Scarface: The World Is Yours Review

By Dan Whitehead Published 5 July, 2007

Coke with a twist.

Version tested: Wii

Imagine my disappointment. Here I was, all excited because I thought I was going to review Scarf Ace, the cult Japanese knitting game that uses the Wii's motion sensing to realistically simulate the joys of furiously click-clacking giant needles like a mad old biddy. Instead, it's shouty swearbox Al Pacino and yet another attempt to recreate joypad-centred gameplay through the medium of motion-sensing. Hmm.

Luckily, Scarface was one of the better efforts to emerge from 2006's brief flurry of unlikely licensed free-roaming crime games, earning a reasonable 7/10 from Kristan back in October of 2006. Taking the bold approach of following on from the movie, and suggesting that Al Pacino's cocky Cuban crimelord survived the apocalyptic raid on his Miami mansion, the stage is set for a devious journey into larger-than-life violent excess and enough potty mouth to make Gordon Ramsay wince.

The basic set-up is, of course, familiar from the GTA series. Walk around, get in cars, shoot people, drive to hot spots to start missions which either propel the story forwards or provide the cash needed to amass a killer arsenal. Where Scarface excels is in giving you several compelling reasons to jump through the hoops one more time - not least of which is Tony Montana himself. By casting you as such a legendary persona, and then taking everything away from you, there's added impetus to rebuilding your empire. Perfectly animated and voiced with just the right mixture of Pacino accuracy and cartoony pastiche, this is a character you'll believe deserves to rule the world. So seeing Montana getting dissed by cheesy nightclub patrons just ain't right - and your quest to reclaim your reputation as well as your worldly possessions is nicely judged. The better you do, the more the citizens of Miami quake at your approach. And it feels good.

'Scarface: The World Is Yours' Screenshot 1

This screenshot makes Rockstar cry.

Another solid improvement to the GTA formula (which by San Andreas had become so diffuse and open-ended that many never bothered to see the main story through) was the tight focus on Tony's business. You're a drug dealer, plain and simple. You may be tasked with buying up local businesses through side missions, but only so you can use them as fronts for your coke-peddling antics. Meeting suppliers, delivering kilos and negotiating prices (even if it is by a slightly imprecise press-the-button-at-the-right-time mechanic) all work together to give the game a clear throughline. You are, at all times, following Tony's mantra - first you get the money, then you get the power, then you get the women. Well, mainly the first two. At least in this game.

The final area where Scarface improved on other walk-and-drive crime spree sims was in fixing many of the longstanding flaws in GTA's combat with a more precise aiming system, and offering a driving experience that crashed through the sweet spot between realism and over-the-top mayhem. It was a game where you never felt that Tony's swaggering form was out of your control.

Yeah. You can see what's coming, can't you?

'Scarface: The World Is Yours' Screenshot 2

Tony Montana: stay off his lawn, you damn kids.

In making the belated journey across the console divide to the Wii, that precision has been...not lost, exactly, but fudged slightly. Before hordes of rabid Wii fans light their torches, grab their pitchforks and march on my castle, it's not that the new control system is unworkable, just that it's a fairly needless change dictated by the Wii itself rather than gameplay necessity. It's fiddly to learn, often awkward to use when it matters most, yet doesn't reward you with any tangible benefits when you master it. Kind of like how it's entirely possible to design a car where you steer with your feet and accelerate and brake with your hands. Sure, you could get used to such a system, but when there's a more intuitive alternative already available, there's no real incentive to make the effort.

So it is here. Control of Tony is split down the middle. The stick on the nunchuk moves him around, while the remote is used to move the camera and aim your weapons. Other functions, such as shooting, taunting, entering vehicles and accessing menus are scattered a touch haphazardly across the various buttons and triggers. While walking around, everything works fine. There are four different settings for the remote, allowing you greater aiming precision with a slower turn speed, or fast movement with a broader target area. All have their pros and cons, and you're free to tinker until you find one that suits.

