It feels like a console game not converted to PC gameplay because the movement lags hideously, the mouse movement is likewise terrible and it can take you an epicly long time to do a simple 180 turn. Again, running and movement - all laggy, unrealistic and hard to control - it feels completely wrong. Now, GTA - they got the movement right - and you could even use your mouse in the damn menus, not this stoneage up/down/left/right/enter crap.
The car control - awful. When making deals, you hold down the taunt button - again, LAAAAAAAG so you keep f*cking up the deal.
There are lightyears of difference between FarCry and Scarface, lightyears. In fact, these days, FarCry graphics are old hat, likewise for Doom3. The graphics in Scarface are piss poor even for an old generation console. The faces and people within the game are the best aspect, the cars also don't look too bad. But it's other details like the scenery - awful. There's no detail, everything just feels plain and empty.
Another thing - the engine - the lag is atrocious. My rig can handle Half Life 2 without a problem, even with the new fancy High Dynamic Range lighting it does perfectly well ... yet with Scarface, which has graphics below par for old generation gaming, struggles at almost all times. I even had to downgrade to a rough-edged 800x600 resolution. If the engine wasn't such a lump of turd I'd be on 1280x1024 with no problems.
It seems like they've spent all their time acquiring licenses for the soundtrack and working on Tony Montana, but forgot about the rest of the game and the key aspect - playability. It feels like total ass and looks like ass so it's just ass, such a missed golden opportunity.
The ONLY good thing I've found thus far is the voice talent on board (for the most part, some is awful - like the Miami Vice-a-like cops). The guy doing Pacino's voice does it very well and the conversations you can have with half-dressed chicas is entertaining.
However, overall the game is just so damn bland. I was driving around the city last night on it, stealing cars and attempting to run over people - which rarely happens because the cars are so friggin' slow (even the speedy ones are travelling at the speed the ordinary cars should be going at) - but everything was so bland.
On the GTA games I couldn't wait to explore every inch and get into a new area. With Scarface I had no care to see more, everything was so bland, it was like one, long smeared splodge of beige slowing passing by my puttering along car.
If this is what passed for old generation console games, I'm glad I didn't bother buying an Xbox and stuck with my PC. Games aren't all about the graphics, but there's a difference between not looking the greatest for the time in which it was made - but having a good game (think - Outlaws, or Grim Fandango) - and having a game with a not-too-bad (i.e. far from gripping) story and graphics which are complete and utter anal leakage.
Like I said, even FarCry is old hat these days, Scarface's look is several years too late - it feels lazy in almost all ways. Very disappointing. You're best off watching the movie and then playing GTA: Vice City.
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Originally Posted by hellsing
), so I have absolutely no need to upgrade for this game. Much of the lag is down to a piss poor engine, a piss poor set of controls and a piss poor conversion to PC.
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