Scarface: The World is Yours was released for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC, with a FarSight Studios-developed strategy game separately developed for PSP. This January, it was revealed that development on a Wii version of Scarface had begun, and at a Sierra event this week I had the opportunity to go hands on with the game.

In translating Scarface over to Wii, the singular concern at Radical was control. In other respects, the game is identical to its Xbox counterpart. While there have been no major visual tweaks made, it is perhaps something of a relief given the state of many Wii ports that Scarface does not appear to have lost any visual fidelity from the previously released game. For an in-depth look at the other main mechanics and features of Scarface: The World is Yours, see our review.

As in most Wii games, the nunchuk's analog stick is used to control character movement. When no firearm is selected, the Wii remote pointer controls the camera in a similar manner to first person shooters on the system, such that the view rotates as the cursor is drawn closer to the edges of the screen. When Tony is shooting, the cursor becomes an aiming reticule. This version of Scarface retains the lock-on system that allows the player to adjust the position of the reticule to target specific body parts after having locked on to an enemy (resulting in phrases like "Left Nut, +60 Balls" showing up on the screen). Of course, rather than being adjusted with an analog stick, this precision aiming is adjusted with the Wii remote. The combination of a lock-on mechanic with the pointer-based aiming works extremely well with the Wii pointer and takes little time to internalize.

Radical has implemented four levels of control, intended to allow players from beginning to expert gaming level to tune the aiming accordingly. At the beginner level, the aiming "dead zone" extends nearly to the edges of the screen, meaning players must bring the cursor nearly to the edge in order to rotate the camera. The actual sensitivity level of the cursor is also quite low, so broader aiming motions are required. The dead zone shrinks and sensitivity increases with each level, reaching the limit at the expert level. I played entirely at the expert level of control and faced no problems aiming or manipulating the camera.

One more general control-related tweak made for the Wii version of the game is that doing a button-press 180-degree turn now rotates not only the camera but Tony himself as well, which will come in particularly handy for those using the slower beginner-level control.

At any time, the player can simply drop the remote away from the screen, and the game will take over with an automated chase camera. In fact, the Sierra rep explained to me, it is possible to play the entire game without ever using the pointer aspect of the Wii, due to the existing lock-on system and chase cam. Of course, this would be an unnecessarily cumbersome experience; more likely, players will keep the remote relaxed during general movement, and bring it up during firefights.

When in a vehicle, the camera is fully automated, with the option of using the Wii remote to aim and shoot independently while driving. It is also possible to press a button that puts the camera in a rear view perspective, allowing Tony to take Wii remote-aimed shots at pursuers. I spent some time driving around town and making some deliberately sharp turns and power slides, and had no issues with the chase cam. The Sierra rep explained the camera modification, noting that even aside from the Wii-specific issues, the game's designers felt that the game simply played better when players did not have to steer a car and a camera simultaneously.

Scarface for Wii has drawn comparisons to EA's The Godfather Black Hand Edition, as both games are crime-based action/adventure movie-licensed titles brought to Wii after having been released on other platforms. EA's marketing for The Godfather on Wii has largely centered around the gestural motion control used for roughing up NPCs in close quarters; a Sierra representativ pointed out that Radical took a slightly different tack with its Wii game. "Godfather added to melee, but we concentrated more on the ranged combat," he said, explaining the numerous additional systems that were put into place.

That said, Scarface does include some occasional motion-based control aside from aiming. Giving the nunchuk a brief jolt will trigger one of Tony's expletive-laden taunts, used to assist in filling the game's Balls Meter. When the Balls Meter is full, Blind Rage mode can be activated with a stronger shake to the nunchuk. As in the original Scarface: The World is Yours, the game is then brought into a first person perspective, Tony becomes invincible and gains unlimited ammo, and there is an automatic aim enhancement applied. Blind Rage works well with the Wii remote even just pointing it at enemies haphazardly; since Tony is given so many benefits, it is more about getting as many shots in as possible over a wide area of the screen than fidgeting with precise aim.

Of course, the centerpiece of the Wii-specific control is the remote-based chainsaw. In general, melee attacks are simply activated with a brief shake to the remote, as in Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, but the chainsaw goes a step further and maps the direction of the in-game chainsaw swing to the direction the player moves the Wii remote while wielding the weapon. Since the chainsaw does damage to enemies simply by coming in contact with them at all, and since it is used in such close quarters, it can be hard to pull off precision slicing and dicing, but I was able to, for example, take out enemies' arms with vertical motions and their heads with horizontal motions, resulting in crimson fountains of blood spurting from the remaining stumps.

Being the exact same game as its multiplatform cousins in all aspects except control, Scarface: The World is Yours on Wii is unlikely to be a big draw for those who have already played through on another system. However, given that the game has lost nothing visually from the Xbox version and features Wii controls that are better designed and tuned than the vast majority of most Wii ports, this iteration of Scarface is looking like a good buy for those planning on picking up the game.

Sierra Entertainment plans to release Radical Entertainment's Scarface: The World is Yours for Wii this summer. The game was released last year for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC.