Scarface makes a few concessions very early in the game. Whilst Tony Montana died in the final scene of the film instead in the game you'll take control of Tony whilst he is in the mansion. You'll fight your way out of the mansion, survive for another day and lose your empire. The rest of the game will concentrate on you building up your empire again as Tony needs to start from the beginning because he has lost everything. We have to commend Radical Entertainment as the storyline is pretty decent and the fact you're not just replaying scenes from the movie results in a less restricted title.
That's a pretty good weapon you've got there.
For the uninformed, Scarface is an sandbox title. So you'll take control of Tony Montana in a 1980's Miami city. As Montana you'll begin with nothing and you'll need to improve your status. You'll begin in Little Havana where the objective is to take back that part of the city. Parts of the city can be claimed by taking out all of the gang members in an area. You'll also need to purchase businesses. Purchasing businesses is a mandatory part of the game, but you'll need to complete specific missions to be able to purchase these businesses.
As you advance through the game you'll also want to increase your reputation and gain as much money as possible. Certain missions require a specific reputation level and reputation can be improved not just by doing the main mission but by also selling cocaine. To sell cocaine you'll need to help out the cocaine suppliers to gain their trust, then you can sell the cocaine. You can deliver cocaine through the businesses you've acquired or sell it on the street. As you progress you'll become an even more prominent cocaine supplier and gain access to supply warehouses. As you earn money the money you earn is dirty money, to stop Tony from getting in trouble with the law you'll need to deposit your money in the bank to ensure it's clean. Once your money is deposited it is considered clean and off limits to anyone other than Tony. The dirty money you carry around can be lost if you die as well, so it's clever that you don't lose all of your money if you happen to die.
A lot more dangerous than a baseball bat.
In the transition to the Wii Scarface hasn't changed all that much. Everything from the game that shipped last year is essentially the same, except of course the controls. The nunchuk is used to move Montana around and the Wii remote is used to aim weapons and navigate the camera. Unfortunately Scarface is a game that didn't really need a control reworking, the controls were fine on the PlayStation 2 and the Xbox and this certainly means it takes a little while to get used to the controls. The control system begins to get frustrating when it comes to driving the car whilst trying to shoot enemies. It's easy enough to drive the vehicle but when you need to shoot you'll need to lock on (Z), wave the remote and fire (B), meanwhile you'll need to be driving (A) and using the stick to aim, it's definitely a multitasking challenge that takes a long time to get used too. There are four different settings for the remote and we recommend trying them all out to strike the perfect balance.
The blind rage mode is executed by shaking the nunchuk. As you tally up your "balls" meter (which is done by taunting enemies or pulling off cool moves) you can go into a blind rage mode, a mode which essentially makes Tony a very powerful man, he gains unlimited health and ammo. The blind rage mode isn't just a novelty, it becomes very important in the latter parts of the game. Unfortunately as you shake the nunchuk to execute the mode sometimes your shakes won't be registered, which is ultimately very frustrating. When you're in the middle of a fire fight and you shake the nunchuk and it doesn't respond and you die you'll long for the PlayStation 2 or Xbox versions.
Aside from the disappointing controls it is tough to complain about Scarface. The game's adventure is enjoyable if not uninspired. Miami is a little disappointing though, with the game world feeling a little bit deserted, it just feels like parts of the Miami were added for the sake of having a larger map. It's disappointing that the Wii version doesn't exactly add anything new to the game but even nine months later the game is still enjoyable.
Get out of here kids.
Graphically it's hard not to be disappointed with how Scarface looks. The game looks about as good as the Xbox version and the frame rate stays steady in the Wii version. Miami looks okay, but the game is definitely not a visual showcase. The voicework in the game is to be commended. Tony Montana isn't voiced by Al Pacino but the sound-alike is absolutely brilliant. The game contains some fantastic voicework from actors such as Ricky Gervais, James Woods, Robert Davi, Tommy Lee, Ice T and more. It's absolutely amazing how much effort was put into the voicework. The soundtrack is equally impressive as well.
Scarface: The World is Yours is still an enjoyable game on the Wii, but the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions are likely the better choice. The Wii controls just don't feel natural and the game hasn't changed all that much at all even though the game's been out for nine months. Scarface: The World is Yours isn't a bad game by any stretch of the imagination it just feels that the playing the game with a traditional control pad is a better choice.
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