Scarface: The World is Yours PS2 Review

Scarface The World is Yours is something a little bit out of the ordinary, it’s a sequel to the 1983 movie, and a follow-up that doesn’t actually exist in cinematic form. Those expecting to fill the shoes of a brand new character following Tony Montana’s bloody downfall will be in for a shock, as Montana is actually alive and well. Yes, The World is Yours is an alternative ending to the movie, which sees Al Pacino’s gangster character survive in the mansion where he fell, opening up a new chapter in his life.

Montana’s mansion is where the game begins, and following the gunfight at the end of the movie it’s then time to rebuild the shattered Cuban crime lords empire. Three months later, you are soon on the road to recovery following a drug deal, which earns you the cash to buy back your redecorated mansion (it involved lots of guns opposed to paintbrushes). This is just the beginning of regaining the life that Montana led before his apparent death, with lots of people to kill, deals to be done and garages to fill before Montana‘s empire is restored to its former glory.

Those involved have looked towards GTA for much of their inspiration, and The World is Yours therefore consists of driving and shooting, something which the game achieves with both success and style. Miami is the destination where you will be living the gangster lifestyle, and like GTA it’s an open environment that allows you to go through all the usual motions of the sandbox genre.

Everything that the game comprises of can be brought up in a menu following a single button press. Story and side missions can be accessed from within this menu, and once you have possession of the Exotics catalogue you can buy furniture for your mansion, new cars, boats and more, which all contributes to furthering your reputation. You can even phone one of your cronies to ship one of your exotic cars to you (a good idea if you want to keep the cops off your back, and they also boast a personal weapons stash in the boot) and more from this single menu. It means that things are always nicely structured and convenient, and you don’t have to do miles of travelling to different places to access it all.

Driving is a pleasurable task on The World is Yours, and you’ll be cherry picking favourite motors out of what will eventually become a busy garage full. It’s such a cool experience to be cruising through Miami and sliding around corners using the hand break. It feels fantastic because the people responsible have made sure that the handling is fun and slick, something which Eidos’s Just Cause failed to do. The police are also worth a mention as there will be times that you must escape from them before they decide that enough is enough and go all out to kill you. The wanted meter snakes around the games mini-map, and once full the map turns red, giving you a limited time to escape to safety before lethal cop force is permitted, and escaping from a bloody death then becomes an impossibility.

On-foot controls are similarly well tuned to that of the driving, although like GTA, the targeting system sometimes fails to engage the closest man with the gun. Apart from that little setback, The World is Yours has a few sandbox innovations up its generous sleeve. Lets go back to the targeting system for a moment, as auto targeting isn’t the be-all-and-end-all, oh no you can also adjust your aim with the right stick, which is great for those all important headshots and also fills up your Balls meter that little bit quicker (slick and dangerous driving manoeuvres and simply killing and taunting enemies also contributes to Tony‘s balls). The aforementioned meter allows Tony to fly into a profanity-filled rage once full, and during this state you’ll suddenly find yourself in first person mode boasting unlimited health and ammo and a Robocop-like targeting system. Every kill whilst in this angry state will earn you back some health, so its something that is best left as a backup plan when its use is desperately necessary.

As you’d expect from a sandbox game, the city gives you an open invitation to more a less involve yourself in anything you fancy. You can stick to the story missions, undertake side missions (which involves you taking out gangs, buying and distributing drugs and more) and basically just drive throughout and enjoy the delights that Miami has to offer, it certainly beats being rained on in the UK.

Scarface: The World is Yours paints a great picture of living a rich lifestyle, but more importantly it’s a great game. Tony Montana is certainly alive and well and his new life as a gaming star has been cemented, thanks to the grand efforts of Radical and Vivendi. It’s certainly another fresh take on this busy genre, and deserves plenty of attention for that alone.

9/10