The basic gameplay and game mechanics fall into the subgenre of Grand Theft Auto clones. As such, Montana can commandeer vehicles (cars and boats), can move around the map on foot, can interact with civilians and NPCs both hostile and non-hostile, can engage in primary and sub-missions, and can wield a variety of weaponry; pistols, submachine guns, shotguns, assault rifles, a sniper rifle, a rocket launcher, a chainsaw, and various melee weapons, such as pipes and machetes. In a departure from most Grand Theft Auto-style games, Montana cannot kill innocent people. If the player tries to shoot a non-aggressive target, Montana will refuse; if the player tries to hit an innocent person with a car, they will only be injured. However, as the game progresses, the player acquires access to some of Montana's employees; a driver, a boat pilot, a weapons dealer, an enforcer and an assassin. When these employees have been unlocked, the player can switch control from Montana to any one of them (except the weapons dealer), and when playing as the enforcer or the assassin, the player can kill innocent people.
When shooting, the player can lock on to the enemy or can aim manually, hitting specific body parts to produce different reactions. For example, if Montana shoots an opponent in the leg, they will fall down, but will continue to fire. If he hits an opponent in the arm, they will remain on their feet, but their aim will be compromised. Hitting opponents by aiming manually earns Montana more "balls" than using the lock-on system. Earning balls fills the "Balls meter," which is an essential component of combat in the game. Once the meter is full, "Blind Rage" mode becomes available. In this mode, the game switches to first-person and goes into slow motion, aim becomes automatic, the player acquires infinite ammo and doesn't have to reload their weapon, and each enemy killed earns Montana health. Montana can also acquire balls by taunting defeated opponents, insulting drivers who have hit his car, winning street races, completing missions, and having conversations with random people.
Empire
There are four main geographical regions which Montana must control to complete the game; Little Havana, Downtown, South Beach and North Beach. At the start of the game, the entire map is available to explore, but Montana cannot carry out missions, attack rival gangs or purchase property anywhere except Little Havana. Each turf must be controlled 100% before the next one becomes available for missions. Acquiring 100% requires the player to perform certain actions within each region; purchase a certain number of fronts, eliminate rival gangs and carry out smaller missions involving purchasing and selling cocaine. To purchase fronts, Montana must perform a mission for the owner before they will sell the business to him - these missions, coupled with storyline missions, form the core of the main game. Once purchased, fronts can come under attack from rival gangs. To combat this, Montana can install security cameras to alert him to an imminent attack and guards to fend off attackers until he arrives on the scene. Once he has purchased the requisite number of fronts in a region, he must then take control of that region's storehouse, which will be in the possession of a rival gang.
A major part of the gameplay is "Reputation." There are eight Reputation levels (each level represented by a letter in the word "Scarface"), and certain items and missions cannot be unlocked until the player has reached a certain Reputation level. Reputation can be increased by various means, such as completing missions and buying fronts, completing side-missions, and buying "exotics" (extras used to decorate Montana's mansion). Rising in Reputation and increasing Montana's balls count also unlocks "femme fatales." If Montana can persuade these women to come to his mansion, they will give him stat increases, such as higher stamina.
The foundation of Montana's empire is dealing cocaine. To acquire cocaine to sell, players must complete side-missions called "Felix leads." These involve Montana carrying out a mission for his contact Felix. Upon successfully completing the mission, Felix will put Montana in touch with a cocaine supplier, from whom Montana can purchase cocaine. If it is a "small supplier," Montana can only purchase a certain amount of grams, which can be sold directly to street dealers or distributed through fronts. However, if it is "large supplier," Montana can purchase kilos, which must be transferred to a storehouse. He must then go on a drug run, distributing cocaine to all of his fronts in a single mission, whilst being pursued by rival gang members. Later in the game, Montana can purchase larger amounts of cocaine from Caribbean islands to the south of Miami, which he must then get back to the mainland via boat, avoiding pirates and the coast guard, before distributing the drugs amongst his fronts via a drug run.
Money and heat
Montana has access to two different types of money in the game. Cash on hand is called "dirty money." If the player dies, is arrested or is shaken down by another gang, the player will lose all their dirty money. The only way to protect Montana's money, and ensure it is not lost when the player dies, is to launder it in a bank. The player is free to launder money at a bank any time they wish (except during missions), but each time they launder cash, the bank will take a cut of the total. The percentage of their cut is determined by the level of "Cop heat" Montana currently has; the higher his heat, the higher their cut."Cop heat" and "Gang heat" are two meters which are active at all times during the game. Cop heat determines the rate of interest at banks, and Gang heat determines the price of cocaine; the more heat, the less Montana can charge. If Montana, or any of his associates, engages in a lot of public violence, cop heat will rise, and the police will arrive, pursuing Montana. Cop heat can be lowered with bribes, and gang heat can be lowered by intimidating other gangs. If Montana continues to commit open crimes, cop heat can rise to the point where Montana enters "You're fucked" mode, in which he cannot escape from the police alive. A "golf swing"-style minigame, where the player must attempt to stop the meter in a certain zone, is used to control negotiating drug deals, intimidating other gangs and bribing cops.
