Scarface The World is Yours – XB – Review

Back in
1983, the film Scarface introduced the world to the boisterous personality of
Tony Montana, a man who went from Cuban refugee to head of a cocaine empire.
Starring Al Pacino, Scarface showcased Tony’s rise to power and his dramatic
fall. The film attained cult status, and stands the test of time as one of the
most loved films of the past 25 years. Now, a game based on Tony Montana is out, but instead of being a rehash of the film, Scarface reinvents the end of
the film, allowing Tony to survive the assault on his mansion and rebuild his
massive empire from the ground up. Scarface: The World is Yours does a great job
of carrying on the legacy of the film, with a great script, excellent voice
work, and a huge, open-ended world to explore. For fans of the film looking for
the chance to play as Tony, Scarface does not disappoint.

Scarface: The World is Yours
begins right where the film ends. Tony is attempting to clear Sosa’s henchmen
out of his house by means of an M16 with an attached grenade launcher. However,
the game gives you control right before he is shot in the back. At this point,
you change history by turning around and killing your would-be assassin and
shooting your way out of the mansion. After a three-month mourning period (your
sister and best friend are dead, after all) you are ready to hit the streets and
take back what is yours, as well as get sweet revenge against Sosa.

As far as open-ended games
go, Scarface really ranks up there as one of the most open experiences you can
find on a current-generation console. You can play the game in many different
ways, from drug deals to buying up fronts and property, to taking what is
rightfully yours from those who took it over in your absence.

Missions in the game are
received via a cell phone that you obtain early on in the game. Using your cell
phone, you can not only get new missions, but also bribe cops to take the heat
off of you, call your driver to bring out one of your cars for you (a bit later
on, you can actually buy a limo to take you around) or switch to one of your
henchmen to run their special set of missions.

The combat system in the
game is very well developed, moreso than other titles in the open-ended genre.
Targeting an enemy allows you to manually target a body part as you shoot, and
the game will tell you what you hit, down to the left or the right kidney or,
um, more unmentionable body parts. Taking out enemies will give you “balls,”
which is basically a meter that amasses to allow you to go into Blind Rage mode.
In Blind Rage, the camera will switch to a first-person perspective and
basically lets you go buck wild on your foes, gaining health for each enemy you
take out. Balls also will add to your total Reputation rating, which will give
you clout when it comes to the people you interact with.

A lot of strategy goes into
your empire building. You’ll spend time amassing fronts for your drug dealings,
like warehouses and businesses. Sometimes it’s just a matter of talking to the
guy running it, other times you’ll have to take them by force. This will enable
you to maintain a steady income and build your Reputation.

As you earn money, you can
purchase all kinds of exotics. Some of these are purely aesthetical, like stuff
for your mansion (you can even purchase your former friends’ and enemies’
ashes), or new cars and henchmen. As you gain even more money, you can purchase
business ventures, like Montana Music (which unlocks the full soundtrack to the
game) and others which grant you gameplay bonuses like stronger henchmen.

A lot of the game focuses on
conversations that you have with people. Business transactions occur when you
interact with certain people. For example, when you’re making a drug deal, you
have to hold down the B button for the right amount of time to get the best
deal. However, if you don’t hold it long enough, you run the risk of getting a
lousy deal and if you hold it for too long, you could really piss off the other
guy and they’ll attack you.

You also have to launder
money at banks in order to stay on top. If you die, you’ll lose all of the cash
and cocaine that you have on your person, leaving your bank investments all that
you have, making constant trips to the bank a must. Going to the bank requires
you to do the same kind of sweet-talking that you do with drug deals. If you
hold the B button too long or not long enough during the transaction and you’ll
get a lousy deal and lose a bunch of your hard-earned cash.

Graphically, Scarface looks
great. The character models are nicely detailed, especially Tony who bears the
likeness of Pacino. The world is huge and detailed with all kinds of nuances
from the film, and the seamless transitions from indoor to outdoor environments
is a great touch for those annoyed by constant load times in other titles from
the genre.

The sound is another area
where Scarface absolutely shines. The voice acting is excellent, and even though
he’s not Al Pacino,
Andre Sogliuzzo does a
spot-on Tony Montana, capturing the personality and the essence of the character
while sounding exactly like Pacino’s film interpretation. The supporting cast is
also phenomenal, and the well-written and clever dialogue fun to listen to and
engages you in the story. The sound effects are also crisp and clean, and the
soundtrack (which is absolutely loaded with great songs spanning all types of
genres, including the entire soundtrack from the film) is awesome. 

Scarface: The World is Yours
was definitely a gamble, taking a license several decades old and changing it
up, something that usually spells bad news for fans. However, Scarface pays off
big time, with incredibly deep gameplay and a sense of faithfulness to the
subject matter. Scarface: The World is Yours sets the bar for licensed titles,
and stands as one of the premier titles in the open-ended genre. 

Gameplay: 8.5
With a huge world
to explore and tons of different ways to play and missions to explore, Scarface
does a great job of providing gamers with a truly open gameplay experience. The
control scheme is solid and the balls system is an innovative way of rewarding
risky maneuvers.

Graphics: 8.5
The graphics look
solid with great character models (Tony looks spot-on with Al Pacino’s official
likeness) and a wide-open world to explore. The game also shifts seamlessly
between indoor and outdoor environments, and runs at a fairly consistent
framerate. As an added bonus, the Xbox version does 720p, making it extra
nice-looking for HDTV owners that can do the added resolution.

Sound: 9.0
Excellent voice
acting, great soundtrack and solid sound effects make Scarface a tour de force
in the audio department.

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 8.5
While the concept
of Tony Montana surviving the end of the film may seem a little far-fetched, the
well-written script does a fine job of pulling it off, and the dialogue is
great.

Overall: 8.5
Scarface is a
deep game with a huge, open world to explore and tons of missions and
side-quests. Fans of the genre and the Scarface film will not be disappointed.