Scarface: The World Is Yours

The basic gameplay and game mechanics fall into the subgenre of Grand Theft Auto clones.[8] As such, the player can commandeer vehicles (cars and boats), move around the map on foot, interact with civilians and NPCs both hostile and non-hostile, engage in primary and sub-missions, and wield a variety of weapons: pistols, submachine guns, shotguns, assault rifles, a sniper rifle, a rocket launcher, a chainsaw, and various melee weapons, such as pipes and machetes.[9] In a departure from most Grand Theft Auto-style games, Tony cannot kill innocent people. If the player tries to shoot or attack a non-aggressive target, Tony will refuse to perform the action; if the player tries to hit an innocent person with a car, they will only be injured.[10] However, as the game progresses, the player acquires access to some of Tony's employees as he rebuilds his empire: a driver, a boat pilot who can smuggle larger hauls of cocaine, an arms dealer who can supply weapons, an enforcer to protect Tony's businesses and attack those of his rivals, and a hitman who can eliminate other gangsters and dealers.[11] When these employees have been unlocked, the player can switch control from Tony to any one of them (except the arms dealer), and when playing as the enforcer or the hitman, the player can kill innocent people.[10]

When shooting, the player can lock on to the enemy or can aim manually, hitting specific body parts to produce different reactions. For example, if Tony shoots an opponent in the leg, they will fall down, but will continue to fire. If he hits an opponent in the arm, they will remain on their feet, but their aim will be compromised. Hitting opponents by aiming manually earns Montana more "balls" than using the lock-on system. Earning balls fills the "Balls meter", which is an essential component of combat in the game. Once the meter is full, "Blind Rage" mode becomes available. In this mode, the game switches to first-person and goes into slow motion, aim becomes automatic, the player acquires infinite ammo and doesn't have to reload their weapon, and each enemy killed earns Tony health. Tony can also acquire balls by taunting defeated opponents, insulting drivers who have hit his car, winning street races, completing missions, and having conversations with random people.[12][13]

There are four main geographical regions which Tony must control to complete the game; Little Havana, Downtown, South Beach and North Beach.[14] At the start of the game, the entire map is available to explore, but Tony cannot carry out missions, attack rival gangs, or purchase property anywhere except Little Havana. Each turf must be controlled 100% before the next one becomes available for missions.[10][12] Acquiring 100% requires the player to perform certain actions within each region: purchase a certain number of fronts, eliminate rival gangsters, and carry out smaller missions involving purchasing and selling cocaine. To purchase fronts, Tony must perform a mission for the owner before they will sell the business to him - these missions, coupled with storyline missions, form the core of the main game.[10] Once purchased, fronts can come under attack from rival gangs. To combat this, Tony can install security cameras to alert him to an imminent attack and recruit guards to fend off attackers until he arrives on the scene.[15] Once Tony has purchased the requisite number of fronts in a region, he must then take control of that region's storehouse, which will be in the possession of a rival gang.[16]

A major part of the gameplay is "Reputation." There are eight Reputation levels (each level represented by a letter in the word "Scarface"), and certain items and missions cannot be unlocked until the player has reached a certain Reputation level. Reputation can be increased by various means, such as completing missions and buying fronts, completing side-missions, and buying "exotics" (extras used to decorate Tony's mansion). Rising in Reputation and increasing Tony's balls count also unlocks "femme fatales." If Tony can persuade these women to come to his mansion, they will give him stat increases, such as higher stamina.[17]

The foundation of Tony's empire is dealing cocaine. To acquire cocaine to sell, players must complete side-missions called "Felix leads." These involve Tony carrying out a mission for his contact Felix. Upon successfully completing the mission, Felix will put Tony in touch with a cocaine supplier, from whom he can purchase cocaine. If it is a "small supplier," Tony can only purchase a certain amount of grams, which can be sold directly to street dealers or distributed through fronts. However, if it is a "large supplier," Tony can purchase kilos, which must be transferred to a storehouse. He must then go on a drug run, distributing cocaine to all of his fronts in a single mission, whilst being pursued by rival gang members.[10] Later in the game, Tony can purchase larger amounts of cocaine directly from Caribbean islands to the south of Miami, which he must then get back to the mainland via boat, avoiding pirates and the coast guard, before distributing the drugs to his fronts via a drug run.[18]