This generally rosy view of things continues when you're behind the wheel of a car. The A button accelerates, the C button brakes and reverses while the stick steers. Power slides are easy to pull off, and before long you're weaving in and out of traffic, shouting about "choo foggan cocko-roaches". Shooting while driving is less easy and its here that the flaws in the control start to become more of a problem. The Z button locks your view onto the nearest target, while waving the remote refines your aim and the B trigger fires. So if you want to shoot a moving target while driving you need to hold down A to drive, use the stick to steer, point the remote to aim and use another two buttons - one on each device - to shoot with any accuracy. Not impossible to master, but still a fairly clumsy approximation of a system that was far more graceful before.

When in combat on foot the controls are occasionally more hindrance than help. This is a game where multiple enemies approach from all sides, all guns blazing, and all too often Tony goes down in a hail of bullets because waving the remote, while manipulating the stick, while also hammering the B trigger to shoot, tapping up on the d-pad to reload, right and left to change weapons and the + button to crouch is simply too fiddly. I've got enormous man-fingers, and still struggled to stretch my digits up and down the remote to hit the functions I needed, when I needed them, in the middle of a shoot-out. It's easier to simply march about shooting like a loon, and hope you find a health pack to compensate for the crude approach. There are later missions - the Oakley Drive-In and protecting the VIP in the Babylon Club especially - where you'll be crying out for an old fashioned joypad in your hand.

'Scarface: The World Is Yours' Screenshot 3

Implementing congestion charges, the Cuban way.

And that's the crux of the matter. This sort of GTA-style control system was designed for, and evolved on, traditional joypads with twin analogue sticks and shoulder buttons. Rather than come up with something uniquely Wii, you get a simulation of a system that is an uncomfortable fit. Familiar functions have been copied across to the Wii set up but, when weighed against the paltry benefits the motion sensing brings, the cumbersome learning curve of the new control system fails to justify itself. Swinging the remote to throw punches, or to unleash high or low chainsaw attacks, just isn't as much fun as it sounds as there's precious little feeling that your moves are being replicated on-screen. All you're really doing is triggering the same animations you'd get by pressing a button, but with less consistency.

Perhaps the worst control decision is to map the activation of Blind Rage mode to a shake of the nunchuk. This takes one of the game's most vital elements and makes it feel annoyingly disconnected. With its damage-boosting and health-refilling properties, careful use of Blind Rage is essential to completing many of the tougher missions yet activating it with a shake seems foolishly hit or miss. Sometimes the game registers your shake as a flick, and gives you one of Tony's foul-mouthed taunts instead. Other times it just doesn't register your shake at all. For such a life-saving function, designed for urgent use in the thick of battle, you want the comfort of an old-fashioned button press with instant results. Having to stand there, bullets flying all around you as you frantically wobble your hands, is precisely the sort of pointless gimmick that lends more ammunition to those that scorn the Wii and its quirky potential.

'Scarface: The World Is Yours' Screenshot 4

Clearly, this is not a game of stealth.

But don't be too put off. Scarface is still the same almost-great game it was last year. The problems of this latest version are less to do with the Wii controls and more to do with this sort of game just not benefiting from the motion-sensing technology, yet losing some immediacy in the process. Like so many multiplatform ports, there's the inescapable image of a square peg that has only just been made to fit the Wii's round hole. The results aren't disastrous, merely frustrating on occasion. For much of the time it's a blast but, when it doesn't work how you'd hope, the frustration is tangible - and often unfairly directed at the console itself, rather than a game that has failed to evolve to fully suit its new home.

Given the drought currently afflicting the Wii, it seems churlish to completely dismiss Scarface's many amusements just because of control issues, especially as they can be accommodated with patience and practice. For the bulk of its playing time Scarface remains an indecently entertaining bad taste romp and, for those who don't have access to a PS2 or Xbox, it's still worth having. Even so, given that the handheld versions of multi-platform games are almost always radically reworked to better suit the hardware, it'd be nice to see the Wii get the same treatment once in a while.

7 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Dan.

About Dan Whitehead

Dan has been writing for Eurogamer since 2006 and specialises in RPGs, shooters and games for children. His bestest game ever is Julian Gollop's Chaos.

