Scarface: The World is Yours (Wii) Review

Tony Montana, guilty of more swears than someone who spends their whole life stubbing their toe, is perhaps a strange choice for a lead character in a Wii game. On this family friendly console, the phrase 'Don't pluck with me' is certainly a strange thing to hear. But hey, there's nothing wrong with a bit of bad language and gratuitous violence every now and again, it keeps the kids happy. So with all the swearing, the disembowelling and decapitating going on (this game contains a lot of exploding body bits), it is remarkable that it has enough depth and sophistication to make it enjoyable and then some.

Based in a world that owes more than a passing reference to Grand Theft Auto, this is, in all honesty, GTA with the some new faces thrown in, Scarface(s) to be exact. By taking the very solid and useable GTA formula and tweaking a bit this title has excellent foundations to build on. Chuck in some lovely innovations and original ideas and you have something fresh and fun.

As massive fans of Scarface and the wonder that is Tony Montana, we were delighted with how this game handled the storyline. Unlike a lot of games these days (especially licensed tripe) this game does an excellent job of creating a good plot and believable characters. You are Tony Montana and the city of Miami is yours to do just about whatever you want with. The story focusses on you and your mission. You are a drug dealer, you need money and you're willing to do whatever it takes to get more power. The better you do, the more the citizens of Miami run in fear at the very smell of your expensive cologne. There are very few irritating side missions and asides, if it doesn't involve cocaine in some way then you won't have to do it. The focus and intensity of this game is impressive, especially for such an open-plan offering.

Inevitably the Wii introduces some challenging control aspects for the developer, and they handle it fairly well. However, we're still going to have a moan. The driving experience is superb, but everything else with regards to controls seems a little bit muddled. The Wii controls really don't add anything to the game, they simply confuse matters. Whilst they are perfectly usable, you could equally well do without them and throw in a standard controller and standard control system. It would still be just as much fun and would certainly be easier. So there you have it. It works, but it hardly makes us jump for joy.

The control system is separated across the Wii-mote and the nunchuck. The former moves around the camera and the latter moves around potty-mouth Tony. When firing a weapon you aim with the remote and fire with B. To taunt someone (ie: make a clever comment and wave your arms around) you shake the nunchuck a bit. All very well and good...but why? The whole shaking thing is just plain annoying. Also, with the button controls spread out rather randomly over the two devices you'll find yourself scratching your head more often than not for the first few hours of play.

As we mentioned, driving is great fun and is perhaps the strongest aspect of the game. You steer with the stick, accelerate with A, lock on to naughty people with Z and control the handbrake with C. Shooting, as ever, is done with the B trigger and aiming with the remote. Whilst this might get your hands in a muddle at first, it is a synch once you get the hang of it and really is great fun. Alas, you don't spend all your time in this game driving a car. Sooner or later you will have to start walking around again and this is where the problems start to build up, especially as the game ups the difficulty level a bit.

Whilst Tony has an almost super human ability to resist being shot at furiously, he will die. We know, it is a hard pill to swallow, but he isn't invincible...especially on Wii. Scarface is a game of few subtleties in action. When one enemy approaches you can bet that another twenty or so are lurking around somewhere and will all start firing at you the second they realise your presence. Whilst this provides for some superb shoot-out fun, it does get a bit manic...especially on Wii. See where we're going here? You're in a heated gun fight, enemies are all around you at every angle and every direction and your in the middle waving around the remote, thumb slipping over the analogue stick, maniacally hammering at B to make the nasty shooting people stop, tapping up on the d-pad to reload and making sure you don't die. This, ladies and gents, is often impossible. Sadly, this is when Scarface becomes a game of blind luck. Our tactic quickly became running into a room, firing wildly and making a determined dash for the nearest health pack. Still, it is great fun when you don't die or get your knickers in a muddle over the controls.

Don't even get us started on what happens when you have to shake the nunchuck. Balls are a big part of being Tony Montana. He's got big ones, and you need to use them to full effect. By shaking the nunchuck during shoot outs you build up your balls meter. Fill it up and you unleash a savage ejaculation of anger called a 'blind rage'. When in this state, Tony can't be hurt, every shot you fire is lethal and your health can be totally restored. An excellent addition and one that adds to the 'bull in a china shop' nature of this game wonderfully. Why though, does it have to be done through the somewhat odd shaking of a ruddy nunchuck? The mind it does boggle.

The graphics are solid and there are lots of satisfying blood effects throughout. What's most impressive is the speed of the game. Even when enemies are pouring onto the screen and your firing like a lunatic and running around all over the place nothing slows down. It might not look 'next-gen' but you'll be having so much fun that you won't give a damn. The sound is where this game really shines. Whilst the voice acting might not be 100% authentic, the actor chosen to voice Tony does a great job at delivering the fast array of spoken lines in the game.

The gameplay is on the whole hugely impressive. The missions you do are fun and the tasks are invariably challenging and creative. Then you've got the joyous activity of blowing the crap out of everything you see. This game appeals to the anarchist in you. Shoot everything, destroy all before you and do it all in the name of drugs. It might not be the best message for the little ones, and this game does carry an 18 rating for a reason. Violence and swearing every other word aside, this is a great action game and one that is a welcome addition to the Wii library, faults and all.