Tony has access to two different types of money in the game. Cash on hand is called "dirty money." If the player dies, is arrested, or is shaken down by another gang, the player will lose all their dirty money. The only way to protect Tony's money, and ensure it is not lost when the player dies, is to launder it in a bank. The player is free to launder money at a bank any time they wish (except during missions), but each time they launder cash, the bank will take a cut of the total. The percentage of their cut is determined by the level of "cop heat" Tony currently has; the higher his heat, the higher their cut.[10]

The Xbox version "golf swing" minigame used for cocaine deals, bribing cops and intimidating gangs. Here Tony is selling cocaine to a street dealer. The player must try to land the meter in the white zone on the right to get maximum profit. If the meter lands in the "no deal" zone, Tony will be attacked.

"Cop heat" and "gang heat" are two meters which are active at all times during the game. Cop heat determines the rate of interest at banks, and gang heat determines the price of cocaine; the more heat, the less Tony can charge. If Tony, or any of his associates, engages in a lot of public violence, cop heat will rise, and the police will arrive, pursuing Tony. Cop heat can be lowered with bribes, and gang heat can be lowered by intimidating other gangs.[10] If Tony continues to commit crimes in public, cop heat can rise to the point where he enters "You're fucked" mode, in which he cannot escape from the police alive.[19] A "golf swing"-style minigame, where the player must attempt to stop the meter in a certain zone, is used to control negotiating drug deals, intimidating other gangs, and bribing cops.[20]

Originally, the developers had intended to do a straight adaptation of the film. However, they quickly concluded that doing so presented two inherent problems; the original screenplay was so good, they felt it couldn't be replicated in a gaming environment, and because Montana dies at the end, they felt players would not want to invest in developing a character that they knew was doomed from the beginning.[23] As such, they decided the game would tell an original story, set after the film. Jason Bone, combat designer on the game, explained "We didn't want to rehash the movie because we feel that to make a good game, there needs to be a compelling storyline with good characters that drive you through it. There have been a lot of games that have been made based on movies, and when they follow the exact storyline of the movie, you lose a little bit of interest if you know where things are going. We felt that a fresh start would allow us to have the freedom to do new and interesting things to keep the player motivated and engaged."[24]

They originally asked Oliver Stone, the film's screenwriter, if he would be interested in working on the script, but when Stone declined, they approached David McKenna, writer of the films American History X and Blow.[25] As a fan of the film, McKenna wanted to emphasize the over-the-top humor he perceived in the character of Montana.[25] Shortly after the game had been released, IGN interviewed McKenna, asking him exactly how much of the game's 40,000 lines of dialogue he wrote. McKenna stated

I did work a lot on this thing. It was a pain in the ass! I didn't know what I was getting myself into. I didn't know anything about ancillary scenes, about how the character can go in different directions, he has to have a line of dialogue for every single character he encounters. I'm not a video game guy, I don't play video games [...] I put a lot of time into this but I only put, you know, several months. Radical put in several years, these guys were working on this thing forever. I gave them the best blueprint I could. I helped them as much as I could with dialogue, ancillary scenes, I helped guide them as much as I could but in the end it's their baby. It was their world; I was just living in it for a little while.[26]

Of the decision to change the end of the film so that Montana survives, McKenna dismissed critics who said the game was disrespecting the film and undermining the moral aspect of its narrative;

Get a life. It's a fucking game. We had fun continuing on with it and taking a great character, having him survive at the end and reclaim his empire. I thought that was a good way to continue on the story [...] I wanted to kick off the game with Tony sitting in the tub, talking to a group of movie studio executives. He's saying "Why does the bad guy have to always die at the end? Well, fuck you! You die!" and then he pulls out a machine gun and blows them all away! And then he escapes from the mansion! But Vivendi Universal wouldn't do it. But the whole thing; it's a game, it's a joke. The people understand that I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel here with Scarface or do any destruction to the movie, it's one of my favorites. It's just having fun with something.[26]

He further commented "What I did, I wanted to take that to the next level. It is a video game. People who are going to say, 'hey he fucked with the movie,' that's being ridiculous. I wanted to have fun and kind of create something on my own, while sticking to the same tone and flavor of the flick. People want to laugh when they're playing a game, and I just wanted to take advantage of that."[25]

In December 2004, Vivendi announced the game would be released for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, as well as the already announced PC release.[28][29]

