This is Vegas: Bringing Next-Gen to Clubbing

The open-world genre is a potentially crowded one this year. Leading the charge is of course Rockstar North's GTA4 along with some A-list competition in the form of Radical's Prototype, Realtime World's APB, Volition's Saints Row 2 and Midway's This is Vegas.

This is Vegas is interesting because it not only deals with a very distinct, real-world setting but it seems to be a much more tightly focused experience compared to other open-world games. Gamespot has a video feature up now that showcases the breadth of gameplay available in a typical TiV dance club environment.

It's clear the developers are going for a fun, light-hearted approach to their game if this demo is any indication. The highlight of the reel for me was the dancing system. There's not a quick-time button sequence in sight, much to my relief. In place of that, there is an extensive move list for stringing together dance move combos that not only look cheesy but fun to play as well. I look forward to the thrill of doing the running man and finishing it off with a smooth back spin flourish.

The club activities don't end on the dance floor. You're also tasked with playing bartender which requires you to alternately serve drinks, light cigarettes or smash drunk's faces against the bar counter. As a sort of deputy bouncer, you also have the opportunity to rough up undesirables by beating them senseless with a standard-looking fight system. Last, but certainly not least, another mini-game involves soaking down tight tops for a wet t-shirt contest.

Clearly, the dev team knows their target demographic: pervy men of all ages. The club segment of the game looks pretty fun, although like all mini-games, it also looks very shallow. There's not enough information on the game's story or overall mission structure to really put the club sequence in full context. What I see so far does look promising, if only because someone out there is willing to take the winning GTA formula and dissect it a little bit more closely to come up with some intersting, if not entirely original game play experiences.