7 Arab overworlds in popular video games

It's very common for Arabs to pop up in various media. We've seen Arabs in movies, cartoons, graphic novels...if you didn't know any better, you'd think we were the darlings of the entertainment industry.

This trend continues into video games where Arab themes are always there to save the day as soon as game designers need a hot, barren land filled with thieves.

So, spoiler alert: most of these are deserts.

Dry Dry Desert is the second level in Paper Mario, and the desert leads to Dry Dry Outpost, a town with toads and mice that wear turbans. You uncover "mysterious secrets" when you meet a mouse called Moustafa. You then scourge the desert to get to Dry Dry Ruins and fight the evil Tutankoopa. Very original.

With a little more subtlety, we arrive at Gerudo Valley, which has Arab undertones thanks to the oriental music. It is home to gypsies and thieves alike and is described as a "blistering hot valley" in some versions and as a desert in others.

Lut Gholein is an overworld Diablo 2 players reach in the second act of the game, and is set to resemble Ancient Egypt's desert (surprise, surprise) and tombs. I mean, there's a camel in the photo so there's gotta be an Arab somewhere  in its near radius.

The first assassin in the Assassin's Creed series is an Arab called Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad. Translation: The Bird The Son of Nobody. Yes, it's a name so common and/or poetic it's practically a fixture of Arab storytelling.

The game takes place in Jerusalem. As it goes on, you go about assassinating a list of Arab people given to you by your mentor and superior, Al Mualim (The Knowledgeable). All this to regain your honor, which is sacrosanct in the Arab world, obviously. I had breakfast this morning with a side of honor, didn't you?

Uldum is known as "Land of the Titans" but don't let that fool you. It's a desert. The overworld draws aesthetic influences heavily from Ancient Egypt, with pyramids, obelisks, similar deities, and irrigation systems.

It's pretty basic for a game featuring a Prince of what is clearly an archaic Arab and/or Persian civilization.  Although, his turban and, especially his exceptional wall-climbing skills prove that he is extremely Arab/Persian.

I simply can't talk about another desert. Just listen to how "Arabian" the music is instead.