Amiga, Atari ST, Apple IIGS, and Game Boy Color.

Although a version for the Nintendo Entertainment System was promoted in 1993, it was ultimately cancelled, likely due to the NES's waning market relevance. The 1999 Game Boy Color edition, released as Deja Vu I & II: The Casebooks of Ace Harding, included edited content to suit a wider audience and featured expanded narrative elements, including an enhanced conclusion.

Plot

Set in the late 1940s, the story follows Theodore "Ace" Harding, a private eye and former boxer who, after being exonerated from a previous murder accusation, is abducted and regains consciousness at the Lucky Dice Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Accused of absconding with $112,000 belonging to mobster Tony Malone, Ace has one week to recover the money or face death at the hands of Malone’s enforcer, Stogie Martin.

During his investigation, Ace discovers records indicating that the stolen cash was used to bribe police officers loyal to Daniel Ventini, Malone’s partner who is secretly conspiring against him. Unable to reclaim the funds directly, Ace cleverly plants incriminating evidence linking both Malone and Ventini to treachery. This provokes a violent gang conflict that enables Ace to flee Las Vegas while both criminals are eliminated, resolving his predicament.

Gameplay

Deja Vu II begins in a sparsely inhabited Las Vegas with only a few locations accessible. Players can travel by train to additional cities such as Chicago (where locations from Deja Vu I reappear), Los Angeles, St. Louis, and New York City. However, venturing to Los Angeles, St. Louis, or New York before completing the final objective results in execution by hitman Stogie. The narrative is standalone, allowing newcomers to engage without familiarity with the original game.

Though police presence remains significant, law enforcement attention on Ace is reduced compared to the first installment. Ace can be arrested immediately following offenses like disturbing the peace, indecent exposure, assault, impersonation of an officer, or murder. Attempting entry into Chicago’s police station also triggers arrest. Murder leads directly to execution by electric chair; other crimes result in imprisonment followed by Stogie killing Ace either in a desert outside Nevada or within a Chicago graveyard. In the Game Boy Color version, all arrests culminate in an abbreviated form of this ending.

Consistent with other MacVenture games, a time constraint exists enforced through Stogie's warnings about needing to "come up with the dough." Taking too long causes Ace’s death by gunshot. This time limit remains intact in the Game Boy Color release, unlike Nintendo ports of Deja Vu I. While drug-induced amnesia does not feature here, players experience memory flashbacks triggered by specific settings, photographs, or objects.

Reception

Dave Arneson, writing for Computer Gaming World, delivered a negative assessment of the Macintosh edition, criticizing its straightforward gameplay and cumbersome command interface as monotonous. Conversely, Compute! commended Deja Vu for its engaging storyline and intuitive user interface. Macworld praised Deja Vu II for presenting an independent narrative and regarded it as a more polished installment that provides many hours of engaging adventure, provided players refrain from excessive reliance on hints. Nevertheless, the review pointed out that certain puzzles lacked logical consistency, making the $5 hint booklet nearly indispensable, and also expressed dissatisfaction with the game's copy protection system.

Reviews

See also

Deja Vu: A Nightmare Comes True

External links

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