Read more articles from Dan by visiting the Dan Whitehead archive page.

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Comments (65) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • #1 5 years ago

    7/10 not bad none too shabby better go and read the feckin thing now ;)

  • kincaide #2 5 years ago

    To be expected I guess - The Godfather was quite good though

  • Weezer #3 5 years ago

    Any comment on the graphics? At all...?

  • ChrisS #4 5 years ago

    The graphics are the same as on PS2/Xbox.

    I thought the controls were great, actually.

  • MadMirko #5 5 years ago

    7/10 not bad none too shabby better go and read the feckin thing now ;)

    Considering the love the last 7/10 Wii game got, I'm curious now. ;)

  • Quine #6 5 years ago

    Joke lightly about Wii knitting games- you know they'll be along in a minute...

  • Pac-man-ate-my-wife #7 5 years ago

    So is this the exact same game as the PS2 but with a new control system? I thought they were doing up the graphics too. If so, that really should've been mentioned.

    Also, does anyone know if you can use the old fashioned control set-up a la Resi 4?

  • AlcohollicA #8 5 years ago

    So its as good as RE4? In that case, it must be feckin ace.

  • gizmo #9 5 years ago

    Wii control issues again.

    I'd pick one up out of curiousity if not for the recurring theme.

  • ChrisS #10 5 years ago

    Wii control issues again.

    That depends on the player; I thought it controlled very well indeed. Didn't have any problems, and the aiming's easier with the remote. Just depends on how well you've adapted to the remote and nunchuk really. Some people would rather use a joypad, which is understandable.

  • spongebob #11 5 years ago

    Don't know how the Wii version is, because obviously I haven't played it, but Scarface on Xbox is the best GTA game I've played. It even surpasses the original games in some ways (gameplay). Much better than any Saint's Row or Crackdown. Here's hoping there's a X360 upgrade or a sequel coming some day.

  • figaro7 #12 5 years ago

    So it controls roughly the same as the godfather in the shooting department, good enough for me! All driving shooting mechanics in sandbox games are competent at best, well from what ive played anyway!

  • SimonM7 #13 5 years ago

    After the RE4 Wii review, Wii reviews in general on here have really lost meaning to me. :/ EDGE gave RE4 Wii a 9, which pretty much seals the deal.

    Certainly, if anyone's been alert enough to figure out what reviewer on here can actually use the controls properly, I'll gladly keep on trusting those because I realise that a game MIGHT have trouble employing the motion stuff in a good way and then I shouldn't just brush those comments off.

    As it is, there's just no distinction made.. Except looking at every other site of course.

  • Bidermaier #14 5 years ago

    Why are key wii games never reviewed by the good ones?
    Edited by 1 at 05/07/07 @ 12:06

  • huxathon #15 5 years ago

    seems like the wii hasn't yet been mastered by the eurogamer team.

  • Machiavellian #16 5 years ago

    I have noticed that with every Wii game review if the reviewer has a problem with the controls there is this outcry from the faithful that the reviewer just doesn't know how to use the Wiimote.

    I also love how the double standard gets played here as well. It's alright for EG to go south from other game sites when reviewing PS3 and Xbox 360 games but let EG give an average score to a Wii game that get high marks from other sites then there must be something wrong with the EG reviewers. No more "EG is just telling it like it is" but instead, you must be wary of who is reviewing what game because they might not know how to use the Wiimote.

    I guess you can say most of you are like Christians who only preach certain scriptures out of the Bible to fit your view of the world only to conveniently forget the parts that complicate your life.

  • SBfistfun #17 5 years ago

    I thought it was a wii but when I went it turned out to be a poo

  • StarchildHypocrethes #18 5 years ago

    And so it begins...

  • figgis #19 5 years ago

    Spongebob is right the xbox version is the best GTA game i played.

  • DanWhitehead #20 5 years ago

    seems like the wii hasn't yet been mastered by the eurogamer team.

