Scarface: The Kingpin of Kingpins
Friday, November 17, 2006; Page WE50
Vivendi Games didn't let Tony Montana's death at the end of Brian De Palma's 1983 movie "Scarface" stop it from making a solid sequel. The video game Scarface: The World Is Yours begins with the climactic final shootout in Montana's mansion, but this time Montana survives.
The story focuses on revenge, as Montana rebuilds his drug empire one deal at a time. On a positive note, the game's Montana kicks the cocaine habit that brought his downfall in the film, although he's still happy to deal drugs to get rich. Also, Montana can't shoot innocent civilians. (The game won't let you pull the trigger.) However, at various points in the game, players can control other characters, and then guns can be fired in any direction.
  Tony Montana is alive and ready to rebuild his drug empire in Scarface: The World Is Yours. (Vivendi Games/ign.com) |
Montana has no problem killing for revenge or cursing up a storm. He does, however, have to deal with cops. The game's over if you wreak too much havoc and the cops arrest you (something you won't find in any Grand Theft Auto game).
In the open-world game, which harks back to Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (which was clearly inspired by the "Scarface" film), players can interact with hundreds of characters in Miami, Cuba and the surrounding islands. From pedestrians on the street to big-name actors such as Robert Loggia and Steven Bauer (who reprise their roles from the film) and new characters from James Woods, Michael Rapaport, Ice-T, Jay Mohr, Cheech Marin and Kevin Dillon, the voice acting brings the game to life. And although that's Al Pacino's likeness in the game, actor Andre Sogliuzzo performs Montana's 4,000 lines of dialogue spot-on. You won't know the difference.
The ability to drive any vehicle on the street and even pilot boats adds to the gameplay. There's more to do in this game than just fire guns and steal cars. Rebuilding a drug empire requires buying stores for fronts, supplying drugs and building your reputation. The game also adds a lot of side missions to keep things fresh. As Hollywood licenses go, Scarface does Montana right, milking the most from current-generation consoles and giving Grand Theft Auto fans a new shooter to explore.
-- John Gaudiosi
Scarface: The World Is Yours Mature; Xbox, PlayStation 2 ($50) Vivendi Games/Radical
