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Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: Scarface: Money. Power. Respect.

Scarface: Money. Power. Respect.
by Michael Anderson
March 07, 2007

Let me introduce you to my little friend ... and his sad, sorry little game.

Reviewed for PSP.

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Scroll down for our Kid Factor.

GamerDad Seal Of Approval - Adult.  Click to learn more about our review seal. The ESRB Says
Blood: GamerDad watched the opening movie clip showing the 'chainsaw scene' from the movie and knew this was for adults.
Intense Violence: Kill everything that crosses you as brutally as possible.
Strong Language: Tony Montana never met a profanity he didn't like - but he does have a couple of favorites.
Use of Drugs: um ... yeah, pretty much everywhere.


After the thrilling opening scene of this game, a clip direct from the classic 1983 film, I fully expected to get right into the 'action' side of what I assumed was a strategy-action game. But instead I was getting guided through a 'lite' city-builder strategy game tutorial. There is a simple reason for that - this isn't simply a port of the sandbox style console game based on the movie. Instead, this is a pure strategy game based around scenarios from the movie. That was fine - except that the controls locked up and I had to repeat the tutorial twice. What is not so fine is that the strategy game itself isn't very good.

Strategy game fans will recognize all of this stuff despite the new names - you are building barracks, soldiers and armories, but they are called drug labs, pushers and warehouses. There are phases in each turn - buying, selling and combat. It is all standard strategy game stuff with a drug lord flair. But that isn't enough to make it interesting - the best moment in the entire game is the opening cutscene, and completing the scenarios is worthwhile because it is rewarded with more movie clips. The other game modes allow you to play locally against friends, which is good, but the scenarios are pretty much the same thing but without the nice clips. Ultimately you will realize that this is just a shallow strategy game dressed up with drugs, bad language, boring combat and the misuse of an excellent license.


Click to learn more about GamerDad's Kid Factor review section. The core elements of this game - a strategy game not unlike Risk - could be made into just about any licensed property. What is bolted on is Scarface - and the developers made sure that every element that made the movie famous, from violence to loads of drugs and over the top profanity, is present in abundance. The scenes from the film are shown uncut, with plenty of blood spray and intense violence. The game battles similarly have plenty of blood and profanity, but they play out so slowly and predictably that calling it 'intense' is not appropriate.

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Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: Scarface: Money. Power. Respect.
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Game Info:
Platform(s):
PSP

ESRB rating:
M - Mature

Blood, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Use of Drugs

Score:






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