    Actually, it's more a case of the Wii not being mastered by the development community. The Wii's control system is great - I'm a fan - but it desperately needs games that are specifically designed to take full advantage of it, not more ports of existing games that simply try to replicate joypad controls on the nunchuk and remote. What's the point? Why buy a Wii only to play games you could play on any other console, in a more intuitive way? It's a waste of the technology.

    Scarface is still a solid game, but there's really no benefit to playing it this way.

  • miiiguel #21 5 years ago

    Machiavellian: spot on!, it's actually amusing how everyone jumps on the reviewer if he says a little tiny bit critic to the oh so wondefull numbchunk (or whatever it's called)! Yeah, I remember the "he's only mentioning the games problem" when it comes to PS3/360.

  • Razz #22 5 years ago

    Dan: It's because most Western Devs didn't expect the Wii to be the success that it is today. I bet they all thought Ubi was completely balmy with the strong launch support they gave! But lo, they were right the Wii is an amazing success and devs/publishers are clamouring to jump on the cash bandwagon.

  • DanWhitehead #23 5 years ago

    The silly thing is, I didn't even mark the game down. It got the same score as the other versions - quite deliberately. But it's foolish to ignore the fact that it's a game designed for a traditional joypad, because there are certain functions in the game that are now less effective. Doesn't mean the game can't be played, doesn't mean I didn't "master" the controls - just that trying to copy controls that have been ergonomically designed to fit in a two-handed pad is always going to be problematic on a long thin remote.

    I'd hoped the last line of the review would show the fans that I don't have an axe to grind and am, in fact, just asking for more actual Wii games, not old Xbox and PS2 games that you can play on the Wii if you like.

  • zuljin #24 5 years ago

    I'm loving the picture captions!

  • rashes #25 5 years ago

    @Razz

    What strong support? Were not all the Ubi games complete rubbish?
    Edited by 1 at 05/07/07 @ 12:48

  • Der_tolle_Emil #26 5 years ago

    Rubbish games or not (Red Steel is fun actually), at least they had games out. That's the whole point.

    I'm actually interested in this game. I must watch the movie first though.

  • GingerNathan #27 5 years ago

    " it's actually amusing how everyone jumps on the reviewer if he says a little tiny bit critic to the oh so wondefull numbchunk (or whatever it's called)!"

    No actually I think it's because certain reviews have categorically stated that the controls are broken and that it's the fault of the controller, because certain reviewers could never admit that the fault may lie at their feet. The simple fact is that the Wiimote works brilliantly for some and not for others, which is why any reviews of Wii games should be handled with more care as the controls themselves are infinitely more subjective per individual then the main selling points of the PS3 and 360.

    Would like to say I haven't a problem with this Scarface review (the author certainly doesn't deserve to be flamed), but if the gun aiming is anything like The Godfather then for me it's a massive step up in control scheme from a right thumb stick.
    Edited by 1 at 05/07/07 @ 13:06

  • space_ace #28 5 years ago

    the wii is yours

  • robg #29 5 years ago

    " it's actually amusing how everyone jumps on the reviewer"

    Everyone as in 3 people? Most have been balanced comments. Stop imagining things that aren't there. I thought it was a good review, and I'm a Wii fan; I even play Wii Tennis every day against workmates.

  • Sid-Nice #30 5 years ago

    Given the drought currently afflicting the Wii,

    What drought? I've just recently acquired I say "Acquired" opposed to bought because I received some games as birthday presents.

    Mercury Meltdown Revolution...
    Pangya Golf with style...
    Driver Parallel Lines...
    Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition...

    I got my mitts on these games with in the space of 19 days; that’s 2 mediocre titles and 2 cracking titles in less than 3 weeks.

  • vegard #31 5 years ago

    i don't think we should let that one RE4 review make us doubt all other wii reviews on EG.

  • Azazel #32 5 years ago

    :/ EDGE gave RE4 Wii a 9, which pretty much seals the deal.

    Yeah, 'cause Edge's word is always final.

  • Sid-Nice #33 5 years ago

    Didn't Edge give Goldeneye 5/10?

