Review: Scarface: The World Is Yours (2006, Vivendi Universal. PS2, X-Box)

Tony Montana died at the end of Scarface (1983), there’s no doubt about that. He soaked up bullets like a lead sponge and fell face down in his pool. Dead, dead, dead. There was blood and everything. Scarface: The World Is Yours asks: what if Tony hadn’t bought it? What would have happened then? Opening with the climactic shootout it’s your job to shoot your way out and rebuild Montana’s crushed empire. It’s a genuinely upsetting moment when you see Tony’s respect meter and bank balance drain to zero. You’re clear on the game’s objective at this point: rebuild Tony’s vast empire to its former glory. First the money, then the power then the women - you know the drill.
From humble beginnings, small time drug deals and property acquisitions, it’s not long before you’re caught up in full-scale gang wars battling for Miami turf. Soon you’re engaged in major drug runs, distributing large quantities of coke (that’s cocaine, not the brown, bubbly soft drink, kids) to the masses. The cash starts to accumulate so quickly that you’ll happily spunk millions on cars, boats and stuffed tigers or pink flamingos (obviously) for your mansion: perfectly in keeping with the over-the-top 80’s excess of the movie. Later on you’re able to buy businesses and hire henchmen specialising in certain tasks to do your dirty work for you. It’s rewarding involving stuff and makes you feel like you’re playing something that exists as a natural expansion of the movie world, the game is so true to the look and feel of the iconic film.
Scarface: TWIY is arguably the best movie adaptation ever, the Al Pacino likeness is spot on and the voice performance (care of an impersonator hand-picked by Al himself) is excellent. Also true to the film is the wonderfully creative and colourful language Tony uses, which you can activate at any time just by pressing O. So an artful “cocksucker” or “fuckin’ cock-a-roach” is never far away. Pressing the swear button during a heated gun fight leaves you open to fire but fills the all-important ‘balls’ meter and accumulating balls is the crux of the game, earning both money and respect. Complete risky drug runs and the screen will proclaim: ‘1000 balls!’ Survive a hairy shootout and chuck in some defiant taunts and watch the balls roll in. It’s all about the balls. Fill your meter to the max and you can unleash Tony’s rage mode which switches the perspective to a first-person view and renders you invincible for a short time whilst killing enemies replenishes health. It adds a welcome dose of strategy to gunplay lacking in other Grand Theft Auto Xeroxes.
Yet, Scarface: TWIY is far from perfect. Although graphically solid and convincing the game world is badly designed. A game like this is always going to invite comparisons with GTA, so here goes. In GTA, it’s always possible to find shortcuts and hidden areas with relative ease. Not so in Scarface: TWIY. The number of times you hit a dead end during a car chase, will have you grinding your teeth. Fall in the drink and you have to swim for ages before you find a way to get out. That is unless you get eaten by a shark(!) first. What Scarface: TWIY thankfully doesn't share with GTA is the skittish, unreliable aiming system, which really helps when you’re taking on waves of ruthless cock-a-roaches. Oh, and try to steal a car in the same way as you would in GTA and you’ll bounce off the bonnet like a rag-doll making Tony look like a pussy. Stupid. There’s also an over-reliance on fill-the-meter mini-games to negotiate deals, which soon becomes tiresome.
That Scarface: TWIY remains immensely playable despite these niggles is proof that it represents it’s source material perfectly and shows it due respect, and isn’t that what it’s all about? Respect? Well, that and balls, apparently.
Verdict: 8/10