Much like the Marvel comic series of old, the premise of Scarface: The World Is Yours is a simple "what if?" What if Tony Montana had survived Sosa's raid at the end of Scarface? That raid, which in the film proved fatal for Tony, begins the game. After fighting his way out of the gangster-filled mansion, Tony is left with nothing and must rebuild his life and his crime empire, fueled by the desire for revenge on those who wronged him.

First, you still have to make your way out of that mansion. Beginning in Tony's office, you'll fight off the oncoming horde, eventually turning the tide as you stalk them throughout the various corridors and hallways. Approaching a group of enemies, we locked on to one that had his back to us, allowing us to take careful aim, with the game rewarding more points for more difficult shots. For example, a head shot is worth more than one to the chest. Whatever the damage, an indicator pops up on the screen, specifying where the bullet struck, be it the head, the kidneys, the leg, even the testicles. As we fired, a little note appeared in the corner alerting us that we had hit him in the left nut, though that had been fairly obvious when he toppled over with a scream, hands covering his bloodied crotch. Maintaining a steady rate of fire, we mowed down another foe by blasting him in his chest, and thanks to the interactive environments, managed to destroy a vase and painting in the process. In less turbulent times, you'll be able to furnish the house with various items.

As a part of rebuilding his empire, Tony must smuggle drugs back to the Americas by speedboat, traveling to different islands to obtain a supply. These missions don't always go particularly well, sometimes ending with Tony and his rivals blasting away at one another from their respective vessels. Another mission we were shown required Tony to defend one of his money-laundering fronts which highlighted the car-handling portions of the game. In all, Vivendi expects to have over 140 missions, giving Scarface between 50 and 60 hours of playtime.

Though Tony can explore the world by foot, boat, plane, or car, Grand Theft Auto it is not. Tony has a strict moral code, which after all, got him into this situation in the first place, so he's incapable of attacking innocent bystanders. Luckily, at least in the game, there aren't that many innocents filling Miami's streets, so hopefully Tony's moral code won't get in the way of players looking to goof around.

The version we saw was only at 60%, so developer Radical Entertainment still has a good deal of work left on Scarface: The World is Yours. Despite this, what we played looks promising, and with the game slated for a 2006 release, it certainly has the time to deliver on its potential.