The game was first shown as a non-playable demo at the 2005 GDC in March when it was revealed it was no longer a third-person shooter, but was now a GTA-style open world game. Vivendi stated the game would be non-linear, with players free to do missions in whichever order they wish, with an estimated playtime of 50–60 hours.[30] Vivendi also made a point that Montana would be unable to kill innocent people in the game.[31] Producer Cam Weber explained the concept of Rage mode, which was on show in the demo, was very much inspired by the film; "For fans of the movie, you'll remember that Tony has this crazy temper that every once in a while gets set off. You hear the organ music play, you see a camera cut to the intensity in his eyes, and he just suddenly snaps. He loses it; he completely loses control and does some really violent things."[32]

Robert Loggia (left) and Steven Bauer (right), who respectively played Frank and Manny in the original film, both returned to voice characters in the game. Loggia voices several civilians and narrates the game. Bauer voices The Sandman and one of the Diaz brothers.

Al Pacino, who played Tony Montana in the film, allowed for his likeness to be used in the game, but he did not voice the character of Montana. He did, however, hand pick the actor who did.

In April, Vivendi revealed the title of the game would be Scarface: The World is Yours, and while it would feature Al Pacino's likeness, Pacino himself would not be voicing Montana. While it was not announced who was voicing the role, multiple other cast members were revealed; Steven Bauer, Robert Loggia, Jay Mohr, Cheech Marin, James Woods, Miguel Sandoval, Robert Davi, Michael Rapaport, and Michael York.[33][34] Vivendi's chief strategy and marketing officer, Cindy Cook stated "Al Pacino brought the character of Tony Montana to life onscreen in a very powerful way, and the inclusion of his likeness as Tony Montana is a critical component to the authenticity of the Scarface game experience. We are also thrilled to have other top-notch talent involved with Scarface: The World is Yours, as their participation will add further substance and depth to the characters featured in the game."[35]

In May, Vivendi announced the game's release had been pushed back to 2006. In the same statement, they revealed the game was being developed for the Xbox 360 as well as the PS2, Xbox and PC.[36][37] The Xbox version of the game was first made available in playable form (albeit not playable by the public) at E3 2005 in May. Radical stated the PC and PlayStation 2 versions would be identical to the Xbox version, although the Xbox 360 version would have some unique features.[15]

In late March 2006, Vivendi gave pre-alpha builds of the PlayStation 2 version of the game to both IGN and GameSpot. They explained that since E3 2005, Radical had given the entire game an overhaul, improving the design and creating a more compelling storyline.[7] They had also tweaked the gameplay in an effort to appeal to both casual gamers and more hardcore gamers. These changes had been implemented after some negative feedback from both the public and the gaming press following the E3 demo. Writers had been especially critical of the look of the game, and one of Radical's alterations was to repaint every external texture.[38] Jason Bone stated the negative feedback was a good thing, as Radical had underestimated the difficulty of making a large open world game; "We do have a bit of experience with open world games, but they were on a much smaller scale - there wasn't a lot of detail in them. With this game, we needed it to feel cinematic and yet be an open world game." The negative feedback made them realize the game needed more work. Bone also stated work had not begun on the Xbox 360 version, as they didn't want it to be a direct port, nor did they want it to distract them from the PS2, PC and Xbox versions. He also suggested that a PlayStation 3 version was under consideration.[24]

The alpha build of the game was shown by Vivendi at the pre-E3 2006 show in April.[16][39] Vivendi also released another list of voice actors who were appearing in the game; Al Israel, Ice-T, Oliver Platt, Daniel Dae Kim, Willa Holland, Roma Maffia, Robert LaSardo, Brenda Strong, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Ricky Gervais, Michael Rooker, Jason Mewes, Anthony Anderson, Rick Yune, Wilmer Valderrama, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara, Richard Roundtree, Tiny Lister Jr., Bai Ling, Bam Margera, Cree Summer, N.O.R.E., Tommy Lee, B-Real, Sen Dog, and Elliott Gould. It was also revealed the actor voicing Montana, André Sogliuzzo, had been hand-picked by Al Pacino.[40][41] In July, it was revealed Pacino had turned down the opportunity to lend his likeness to Electronic Arts' Godfather adaptation so he could appear instead in Scarface.[13] It was also explained the reason Pacino himself was not voicing Montana was because he simply didn't sound like Montana anymore. According to Vivendi's Adam Roberts; "He just can't physically do it any more. He tried, but it took a lot of physical effort to do the Montana voice - it's very heavily accented, very difficult for him to do."[24]

