PlayStation 2 review of the video game Scarface
Based on the 1983 film of the same title, Scarface promises to be unlike anything you’ve seen we have a single player action/adventure game before. Create a little twist at the end of the movie and then continue from there. After being held captive by Sosa’s men, Tony vows revenge and will stop at nothing until he does. Aside from revenge, he also wants to reclaim his position as Miami’s quintessential drug dealer.
Throughout the game, Tony will have to win territories and buy fronts for his drug deals. In the process, he must be able to maintain his empire and earn more money selling drugs. For this to be possible, Tony would have to take down his enemies and increase his reputation level. As the rival gangs will try to dominate the city under your control, you have to make sure that you protect them and continue to buy businesses to face your drug deals. It works in a chain of some spells, as the more money you have, the more power you have, and an increase in power will also increase your reputation level.
From the start, you will only have limited options. As his reputation is key to rebuild his empire, he must complete quests, buy fronts and exotic items to slowly build his reputation. But you will need money to be able to buy things, and you can get them by selling cocaine. Eventually, when your reputation level has increased tremendously, you can have almost unlimited access to whatever type of weapon or vehicle you need.
You would start by selling drugs to street dealers, then move on to big suppliers where you can make more money. Once you’ve also bought fronts where you can distribute your drugs, the money will just come to you. This will upset your rival gangs, leading them to conspire to take down your front deals. You may need the help of a henchman and employ vigilance to help protect your investments.
There will be four territories in the city of Miami and in each territory, you will have to get different fronts. However, some of these fronts are already controlled by certain gangs. You will have to eliminate your rival gangs in order to explore the rest of the city and find new territories to explore. Just talk to the managers to gain their trust and eventually you can do business with them. On separate islands is where the cocaine is produced and where you will make deals with certain large suppliers. As soon as you’ve secured your fronts and a warehouse, you can smuggle your cocaine supply from the island to there.
As we mentioned a while back about needing to protect your fronts, you’ll need quite a few weapons for that. At first, you will only have access to a limited number of weapons in your arsenal, but your options will soon increase as your reputation increases. With a higher reputation, you would have a wide range and a good selection of weapons, such as pistols, automatic rifles, shotguns, and rocket launchers. And as if that wasn’t good enough, you can also adjust its accuracy, silencing mechanics, and a few other options to make your attack deadlier.
When you are a drug lord fighting against rival gangs and engaging in fierce shooting, you will surely attract the police on your way. When you have committed certain illegal acts, you need to reduce the pressure of the police on you by paying them. But you have to make sure you keep the police heat in check, or it will cost you quite a bit of money.
And when it comes to the worst, you’ll be forced to outrun the police and have to have a set of wheels to make sure you keep them at bay. You wouldn’t bother the police anymore by stealing a car, so you have to get a phone call and have a driver bring your own car to help you out of trouble. Only when you have earned enough reputation will you be able to buy and drive extremely fast cars. And from a wide selection of potential cars to use, each one has its own characteristics that set them apart from the rest. For example, you have a fast car that doesn’t offer much protection, or a well-protected car that can be a real drag.
When it comes to fighting your enemies, don’t worry when you feel like the gang seems too much to handle. Tony is equipped with a rage meter that accumulates with each act you perform using the “balls”. These balls can be earned by skillful driving, pedestrian conversations, and by taunting your victims. If the meter is filled, Tony becomes extremely powerful and can attack multiple enemies at once, as well as gain the health of all enemies he has killed. The effects of the rage meter last for a fairly short time, but it can be enough to get you out of a really bad situation.
When you have significantly increased the levels of your balls, femme fatales will appear on your map. If you try to meet them to convince them to stay in your mansion, they will help you improve your health, rage meter and stamina. Of course, this is aside from the fact that these femme fatales would make a welcome addition to Tony’s growing collection of exotic items. With each purchase of these exotic items, you will also be able to increase your reputation depending of course on the price and rarity of the purchased item.
A great weapon that Tony has in his arsenal is his intimidation meter. Often, he will work to his advantage by getting great rates at the bank, closing a lucrative drug deal, and escaping a possible raid by the police. All he needs to do is be able to time the button press and release as soon as the meter fills up. Just make sure you don’t press the button too short or too long, as you could end up in an extremely bad drug deal or lose your money to the police.
Moving on to the technical aspects of the game, as much as the gameplay is as close to the movie as possible, so is the general look of the game. When it comes to drugs and all those underground deals, you have to be able to create a mood for that through the setting. And what better place to set that than in Miami? The game was able to recreate Miami in the Scarface game world.
Being an important part of the game, sounds can make or break the game. For Scarface, the voice acting is just amazing. There just seems to be a great connection between the voice acting and the actual events in the game. Congratulations to the actors who lend their voices in this game. And also, not to mention that this game is also equipped with some of the best bands and artists out there. The game uses the official soundtrack of the movie and so it can be quite a similar experience: you know, playing the game and watching the movie, the only difference is that in the game you have control over Tony.
If you can’t get enough of the movie, this could be a great way to round out more of the action/adventure feel that Scarface has provided.. Sosa’s betrayal doesn’t bring you down, and though your empire has been taken from you, you’re more determined than ever to rebuild it and take it over. If there’s anything that could take you right into the world of drug lords and see how it works, you’ve come to the right place. Join Tony’s adventures as he proves that he deserves to be on top.