When I was approached by Cameron Weber, the Producer of Radical's upcoming action game Scarface, the first thing he asked me is, "What do you know about Scarface?" I've mixed feelings to say that my answer was, "The Al Pacino movie". But I do remember that Tony Montana died in that movie…so where were they going with the game?
First, let me say that no producer is more excited about their game than Cameron Weber. He speaks with passion and sheer excitement about what they're building. If half of that enthusiasm ends up in the game it will be a great game by any standard. Now, back to exactly what they're building.
At the end of the film Scarface, Tony Montana's life has been destroyed. His empire has fallen, his sister dies in his arms and he decides to go out in a blaze of glory. Gripping machine guns in his hands and in a rage he leaves his office and comes out blasting anyone in his way. ("Say hello to my little friend!") He is hit, falls over the railing of his staircase and dies in a pool of water.
It's this scene where the game picks up. Tony does indeed come out in a rage ready to mow down all of his enemies, but if the player avoids being hit he will escape the mansion and leave Miami to recuperate for 3 months. At the end of that time, he will return to his mansion, the Bahamas and Bolivia to rebuild his lost empire and take revenge on Sosa, the man who masterminded his downfall.
Scarface is being developed for a 3rd person viewpoint, and for several reasons. It is a shooter, make no mistake. Part of Tony's motivation is to take down Sosa and anyone even remotely involved in destroying his family and his livelihood. Yet, Tony has his own set of morals - loyalty, family and "harm no innocents". The game won't even allow you to kill random people on the street. From the 3rd person view, you'll get a better view of the environment Tony lives in (welcome back to 80's Miami - can anyone say Miami Vice?).
Also, Tony is not only out to take revenge but to build an empire. This empire must be done by rebuilding the drug trade that ran through Bolivia to the Bahamas ultimately to the Miami streets. As Tony you'll get the chance to repair and rebuild the mansion - upgrade and design - and also work with Tony's sense of "style" by outfitting him as appropriate for the situation -- whether it be a drug deal, laundering money or slaughtering your enemies.
As I've stated before, this is going to be more than a simple shooter. There is some empire building. You must rebuild a drug empire throughout three distinct countries, find sources for your product, develop allies, launder money (you can't spend it if it's dirty) and manage a full-scale economy. The game has missions you can follow, but it's really an open world for you to decide how you want to go about completing your "comeback". You can choose to follow missions, take down Sosa, work on your empire or spend time rebuilding your mission and increasing your "infamy".
Radical has worked very hard to keep their world of Tony Montana very true to the movie. They state that fans of the movie will be pleased with some of the voice-over actors that have helped with the more than 30,000 lines of dialogue recorded to date (with more to come). Should the attention to detail that producer Weber gushes about come to be in the game, the world of Tony Montana will be fully realized on the PC, Xbox and Playstation2 this fall. And remember, when you mess with Tony Montana…you messin' with the best.
I'm a mother of two boys, ages 7 and 10 and live in the chaos that ensues. I've a permanent disability that keeps me homebound, so books, kids, games and books are my constant companions. Oh, and books, too. *grins*
My children both play games so I often play them first, getting to know exactly how something may effect my sensitive and easily stimulated older child vs. my stoic and imperturbable younger.
I like games for games; for the pure enjoyment of them and believe that no game is wholly bad, though some are real stinkers.
I also have the dexterity of a camel in mittens so find playing FPSs difficult (and I also don't like the gore) and RTSs at times can stump me. I just can't seem to move quickly enough to keep up with them. Some of my favorite games are arcade games and I'll spend 3-5 years on the same 5-6 levels because I just never get any better. But, I have fun.
