Game developers can’t keep their hands off Las Vegas. There’s something about the Strip, about all those bygone landmarks—and the ones still standing—that inspire developers to keep rendering our city into games, often with great detail. Here are some of our favorite games putting Vegas on the (digital) map.
Video Gaming in Vegas
- Las Vegans Louis Castle and Brett Wesley Sperry reinvented strategy gaming with Westwood Studios
- With Downtown’s Insert Coin(s), Christopher LaPorte married arcades with Las Vegas nightlife
- Gamer’s Paradise: Find unlimited fun at these Las Vegas arcades
- These Las Vegas brothers hope to make skill-based gaming more mainstream
- Las Vegas offers a one-of-a-kind backdrop in these classic video games
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Rockstar Games’ second-best-selling GTA takes place in San Andreas, a fictional world inspired by LA, San Francisco and Las Vegas. The game’s Las Venturas features hilariously titled remodels of Vegas landmarks from the early ’90s. Cruising the Strip, you can spot “the Camel’s Toe,” a re-skin of the Luxor’s pyramid and Sphinx. Further north is Treasure Island, pirate theme and ship still intact—only now, it’s called “Pirate in Men’s Pants.” Rockstar also includes a glittering stretch of the Fremont Street Experience, the Bonanza Gift Shop and Caesars Palace, aka “Caligula’s Palace,” which serves as the spot for the game’s biggest heist. And over in the desert, a secret base known as “Area 69” remains heavily guarded.
Hitman: Blood Money
Agent 47 checks in for business in the Las Vegas-based mission “A House of Cards.” His task? Eliminate three high-profile targets who have conspired to trade important DNA material. And because it’s Vegas, and Vegas is nothing without a good heist, he needs to steal some diamonds and escape. The hit happens at the “Shamal Hotel and Casino,” but before entering, you can spot the “Belmondo Hotel,” a direct nod to the Bellagio. It’s probably all a set-up, but in terms of re-creating Vegas, this is a good one.
Fallout New Vegas
Obsidian Entertainment pored over every detail to get this version of post-apocalyptic Vegas right. You awaken from your dirt nap in Goodsprings, Nevada, where the town’s schoolhouse and Pioneer Saloon can be accurately traced on Google Maps. As New Vegas opens up, finding landmarks becomes a game in itself. Favorite moments include fighting off escaped jailers on the tracks of the Desperado roller coaster in Primm, discovering the armored raiders who have overtaken Red Rock Canyon, declining propositions from a feisty robot at the “Atomic Wrangler” casino and befriending a grotesque group of super mutants at Mount Charleston. This one gets our local stamp of approval.
Call of Duty: Ghosts
The 10th installment of the Call of Duty franchise sends players to a casino safe house inspired by the Luxor. Naturally, the mission turns lethal. At one epic point, you head outdoors, take cover behind broken Egyptian statues and start shooting down a helicopter. Vegas looks sand-ravaged and in post-war shambles. A post-apocalyptic north Las Vegas Boulevard also appears in Ghosts’ multiplayer map “Octane.” This map favors Downtown with a motel, pawn shop and gentleman’s club featured on the block—next to a destroyed tank.
Caesars Palace
Game devs’ obsession with Caesars Palace dates back 20-plus years. One of the earlier love letters came from the developer Virgin Interactive, whose NES and Game Boy casino simulator Caesars Palace spawned sequels on multiple platforms during the ’90s. The goal of the game is to win big at the famed casino, but later iterations introduce fun role-playing mechanics.
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