Why is carbon dioxide gas used in soda?
You are approaching this question from the wrong angle. One does not simply ‘add a gas to a drink’ for no reason. If one wanted to add any gas, one would probably use boring old nitrogen since it is the most abundant in the atmosphere (See the Guiness example as pointed out by Ivan in a comment).

Carbon dioxide is present in fizzy drinks such as soda to give them their fizz. The reason lies in the equilibrium between $\ce{CO2 + H2O}$, $\ce{H2CO3}$, $\ce{HCO3-}$ and $\ce{CO3^2-}$. No other gas would display this behaviour and give a slight acidic taste along with the tingle on the tongue.

Note that oxygen is sometimes added to drinks to improve the assumed value. It doesn’t really do anything but sells for a higher price. I don’t think that would be the case for nitrogen- or argon-enriched water (but I am likely underestimating the powers of marketing here). Many other gases would simply make no sense to add at all because they are either toxic ($\ce{Cl2, H2S}$) or disgusting ($\ce{H2S}$) or simply way too expensive ($\ce{Xe}$).