[Seth]

With a bit of a consultant budget, going Euro would be a great idea imo. A combo of Paris and London via a loading 'tunnel' would suit my appreciation for lusch parisian accents and bad manchesterian teeth. I like the idea of a game that pushes bilingual acceptance. Throw in some subtitles, teach the kids a thing or two.

or,

Keep with the liberty city grandeur and harness the flickering fukushima fed lights of tokyo. Possibly HK.
Preferrably, Shanghai. Shanghai is the perfect 'obscure to westerners' city. Half of it is being torn down with mass displacement of low income chinese. Rebuilding a super city. I like the premise and the conflict possibilities.

I really like Typh's idea of having multiple cities that function to broaden a well-thought plot. Having a sea of blackhaired Chinese bobbing down a Shanghai ave, and contrasting this with the open expanse of a spralling city such as LA would be great imo. Triad connections and lead painted plastic imports.