Las Vegas is one of the most exciting places on the planet, so it is easy to see why it features so heavily in movies and video games. However, as well as being a good destination for a fun trip, a bachelor party, or any other type of holiday, it is popular in video games for many reasons.
The concept of Vegas offers so much in terms of famous hotel and casino settings, as well as the contrasting landscape of going quickly from the busy, debauchery-filled streets of Sin City into the sparse loneliness of the arid desert. Here are some of the top video games that have centered around the Vegas theme:
Fallout: New Vegas
One of the popular games in the Fallout series, the post-apocalyptic role-playing Fallout: New Vegas video game has scenes based in Nevada and some in Utah. The game was released for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 and is a retro-futuristic setting in Vegas in the year 2281.
Whilst it is hard to make comparisons of some of the locations when it is set over 200 years into the future, areas of the Nevada Desert feature prominently. Critic reviews for the game are fairly positive, so it is definitely worth a play if you haven’t played it before.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Released in 2003 for PC, Mac, and Xbox, this game is based on the TV series CSI and was the original CSI: Las Vegas video game. There were a further eight released, as well as spin-offs for CSI: NY and CSI: Miami.
The series was a huge success with a range of cases that require solving. Vegas is the perfect setting for crimes including the murder of a showgirl, arson within rival drug gangs, and the murder of the daughter of a casino owner. The last game released under the CSI: Vegas series was in 2014 for Android, iOS, and Facebook, giving mobile users the chance to get involved in solving the crimes in CSI: Hidden Crimes.
Gangstar Vegas
Released in 2013 for Android and iOS, this is an action-adventure game featuring the character of a former MMA fighter framed by the Mafia. It has a similar feel to the GTA games, with lots of driving and third-person shooters. Las Vegas is not just the background setting for the game, you actually have the option to take part in casino games such as blackjack.
Online casino players might not value the in-game casino experience to the same extent that they would value playing online live roulette games or any other modern online live casino games, but it adds an extra dimension to the game that few software developers had achieved at the time of release. Whilst other games use famous buildings and places in Vegas as part of the storyline, Gangster Vegas brings a little bit of the Vegas experience into the player’s home, in a similar way to the online casino games that are now available to play.
Las Vegas has and probably always will be used for the setting of movies and video games because there are so many great angles to utilize and it is perfect for gamers who are interested in the type of events happening in Sin City.