In August, a Collector's Edition of the game for the PlayStation 2 was announced, which would include the game, a bonus DVD including a "Making of" documentary, a video walkthrough with producer commentary, cast interviews, hints and tips, a full map of the game world and concept art.[42][43]

On July 28, Vivendi announced a Scarface game was also being developed for the PlayStation Portable. However, it would be a completely different game from The World is Yours. Called Scarface: Money. Power. Respect., the game was being developed by FarSight Studios, and would combine turn-based strategy with real-time combat as rival gangs vie to take control of Miami. On the same day, Vivendi also revealed the Xbox 360 version of The World is Yours had been cancelled, for undisclosed reasons.[44]

In August, Vivendi revealed the soundtrack, of over 100 songs, would feature music from the likes of Beth Anderson, Johnny Cash, Control Machete, Grandmaster Flash, Debbie Harry, Rick James, Iggy Pop, Judas Priest, Public Enemy, Rohff, Run-DMC, Shannon, Burning Spear, and Peter Tosh, as well as the entirety of Giorgio Moroder's original score for the film.[45] They also revealed details of the "Mix Tape" feature, which would allow players to customize the in-game soundtrack in any way they wished. Cindy Cook, chief marketing officer at Vivendi, stated:

Throughout the development process we have focused on giving the player the power to choose their own in-game music experience, whether it be the Scarface purist that wants only the film score, the player that wants authentic music from the time period or the fan that craves the hottest tracks from today's talent. We are able to offer this choice through our new 'Mix Tape' music mixer and an incredible lineup of 1980s and contemporary artists that are bringing their hits to the game. Generations of film fans and gamers will be able to create an experience that best suits their unique tastes.[46]

The game's soundtrack, Scarface: The World Is Yours - Original Game Music Score, composed by Marc Baril, was released by Universal Music in October 2006. The track features no music from the film, only original music from the game.[47]

In January, 2007, NGamer revealed The World is Yours was being ported to the Wii.[49][50] On March 1, Vivendi confirmed the game was scheduled for a summer release, and would be identical to the other versions, but would feature Wii Remote controls and enhanced graphics.[48]

The game was first shown on April 10, at which time the controls were demonstrated. IGN were impressed: "The pointing function works really well in Scarface. Just like the PC version's mouse control, players now have near pin-point weapon precision that makes it easier and more intuitive to gun down the opposition with the huge assortment of firepower within the experience. You can still target individuals to tighten up your aim using the Z button on the nunchuk, but because the Wii Remote's pointer already does a great job with its precision it's rare that we found ourselves using it."[51] GameSpot were less impressed; "When you're wielding the chainsaw, its movement will be tied to that of the Wii Remote, and by slashing in different directions and at different heights you'll be able to target enemies' heads, legs, and individual arms. With practice you'll purportedly be able to remove all of the aforementioned extremities before the torso hits the ground, but the associate producer showing us the game on this occasion never managed to pull it off."[52]

Vivendi also confirmed the game would be entirely uncut, making it the most violent game available for the Wii.[51] It was later announced the economy in the game had been adjusted to give players greater rewards for earlier missions, and the price of some of the "exotics" had been lowered.[53]

Scarface sold well on PlayStation 2 and Xbox, but not on PC. In its first week on Best Buy, the PlayStation 2 version was the second–highest selling game, the Collector's Edition was the eight and the Xbox version was the thirteenth. Together, the two PS2 versions outsold the number one game that week; Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07.[74] By the end of October, the game was the top-selling game of the month; the combined regular and collector's editions on the PS2 was the best-selling game in North America in October, with over 366,000 units sold, earning over $18.7 million. The Xbox version sold over 110,000 units, earning over $5.4 million. The PC version sold only 9,000 units, earning less than $450,000.[75] By the end of November, the game had sold over one million copies worldwide across all three systems.[76] By March 2007, the PlayStation and Xbox versions had sold over 1.5 million copies between them.[48]By May 2007, the game sold more than 2 million copies worldwide.[77]

In Germany, the game was banned for high impact violence and cruelty.[78][79]