Scarface Video Game

Scarface The Movie

Scarface the movie follows the life of ex-con Tony Montana from his penniless refugee status to top-dog in the Miami underworld. He manages to work his way onto the good side of powerful kingpin Frank Lopez. But this isn't enough for Montana. Persuaded by Lopez's wife, Tony double-crosses his boss and creates an alliance with a Colombian drug cartel. The arrangement goes sour, however, and Tony is in trouble.

The film ends with Montana trapped in his mansion by dozens of hired killers. He manages to kill a handful of them, but in the end he's taken out from behind. The video game begins with this scene and Tony catching and killing the gunman. Now it's up to you to get out of the mansion alive...

Scarface GTA-Style

A representative from Vivendi Universal Games has described Scarface as "a cinematic experience" that will feature "cutting-edge technology". Think Grand Theft Auto with pumped-up visuals and a deep, compelling storyline created by screenwriter David McKenna.

The viewpoint while you're playing Scarface is from over Tony Montana's shoulder. Combat is handled by either automatically locking onto opponents or manually moving it around. Your huge rifle ("little friend") has quite a range, so aiming isn't exactly a precise deal. However, there is context sensitive damage, meaning if you hit an enemy at a vital part of the body more damage will occur. Spinning around and spraying bullets won't work quite as well as thoughtful gameplay.

Take It To The Road

Once you blast your way free of the mansion it's time to hit the road. Driving is, again, similar to Grand Theft Auto albeit a bit more controlled. Your car usually stays on the ground and controls will be tighter and more responsive. Weapons can be fired while you're driving, proving that gangsters are almost as dexterous as Olympic gymnasts. The same manual and lock-on targeting is available while you're driving.

Pretty Pictures

Visually speaking, the representative from Vivendi Universal Games doesn't seem to be lying. Scarface has quite a polished and smooth look. Even when driving at high speeds the game shows no slowdown or texture shifting. Characters are well-formed and not too blocky in appearance. There's quite a lot of blood to be seen as well.

Al Pacino himself agreed to lend his voice to Scarface the video game. He reprises his role of Tony Montana, complete with Cuban accent and gratuitous swearing. Several other stars of the film also make audio appearances in the video game.

Scarface is available for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox systems from the end of 2005. Polish up on your Spanish, get the Scarface DVD, and get ready to change movie history!