Las Vegas can crush someone's spirit in less than a second, that moment in time when the cards flip over and the gambler realizes that they've just lost their savings. At least in Midway's This is Vegas, you have the option of starting anew by beating up some thugs and stealing their poker chips. This open world Grand Theft Auto clone thrusts you into the city of neon and lets you live the high life as you party with large breasted hotties, bartend and enjoy wet T-shirt contests. Whether or not this turns into a million seller game, well, that's the gamble.

Being that this is a Midway video game, you can expect two things. First, Epic's Unreal Engine 3.0, the same technology behind Gears of War and Unreal Tournament 3, powers it. Second, it's way over the top. You play as some dude that arrives in Vegas with the mission to stop a ruthless businessman from transforming the city into a family friendly tourist trap. To thwart his evil schemes, you'll indulge in several vices. In the club Aqua, for example, the DJ asks you to get the party jumpin'. So, you hit the dance floor and bust out some moves in accordance to the dancing mini game, then jump behind the bar to serve drinks and light cigarettes. From there, you'll have to beat up some riff raff using the game's very simplistic fighting system, and as a reward for getting the party started, you can indulge in some alcoholic beverages, watching the screen blur. Sure, you might vomit all over the place, but this is the time of your life.

Dancing the night away doesn't seem to affect the game's overall story, and we're still not sure what sorts of missions you'll complete to keep Vegas appropriately dirty. What we do know is that this is a go anywhere, do anything style game. You can drive any car, punch anyone and go into any of the fictitious casinos and play an as of this writing undisclosed number of games, including blackjack and slots. Midway even gives you an advantage over the house, as you're able to (with the help of the B button) mark and count cards. On the downside, getting caught by the eye in the sky allows the casino to ban you.

Visually, the game is bathed in neon and populated by plenty of strange characters, from tough guys to marauding mascots. Characters have a very shiny/waxy appearance, but we give two thumbs way up for realistic breast jiggling, which looks especially impressive during those wet T-shirt contests.

That's pretty much all we know. Midway wouldn't let us roam around the city, nor would it elaborate much on the game's four classes of people: Diamonds (the rich), Hearts (entertainers), spades (bikers) and clubs (the hip crowd). So, without being able to carjack anyone, shoot stuff and explore, it's difficult to say whether This is Vegas will turn out to be a good video game. With that being said, it shows tremendous promise, and we're always up for an extended vacation. Get ready to gamble this fall.