SPOILER WARNING! The end of the Scarface film is revealed in this review, so if you haven't seen the film and somehow don't know how it ends, read on at your peril!

Movie tie-in games have always had a chequered past - for every great one there's a pile of stinkers. Thankfully, when Scarface: The World is Yours came out it didn't end up on the stink pile, and was generally considered as being one of the better licensed games of recent times, sticking its middle finger up at the competition, quite literally. Scarface the movie, well-known for its overuse of the 'F' word was released in 1983 and in similar footsteps to The Godfather, has only recently garnered a game tie-in. Unlike the Godfather though, which ties into the plot of the films, Scarface: The World Is Yours speculates on what might have happened if Tony Montana had not been killed. This was a clever move by the developers, as it gave them a lot more freedom with the game whilst still being able to entice fans of the movie to take a look.

To be honest, when I powered this game up in my innocent looking Wii, I didn't know what to expect. I almost dismissed the big, fat 18 rating on the front, thinking that this was just a Nintendo game with guns in it. However, two minutes into the game I realised that 70% of the game script its unsuitable for the ears of youngsters - seriously, this game has Tourette's!

The game plays much like Grand Theft Auto, which in itself is a huge compliment; you complete missions to earn money but if you don't feel like carrying on with the main story you can just concentrate on stealing cars and shooting gangs to gain 'turf' and 'respect'. Whatever you choose to do though, you'll find it very hard not to have fun. You begin with a training level to get you used to the new Wii controls, which use a system similar to Red Steel, where the nunchuk controls movement and the Wiimote is used to look around and aim your weapon. Although difficult at first, the controls do become easier the more you play and you have four different options to control the pointer speed. Then it's time to kick some butt!

The game starts off how it means to go on, by throwing you in at the deep end; you have a gun in your hand for no longer than five seconds before you find yourself firing blindly at the screen trying to kill the countless enemies shooting back. With regards to the control system, you will realise that the 'point to aim your gun' method makes much more sense than the 'dual analogue controls' ever did, but you do have to be prepared to invest time in mastering this setup, as it is unlikely that you will pick it up as soon as you start playing.

The game itself plays very well, offering nearly as much freedom as any recent GTA title. The map is bigger than I expected and was a nice surprise; all was going well, until suddenly I felt like I had to let the innocent civilians know that Tony Montana was back and they should fear him! I stepped out of my car and equipped my submachine gun, crept up behind the nearest granny I could find and then - I couldn't shoot her! This couldn't be right! Surely my Wiimote B button was stuck? Sweating slightly, I checked out the situation again, catching up with my elderly victim, but the same thing happened, only this time with Tony Montana proclaiming his 'motto' that he only gets people who have done something to him. While this was a bit of a disappointment, it's also a nice touch that Tony refuses to kill innocents, as it fits in with his character from the film.

With my plans for rampaging massacres put on hold indefinitely, I was ready to begin tackling the missions, and while the challenge is perfectly pitched in some, others can become a little tedious. There are loads of missions to complete, but they start to feel a bit samey after a while, with a lot of similar tasks to do - after all, the life of a drug dealing-gangster is a tedious and repetitive one. Drugs for money, money for possessions, you know the score. A great feature in Scarface is that you can actually buy loads of cool stuff. There are statues for your mansion, sports cars for you to drive around in and henchmen to watch your back. The range of purchases on offer increases the lifespan of the game, and the incentive to get money by completing missions is an absolute winner of a feature.

The enemy AI is impressive in places, with bad guys hiding behind trees and boxes, although most of the time you will find yourself entering places guns-a-blazing anyway. Another brilliant feature of this game is the 'balls' system. You acquire 'balls' by taunting your enemies and killing them in certain ways, and these points are accumulated in a meter that, when full, can send you into 'Blind Rage' mode with a shake of the nunchuk. This is as cool as it sounds; the action goes into slow-motion and you become invincible for a short period of time. This is also handy because for every person you kill, you gain health back, so if used at the right moment, you can massacre gangs and top up your health at the same time.

It's a real shame that such good gameplay is cursed with such disappointing graphics though; at times characters' mouths don't move when speaking and vehicles and buildings look jagged and sometimes unreal. The cars that you drive around in don't look incredibly bad, but it's hard not to feel that if they looked better it might be worth putting in the extra effort to buy the best ones. The interiors of shops certainly look better than their outside, but all of them just seem to sell big, blurry, indistinguishable products, similar to those in GTA III, because that's all they have on their shelves. This title does no favours for proving that the Wii can produce high-powered games, as it really does look like an early Xbox title. The sound fares a lot better however, with convincing effects for the guns, explosions and car engines, all of which helps immerse you more into the atmosphere. To add to the authenticity, Scarface includes a fully licensed Eighties soundtrack with over fifty tunes and more to unlock. It is of course your option to play the tunes or to turn them off and listen to your victims moan in pain (I personally prefer Johnny Cash).

Scarface: The World is Yours is a great game that's worth some of your time. If you are looking for a game with graphics to showcase your Wii then you'll be disappointed. However, if you're prepared to look past the almost awful graphics then you'll find a real gem hidden underneath. With guns, drugs and more curses than a witches spell book, Scarface is a great way for Nintendo to prove that the Wii is more than just for kids.

Reviewed by Ross Helsby for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).