Mexico is such a place, and video game developers like to go south of the border just as much as movie-makers do. There’s no shortage of games that take place in Mexico, either in whole or part, so there’s something here for every kind of player. The library includes every type of game there is along with every time period, from the earliest days of video games to the present.
7 Aztec (1982)
There were very few games for the Apple systems in the early days, and Aztec is one of the few examples of games that were designed for a computer instead of being ported directly to consoles. It was such a popular side-scroller that it eventually was released on its IBM equivalent, the Commodore 64, and the classic Atari console.
The player takes on the persona of an Indiana Jones or Lara Croft-type character, an adventurer in search of a mysterious artifact. Use all the buttons on the keyboard to get through this old-school side-scroller that leads through an extensive Aztec temple, virtually all of which are located in Mexico.
6 Red Dead Redemption (2010)
The northern part of Mexico is home to this game, which also takes place in the southwestern United States. Red Dead Redemption is actually the sequel to a game that was released in 2004, Red Dead Revolver, which took place in a single small town in the Old West. The next installment widens the area of gameplay considerably.
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The game follows a linear storyline and tells the tale of John Marston as he finishes quests and missions throughout a stark and arid landscape. Other options players can enjoy along with the scenery include a multiplayer option, complete with gunfights.
5 Montezuma’s Revenge (1984)
An early example of what’s known in modern times as the Metroidvania trend, Montezuma’s Revenge doesn’t just borrow its name from one of Mexico’s most notorious historic figures. The setting is based on an actual 16th-century Aztec temple that dates from the time of Emperor Montezuma II, which is ambitious to say the last of an eight-bit game.
The player takes the main character, Panama Joe, also known as Pedro, through nine deadly levels of the Mexican temple. On the way, they’ll find items that include snakes, spiders, and a few undead enemies all the while listening to folk tunes like La Cucaracha.
4 Desperados III (2020)
Known as a real-time tactics game, Desperados III is part of a franchise that had lain dormant since 2007 until this installment. RTT games are an interesting mixture of strategy and questing, giving players a variety of options for carrying out and completing missions. These kinds of choices have repercussions for the direction of the story later.
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The location is the Wild West of the 1870s, which in this case consists of Colorado, Louisiana, and various places in Mexico. Players choose between one of five playable characters, each with their own unique talents. The storyline depends on the point of view of the chosen protagonist.
3 Top Gear 2 (1993)
There are plenty of car-racing games that use Mexico as a setting, but Top Gear is one of the most famous and longest-running franchises to do so. The game uses a grand total of 16 different countries, starting deep in the Pacific Ocean with Australia and New Zealand and moving across the globe to end in the United States.
The second game in a franchise that started with stand-up arcade consoles, this second installment retained the classic look for players at home and added a few more features to make the gameplay more realistic. Players could improve their cars with special extra parts and make cosmetic changes, like choosing another coat of paint.
2 Sid Meier’s Pirates! (1987)
The setting for Sid Meier’s Pirates! is the entirety of the Caribbean Sea, which includes a healthy chunk of the Yucatan Penninsula, one of Mexico’s most populous regions. The popular game, which started the trend of simulation and strategy, was updated and re-released in 2004.
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As the name suggests, the players take on the role of roving pirates, privateers, or lawmen hunting for pirates during a certain time in history. The designs and time period are taken from the Age of Exploration, which covers about 200 years between the 1600s and 1800s.
1 MayaQuest: The Mystery Trail (1995)
The Mayan people lived in various locations throughout Mexico and Central America, and MayaQuest: The Mystery Trail was inspired by Dan Buettner’s real-life Maya Expedition. Players travel by bicycle throughout the Yucatan Peninsula, learning about the Mayan civilization and picking up more clues as they go. This was a scholarly pursuit that sought answers to the questions of the Mayan Collapse of the 6th century while traveling throughout Mayan ruins located in Mexico.
MayaQuest is as much a learning tool as a game. That’s not all, however. Part of the player’s quest is based on some creative science fiction in which they have to save the earth from an incoming meteor shower.
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