Metareview - Scarface: The World is Yours
It's been over twenty years since Al Pacino, Oliver Stone, and Brian DePalma gave us one of Hollywood's classic crime lords (and set the benchmark for f-bomb usage in a film). Given Rockstar's success with Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, it's not surprising that someone decided to cash in on the original coked out vision of 80s Miami. Enter Sierra and Radical Entertainment's Scarface: The World is Yours, an extension of the movie that finds Tony Montana very much alive and out for revenge on the cock-a-roaches who destroyed his drug empire. Reviews suggest that the amount of enjoyment you get out of this game will depend on your patience with its mission structure. Tony doesn't break his balls for anyone, but some of the side missions in Scarface just might break yours.
IGN (87/100) thought Tony's rage mode was the balls: "By performing a number of 'ballsy' moves, you'll fill the Balls meter. Targeting certain body parts (kidney, head, arms, groin, etc.) will earn you Balls, and taunting someone after you kill them will earn you even more. It's a great system that works almost flawlessly."
Game Informer (85/100) felt immersed in the power struggles of a drug kingpin: "Unlike Grand Theft Auto, in which you're frequently at the mercy of powers much greater than yourself, Scarface allows you to blaze your own path to greatness. The epic scope and the sheer amount of money at stake give Scarface a sense of urgency that few games in this genre have achieved."
GameSpot (64/100) was looking for more freedom of movement: "The developers accomplished the task of bringing Tony Montana back to life. But by taking the focus off of the gameplay elements that you'd want in an open-city game and putting it more on the game's bland mission design and all the dull side tasks you'll have to do to earn a reputation, Scarface doesn't play to its potential strengths."
