Death Vegas
is a browser-based Fighting Game on Adult Swim's website. The plot revolves around Dante Leoni, an apparent Mafioso godfather who's still at large, who is protected by his gun-wielding bodyguard, Onwards. His girlfriend is protected by Lourdes, a middle-aged maid who's obviously more than just a maid, and one of his goons is Helmut, a giant German boxer who's obviously been hitting the juice. Westone, a member of the police, is trying to take him down any means possible.
Meanwhile, Zhong, a "circus performer", is seeking Leoni's head, Duff, an obese sleazebag, is trying to find a way out of his debts to Dante, Joshua, a relatively normal martial artist trying to make some money, gets wrapped up in the nasty business described here, and Buck, a hotheaded Southerner, wishes people would stop getting close to his girlfriend Katie.
Tropes found in Death Vegas
- Action Survivor: Duff does pretty well for an out-of-shape fellow with no apparent combat training until he gets shanked by Lourdes. Even Joshua seems to have learned some form of martial arts, and Buck seems to get into a lot of fights, given his overprotective behavior towards his girlfriend.
- Anachronic Order: The game leaps around in time, due to being from everyone's viewpoint in turn, but there's usually enough context to figure out how any particular scene fits into the plot.
- And Now for Someone Completely Different: You play as all eight characters through the course of the story - nine, if you count both Dante and Onwards (they fight largely the same, but you play both during the last chapter).
- Asshole Victim: Lourdes Kills Duff in cold blood. Although it's clearly not a good thing, it's kinda hard to not sympathize with her after Duff spends a lot of time making a complete ass out of himself to other people.
- Badass Normal: Joshua, Buck, and Duff.
- Becoming the Mask: Westone, much to his distress.
- Bifurcated Weapon: Lourdes' plunger, which separates into a shiv and a cudgel with the plunger head on top.
- Cane Fu: Dante.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: Buck. Katie finds it adorable.
- Cruel Mercy: One possible reason why Dante spares Westone at the end of the story.
- Dance Battler: Zhong apparently dances for the local circus.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Helmut swears upon his mother's grave, and Dante mentions his grandmother when he threatens Helmut into leaving the States and never coming back. Then again, given that he tries to get out of working for Dante, it's questionable just how much of a bad man Helmut is.
- The Faceless: Dante and Onward both have bandages covering their faces. There are 3 important plot points to this. 1st is you actually see Dante's face in the flashback to Westone's letting him go for the first time, the second is that Zhong set up a bomb to try and kill them between that point and present which gave them the bandages, and finally Onward replaces himself for Dante near the end and gets shot while Dante gets away.
- Fat Bastard: Duff, although he's not a bastard to the extent of Dante or Lourdes.
- Framing Device: Westone and Blaze interrogating Marty Carabinni concerning the deaths of Zhong and Duff.
- Guns Are Worthless: Onwards uses his gun in his Hyper Combos. It doesn't work any better than the fists, feet, shivs, and canes his peers use.
- Ironic Echo: After saving Joshua from being shot by Onwards, Westone says Onwards will live, because death is the easy way out for him. Later, when facing down the barrel of Dante's gun, he tells him to end it all. Dante just says goodbye. Westone is distraught by this.
- It's Personal: Westone and Dante have a history.
- Karma Houdini: Both Dante and Lourdes walk away with their lives and freedom intact.
- Knight Templar: Westone is willing to wade into murky waters to get Dante.
- Large and in Charge: Dante. The only person who's as tall as he is is Onwards.
- Love Makes You Evil: Buck ends up working for Dante to help Katie.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: Katie is the daughter of Dante Leoni.
- Meaningful Name: Onwards wards off people who get too close to his boss.
- Mighty Glacier: Helmut, in a sense. His special ability of charging up a super-powerful punch takes a long time to perform.
- The Mole:
- Dante's mistress, Blaze, is with the FBI.
- Westone was one, but became a bit too fond of Dante, the guy he was spying on.
- My Greatest Failure: Westone let his emotions get the better of him and let Dante go when he was at his mercy. It's the reason why he's so hell-bent on catching Dante in the present.
- Ninja Maid: Lourdes. A touch more direct than most ninjas, but that shiv in her plunger has to count for something.
- Persona Non Grata: Duff is playing a risky game by staying in Las Vegas after Dante told him to get out.
- Pet the Dog: Dante sends Helmut to protect Katie because he's her father.
- Lourdes lets Zhong go to let her tie up some loose ends, despite the fact that she'll be tying them up by killing her employer.
- Pretty Little Headshots: Onwards gives one to Zhong.
- Properly Paranoid: Buck gets a bit possessive about people talking to his girl. At first it's overbearing, but then he becomes firmly justified to get upset after people are actively trying to kill her.
- Psychopathic Manchild: Duff is downplayed. He's shown to be rational and humane, but the way he acts not only comes off as childish and selfish, but he also only takes things seriously when his own life is at steak, otherwise he couldn't care less.
- The Quiet One: Onwards.
- The Worf Effect: For a huge man with a gun, Onwards isn't such a threat to most of the people Dante sends him after. He takes several levels in threatening towards the end of the story.
- Although he does floor Buck after he was tired from the fight Lourdes, it seems to be more of a "They're fit and looking to fight" rather than "He's not as strong as them."
- You Killed My Father: Zhong's parents were murdered by Dante when she was a little girl.