  • Daikon #34 5 years ago

    Didn't Edge give Goldeneye 5/10?

    I don't have any back issues here but I think it was closer to a 9.

  • Matsuo #35 5 years ago

    My friend has ordered this game, so I'll try it myself. So far, from what I've experienced, those games getting marked as "bad wii-controls" are actually very intuitive and quite easy to learn. Yes, it has a bit a learning curve, but that's about it.

    What I've learned so far is to give the games the benefit of the doubt. :)

  • ZeroAX #36 5 years ago

    I havn't played RE4 but even if it is a supperb game I don't see why a cash-cow port should be given a great score. though I am thinking of buying it for the Wii must eat Zelda TP first

  • aldo_14 #37 5 years ago

    I think the Wii controller is review marmite.

  • spookyzombie #38 5 years ago

    Can DW confirm if this version looks decent graphics wise? Doesn't it run at 480p? Also, is there an option to use a Cube pad like in Resi 4?

  • Nabokov #39 5 years ago

    "it desperately needs games that are specifically designed to take full advantage of it, not more ports of existing games that simply try to replicate joypad controls on the nunchuk and remote. What's the point? Why buy a Wii only to play games you could play on any other console, in a more intuitive way?"

    I guess there are two points. One, most of us only buy one console, and I wellcome also ports for it, why not? The other is that if a dev team has a good game of course they want to port it easily, can we really demand dramatic changes for one console?

    But, if they go the easy way, why on earth don't the also add support for classic/gamecube controller? You have to have support for wiimote, but how hard could it be to give an option to use classic controller, especially when a game is designed for similar controller?? Every hardcode gamer who demands precise control can buy classic one, it's cheap. Casuals don't care if wiimote is 2% worse than a pad.

  • miiiguel #40 5 years ago

    robg: I was talking globally (as in any Wii review), I actually come here a lot, this disaster recovery site setup can be a bit boring.

  • Sid-Nice #41 5 years ago

    Sorry Daikon, you're right Goldeneye did get a 9/10 and Edge did say in a recent anniversary issue that the game should have received 10/10. I know that they did mark one great game with a ridiculously low score, but which one?

  • Hughes. #42 5 years ago

    I think they put the PSP Scarface screenshots up by mistake, don't know if an editor can sort that out.

  • SimonM7 #43 5 years ago

    @ Machiavellian

    "I also love how the double standard gets played here as well. It's alright for EG to go south from other game sites when reviewing PS3 and Xbox 360 games but let EG give an average score to a Wii game that get high marks from other sites then there must be something wrong with the EG reviewers."

    That's a good point and I appreciate it, in particular in regards to the likes of Gears of War and Halo where this site steered clear of popular opinion. However, I feel that it's easier to doubt the authencity of the Wii scores in large part because of the control system and its constant flak. Gears won't be knocked down because a reviewer hasn't worked out how to hit the buttons properly, or has turned the sensitivity of the sticks to hell. A reviewer's *hypothetical* failure to grasp the basic controls in the game is far less likely with a traditional game than a Wii game.

    It's after plenty of games have been marked down because of supposedly broken controls, and after those games in the hands of consumers played just fine, that the questions arises whether the next game is a casuality of inherently bad controls or simply the inadequacy of the player.

    But sure, the supposed physics glitch that was said to single handedly bring down the score in Flatout UC has yet to happen to me (unless the fact that driving up the arse of someone else and having his car stay in front of you from the momentum untill you brake is the issue in its entirety) but I really can't argue with an 8 for that game anyway. In the case of RE4 it was obviously far more noticable because of the 7/10. Ultimately I have little problem with games being scored like that, but when I have NO problems with the controls in SSX Blur or RE4 I just dunno if I can take the next "game breaker!" claim seriously.

    @ Azazel

    "Yeah, 'cause Edge's word is always final."

    By no means do i trust EDGE that exclusively. It's just that sites everywhere have given it 9s and sometimes even full 5/5, specifically mentioning how the controls elevate the experience. It was just the other day that I noticed that EDGE - who traditionally are just as harsh as EG, had given it 9/10 which indeed sort of sealed the deal for me.

