Everyone has memories of the film Scarface and its protagonist Tony Montana – masterfully played by the great Al Pacino. Movie and video game buffs will surely remember too Scarface: The World is Yoursthe open world crime game in which the drug lord, who miraculously survived the iconic shooting of the film, swore revenge to Alejandro Sosa, his partner in crime who later revealed himself to be a fearsome enemy.
Armed with the voices of several members of the original cast – but not that of Pacino who in any case personally chose the voice actor of the polygonal Tony – the title of Radical Entertainment obtained good reviews and the favor of fans, who began to ask for a sequel that unfortunately it was canceled. Given the numerous details that emerged on Scarface Empirethis is the name of the game, we have decided to dwell on its history and on that of other famous video games inspired by great movie brands, starting with The Godfatherbecause they are symbols of a trend loved by players but now gone.
From the location to the shootings: the ambitions of Scarface 2
It all started when the YouTube channel Mafia Game Videos uploaded the screenshots published on the net by some former employees of Radical Entertainmentwhich between concept art and in-game images depicted the settings of the never-ended sequel by The World is Yours: Scarface Empire. The Nevada desert and the crowded streets of Las Vegas were to host the criminal deeds of Tony Montana, who, needless to say, could also visit the luxurious casino halls. A few days ago, the content creator returned with a new video, this time containing no images but real pieces of gameplay taken from the pre-alpha of the game, which according to the information in his possession, was canceled in 2008 when Radical Entertainment was acquired by Activision.
Apparently, in fact, the giant owner of Call of Duty (here the preview of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2) already had several open world titles in development, starting with Prototype, and he had no intention of adding more to his portfolio. The youtuber has learned other interesting details about the production, starting with the narrative premises. Forced by harsh crackdown on drug dealing to leave his Miami empire, Tony decided to leave Las Vegas again to rebuild your business. Opposed to the circulation of drugs in the casinos they managed, the local bosses opposed it right away, to the point of pushing Montana to give birth to the idea of building its own casino without their approval.
In an open world that included both the large and luxurious city, and a large desert area – which among many things would serve to hide the bodies of enemies – the ruthless drug kingpin had to swell the ranks of his criminal organization, support the war against the Vegas big boys and continue the growth of his glittering empire. Accompanied by Queen’s “I Want It All”, the introduction of the pre-alpha immediately gives way to the charismatic Montana, who is stationed in a town square while the speeded passage of time must have been a complete day / night cycle highlights the merits of art design and the changes in a metropolis more sparkling in the evening than in the morning, given the presence of luxurious clubs, gigantic buildings and rivers of luminous signs and lights of all kinds.
Tony’s virtual alter ego, discreetly modeled for the time, uses the phone to call a team of hit men, so as to be given support during a shooting. At least during the shots, the third person view was placed a little lower than most of the exponents of the genre, for the benefit of the cinematic feeling of the action. Tony could throw grenades and sneak out of the covers to unleash his M-16 and pile up the corpses of the unfortunate who dared to oppose him. When he was hit by the bullets, he replied boldly and with the typical movements of a man who does not fear death.
The gameplay taken from the pre-alpha also contains a short driving section, with the protagonist aboard a shabby vehicle full of dents but above all it shows the functioning of the resuscitation mechanics. After suffering extensive damage, Tony could meet his own end at the hands of an enemy or be able to get up to send him to the creator – complete with teasing – or even be saved by an ally. just before the henchman killed him. Regardless of the outcome of what was supposed to be a minigame, there remains a bad taste in the mouth for the premature end of a crime game that, if it had been released in the right time, could have made the happiness of fans of the genre and of Scarface.
The world of crime tie-ins
The tie-ins inspired by “crime oriented” films and TV series had a heyday around the mid-first decade of the 2000s. In addition to the Scarface Empire prequel, The World is Yours that followed what if to De Palma’s masterpiece, we want to mention what is perhaps the least virtuous exponent of the category: The Sopranos Road to Respect. Erected on the basis of a concept born from the creator of the HBO serial David Chase – although he kept us away from the paternity of the project – the title focused only on the more shady aspects of the homonymous show and allowed the player to complete the missions entrusted to him from the very characters we loved.
Joey LaRocca, the illegitimate son of “Big Pussy”, entered the family thanks to Tony Soprano, played by James Gandolfini himself and began a reckless life between games of Texas Hold ‘Em and shootings. Unfortunately, the participation of the talented actor and other cast members such as Michael Imperioli (Christopher) and Tony Sirico (Paulie) was not enough to save Road to Respect from oblivion, as it proved to be anything but refined both on the playful and visual front. . Based on the giant of the Seventh Art of 1972, the video game of The Godfather of 2006 allowed fans to impersonate Aldo Trapani, son of a Corleone man killed in an ambush.
Intent on avenging his father, the young man climbed the ranks of Don Vito’s family and his story intersected several times with the events of the film: it was he who accompanied the godfather to the hospital after the shooting at the fruit market, he placed the gun Michael used to kill Sollozzo and Captain McCluskey or the severed head of the horse in Jack Woltz’s bed. The project was never actually approved by Francis Ford Coppola but saw the participation of James Caan as Sonny and Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen. Equipped with a manual and automatic aiming system, The Godfather boasted sufficiently articulated shootings, including the use of Molotov cocktails up to the Thompson’s firing of bullets.
From intimidation for extortion purposes to managing racketeering, you had to grow your empire and conquer the districts of New York, up to eliminate – in the inevitable final – the heads of the families by order of Michael Corleone. Given the excellent commercial results and good reviews, Electronic Arts decided to make an adaptation of The Godfather Part 2, which, however, did not have the same success as its predecessor. We conclude the excursus with a title of a very different caliber, not surprisingly signed by Rockstar Games, which dedicated itself to a project that was anything but simple: translating into videogame form Walter Hill’s The Warriors. As usual, the Houser company not only succeeded in the enterprise but decided to add a personal touch to the script itself, setting it all three months before the events of the film (which are also told).
The result was a delightful, based beat ’em up barrel of orbi and male brotherhood. Masterfully depicting 1970s New York, Rockstar revived the directorial style of the film and called upon the player to take on the role of “warriors” like Cleon, Swan, Rembrandt and Ajax. The headquarters of the gang then became a perfect hub to train and plan your next theft or the challenge to the last graffiti. The spearhead of the production was the combat system, deep enough to motivate fans to master its “timing” and secret techniques. This concludes our journey to the rediscovery of gender tie-ins, which in all honesty we would like to see land on the shores of the new generation, especially given the current state of maturity of the videogame medium and that is why we ask you: we would like to to you too?
