"Live the Vegas dream"

Have you always wanted to go to Las Vegas? Well Midway is giving you the chance in its open world action extravaganza. Put on your best suit – after all, This is Vegas...

Las Vegas. There's no city more popular in the American state of Nevada than the place also known as Sin City. Full of glitz, glamour and gambling, Vegas is an adult wonderland that you will be able to explore fully in the open world action adventure, This is Vegas.

Vegas, baby, Vegas!

"This is Vegas has a narrative evocative to the Vegas VIP experience," explains Andre Maguire, Project Creative Director of Surreal Software, developer of This is Vegas. "It's a rags to riches progression. You basically have $50 in your pocket and you're just looking to have a good time. You start to meet a few people and start to live the Vegas dream a little, see a few things like the casinos and clubs.

"You get a feel for the town and start to realise that this guy named Preston Boyer, a fast food billionaire tycoon, is taking over the town, buying up property and transforming it into a Disneyland style tourist trap. So from that point on it becomes your mission to save Vegas and return it back to Vegas as we know it."

In gameplay terms, this means walking around huge environments engaging in the story, doing sub missions, playing in casinos, fighting off bad guys, and driving a wealth of different vehicles such as a pick up truck and sports car. However, unlike other open world adventure titles, This is Vegas doesn't primarily follow the gangster movie chic where anything goes. "It's about the tone, style and things that you can do which are inherent to Vegas," says Maguire. "We're not a crime based game, it's really more a hero driven storyline - you become the hero of Vegas as opposed to an anti-hero."

Bright lights, big city

This is Vegas was conceived after the development team's numerous trips to Las Vegas and Midway's desire to create a large scale open world title. Taking inspiration from movies such as Ocean's 11, the aim is to create a game that captures the neon-lit charms of the city, mixed with a strong sense of parody.

"We're taking the humour and comedic approach of movies like Talladega Nights, Anchorman or any kind of Will Ferrell movie," says Maguire. "We take a lot of influence from that in the comedy aspects of the game, but still try to maintain the glitzy glamour aesthetic."

Because of these aspects, the replication of Vegas is kept to a more functional sense rather than door-to-door accuracy. Centred on the main Las Vegas Strip, the game has a number of different districts such as the residential area, the urban sprawl, construction zones and more which surround The Strip itself. Each of those sections, as well as the numerous parts of The Strip has its own tone, which can be anything from a Frank Sinatra or The Rat Pack vibe, to something a bit more contemporary.

What happens in Vegas stays in...

There's a fair amount you can do to make your way from veritable pauper to prince in this heady and colourful world of slot machines, exotic dancers and high rolling lifestyles. As well as going to the expected gambling spots, keeping a good reputation with the four factions that rule the roost (each based on a suit of cards; the Diamonds, Hearts, Clubs and Spades), and engaging in parties, there are street racing assignments and combat missions to keep you on your toes.

The violence in the game doesn't stray from anything too excessive. "We're not doing gratuitous violence - no body parts flying off or stuff like that!" smiles Maguire. "We're taking a more funny approach to it, it's more tongue-in-cheek. We poke fun at the aspect of creating mass chaos, which works pretty well with the setting."

This is Vegas' main goal is to give you a good time in an action packed yet comedic way, bringing Vegas to the comfort of your own home and making you the hero. "We want to have the player feel like they've gone through a progression, starting out with very little and then becoming very successful on the way," says Maguire. "You get cooler cars, cooler clothes, potentially own a casino on the strip, that sort of thing. Becoming the centre of attention.

"It speaks to that VIP fantasy you associate with Vegas."