    @ vegard

    "i don't think we should let that one RE4 review make us doubt all other wii reviews on EG."

    I agree, but my confusion leads to doubt anyway. I guess I'll have to pay more attention to what reviewer seems to like what and try to figure out who I tend to agree with.

    @ DanWhitehead

    My comments aren't really directed at this review in particular, but rather are just reflections on the whole Wii situation on the site and my inability to tell from the review whether I'll have a problem with the implementation or not.


    EDIT: Added some much needed quotes for half a chance to know what I'm replying to.
    Edited by 1 at 05/07/07 @ 15:39

  • Darth_Flibble #44 5 years ago

    there is some truth in some can't use the controller, if you believe the EG review of RE4 on the wii, you would believe the controls don't work well when I had no problems (they are actually better, easier to aim and shoot) and the same with others

    I really don't think anyone judges a game by just 1 review

    Machiavellian is talking crap, on every console there is a outcry when some games does not score the "correct" score with resistance (ps3) EG had fanboy-venom flying every where because they did not score it 100/10 like all the little sony suicide bombers wanted and even Tenchu Z (360) got some nuts calling the reviewer names and calling him shit because he didn't understand the game (its not just a wii thing)

  • Carrybagma #45 5 years ago

    This review confirms that *ALL* EG reviewers are axe-grinding wii-hating maniacs.

    They're stupid and too lazy to lift their arms or even change the batteries in their Wiimotes and they hate Nintendo.

  • miiiguel #46 5 years ago

    robg: see?

  • DanWhitehead #47 5 years ago

    My comments aren't really directed at this review in particular, but rather are just reflections on the whole Wii situation on the site and my inability to tell from the review whether I'll have a problem with the implementation or not.

    That's fair enough, but I'd suggest that's a problem stemming from the Wii's unique controls rather than anything specific to do with any one website. With something as different as the Wii, the common ground we rely on for shared opinions isn't there - yet.

    And while I understand your scepticism, you have to allow for the fact that there are, and will be, Wii games with control issues. Like I said above, the problem isn't just reviewers who can't handle the controls, but developers who can't apply them. Knowing where one ends and the other begins is tough.

    And when I mention problems with the control, I hope I made it clear that I didn't mean I was incapable of controlling the character or camera. This isn't a case of me flailing around like a gibbon, trying to centre the view. My issues aren't really with the motion sensing stuff at all (apart from their implementation adding little to the game) but with the way the controls have been mapped across.

    I maintain that Scarface is a game that was designed to be played on a traditional joypad, and that it therefore has to lose something in the translation simply because the Wii controllers have less buttons. That's fact. And that's without even getting to the way that existing joypads are designed to put all those buttons right at your fingertips. The Wiimote isn't designed like that. It's designed like, well, a remote control - and there are certain tasks in Scarface, such as crouching and reloading at the same time, that are more fiddly than before as a result.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #48 5 years ago

    SimonM7: I totally agree.

    Also looking at the public's reactions to games like Gears of War and RE4 for example, I have seen a lot more people feeling that Gears was rated too high by many reviewers (in regard to the 10/10 reviews of course) but I haven't seen a single person actually who really complained about the RE4 Wii controls being imprecise or wobbly. As a matter of fact RE4's controls seem to get praised as the best Wii controls so far and I could not agree.

    I said it quite a while ago but the earlier Wii reviews on EG were a bit off for me. I usually trust EG's reviews and I like their style but I found myself disagreeing with nearly every Wii review. It's just that RE4's review took my doubts to new levels because RE4 is a game so many people are playing on the Wii and can comment on the game. I had no problems with SSX Blur's controls either (they are the hardest to master on the Wii, no doubt about that) but they do work. They just need some training - definetly more training than the earlier SSX titles ever needed. Now I agree that hard to master controls can very well be a game breaker for a lot of players and it's a fair point to mention that but they are not broken.

    I also disagreed with the Heatseeker review of the Wii version. It's an average game at best but the review talked about things that are simply wrong - like there is no guidance for landing on a carrier or that you bounce off the ground when you should be actually be crashing. There are guidance rings and I never managed to bounce off the ground either.

    Let's just say that I am quite sceptical with EG's Wii reviews because there was always some opinons in the reviews of games I own that just are the exact opposite of what I think. That does not make the reviewer's opinion wrong but all the other reviews for consoles that I own are usually spot on so there must be something about the Wii. Either EG doesn't get its grips with the controls or I love the Wii too much to think clearly. I doubt the latter though.

  • Sid-Nice #49 5 years ago

    Well I can't comment as I'm sitting here wearing false tan, fake nails and I've dyed my hair blonde.

  • Pac-man-ate-my-wife #50 5 years ago

    Has anyone been round to eurogamer towers and checked to see if their Wii sensor isn't in bright sunlight?

  • BraveArse #51 5 years ago

    @DanWhitehead

    Thanks for clarifying your thoughts re: the controller ... and thanks for specifically engaging in the debate here rather than in a completely unrelated forum as happened with the RE4 review ( not you I realise :) ) it says a lot about a person if they're prepared to back up their views. Much respect.

    I know exactly where SimonM7 is coming from though and before you posted your comments I was very much of the same mind. I've had to further hone my "reading between the lines" skills recently especially when it comes to EG Wii reviews, because, as you say, the common ground isn't there yet. I honestly think it's far less about score for most people who read these reviews ( apart from the tediously persistent "so better than / worse than x/y/z" crowd ) and much more about trying to assess if there is a genuine fault with the control implementation or if the reviewer simply has plum tomatoes for fingers. ;)

    I totally agree with your point about xbox and ps2 ports as well. It's a big problem imo, and very lazy to boot.

    edited for grammur and speeling

    Edited by 3 at 05/07/07 @ 17:52

  • PameBoy #52 5 years ago

    I'm afraid I just don't believe EG any more when they cite control issues in a Wii review. They've just been too consistently wrong (don't even get me started on that RE4 review - trying to go back to the GC controls is like trying to play football in a wheelchair), to the point where reading the opening paragraph of this review, I already knew exactly how it was going to end. As such, I'll probably still be picking this up in a few months' time.

    Considering what Dan says about it not being an aiming issue so much as a button-layout issue though, makes me wonder why there's no control configuration options in *any* Wii game to date - what's wrong with letting people choose what button does what?

  • kentmonkey #53 5 years ago

    Gingernathan said "No actually I think it's because certain reviews have categorically stated that the controls are broken and that it's the fault of the controller, because certain reviewers could never admit that the fault may lie at their feet. "

    That's the problem right there. Reviewers should not be using their feet!

  • Oddly #54 5 years ago

    I have absolutely no problems with reviewers marking down any game on any system for control issues and think the score on this review seems perfectly reasonable.

    Having said that: when reviewing Wii games the reviewers on EG always seem to start from the point of view that a joypad is the perfect control mechanism, as seen with comments like
    "This sort of GTA-style control system was designed for, and evolved on, traditional joypads with twin analogue sticks and shoulder buttons."
    and
    "trying to copy controls that have been ergonomically designed to fit in a two-handed pad is always going to be problematic on a long thin remote"

    I think it's a massive stretch of the imagination to believe the way controls are mapped onto traditional joypads is in any way natural - it's just something we've all got used to.

  • smelly #55 5 years ago

    I own this.

    My review : Worth owning? Yes.

    (especially as there aint a lot else coming out on the wii at the moment)

  • Nikanoru #56 5 years ago

    I think it's a massive stretch of the imagination to believe the way controls are mapped onto traditional joypads is in any way natural - it's just something we've all got used to.

    You read my mind.

  • smelly #57 5 years ago

    Who cares what this one reviewer thinks? He obviously doesnt like using the wiimote - who cares?

    Everyone else has given this high scores.. and say the wiimote improves things.. and it's fun .. so it's worth getting.

    - what's it matter what one reviewer thinks or not?

    No need to get wiitarded over it.. arf arf.. sometimes i crack myself up.

  • figaro7 #58 5 years ago

    At least eurogamer gave the game a score it deserved even with the niggles in the controls. Have you checked out gamespots 5.8? They even said it was a great game.... Looking passed the controls and still realising theres a good game underneath is what reviewing is all about and a 7 is a fine score.

    Playing through the darkness at the moment, its the same, its a great game but the pathfinding issues of your dark power crawl dude, collision detection issues, cheap ai deaths, sluggish perfect dark zero style aiming are still there, its just some people are willing to look passed this more than others. Ive even felt sometimes whered id rather be playing this with the wiimote and nunchuck.

    Theres nothing wrong getting a game thats very fun but flawed all at the same time.

  • 3william56 #59 5 years ago

    See, I was under the impression that the whole point of the wii controls was to make it easy and intuitive to play a game, and to get away from complicated controls, lots of buttons, and finger gymnastics that (Ninty originally rightly pointed out) put a lot of casual game players right off.

    Seems like Scarface missed that memo.

  • smelly #60 5 years ago

    As someone who's PLAYED it .. no they havent missed the memo.. it's easy enuf

  • PameBoy #61 5 years ago

    @ smelly

    I think the reason everyone has such a pronounced reaction to a review like this is that a site like Eurogamer has a high-profile reputation for being a reliable source of info & even taste in games (and rightly so), so when a reviewer has an opinion that seems at odds with that of the games-buying public it can create quite a bit of controversy.

    Often a game such as this one, which *is* worth buying (which is reflected in the decent 7/10 score) gets criticised for control issues on the Wii in particular, where superior control is supposed to be a major selling point for the system. That creates an abnormal amount of interest / argumentation among gamers due to the heavily subjective nature of the criticism.

    In an ideal world, gamers should indeed be able to form their own opinions through personal experience, as opposed to reviewer opinion. The fact is, though, that a reviewer has the power to turn off a lot of people from a game that they'd normally have a lot of fun with - the evidence is in games like the Godfather, which was overlooked by a lot of people due to lack of coverage on a site like this.

    I've believe I've heard you say that Scarface is actually better than the godfather, though, so i'll definitely be checking it out when I finally finish with the Wii games I've yet to finish :)

  • huxathon #62 5 years ago

    Having read several reviews, of several different games, from various sites, the eurogamer ones always single out poor Wii controls where as the others point to its advantages. Resi 4 being the prime example.

    This leads me to believe that they haven't quite mastered the wii yet.

  • aldo_14 #63 5 years ago

    Well, having played it now, methinks the review is spot on in the conclusion. :)

  • spookyzombie #64 5 years ago

    Can't rate this game because it's not out yet? Cock'a'roaches.

  • DJ-Ants #65 5 years ago

    Games such as this ARE a problem on the Wii. As someone with a few consoles, I agree that I much prefer to use a joypad in contrast to the Wii-mote. Unless a game implements it well, as is the case with Zelda, it really does detract from your enjoyment, and with more and more multi-platform releases, a reviewer should acknowledge any faults with a control system, since they should assume that people will often base a purchase on their words.

    I use Marvel Ultimate Alliance as a case in point. With a standard joypad, I may have found this game mildly entertaining, but with teh dodgy use of the Wiimote, I found it to be frustrating and boring, and thus never bothered finishing it.

  • FaceOmeter #66 5 years ago

    Here I was, all excited because I thought I was going to review Scarf Ace, the cult Japanese knitting game that uses the Wii's motion sensing to realistically simulate the joys of furiously click-clacking giant needles like a mad old biddy.

    I can't look at Scarface with any degree of seriousness now. I really want to play Scarf Ace! It sounds... ace?

    It doesn't have to be a knitting sim, it could be a Biggles thing. WW1 fighting, chocks away, biff biff, back in time for tea and medals &c. BUT THIS GUY KNITS WHILST ALSO SEEING OFF THE HUN?!

    /inhales drugs