50 Cent: Blood on the Sand Reviews

If I told you a couple of years ago that a game starring 50 Cent was anything but average, I would probably do so snickering. Not only is 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand a competently above average shooter, it also happens to be one of the more interesting third-person action games released during 2009's late first quarter.

50 Cent's first video game endeavor - which was the much-maligned 50 Cent: Bulletproof - couldn't be any more different than Swordfish Studio's recent action title/semi-sequel starring the love him/hate him rap mogul. Bulletproof held a lot of promise as an action game, culling elements from Fiddy's famed past, love of guns & drugs, and his uniquely palpable character traits that seemingly begged to be translated into our high-revenue interactive medium. Bulletproof saw a release on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox consoles in 2004 and received generally lukewarm reviews. Half 50 Cent life story with over-the-top, abundantly clichéd characters in-tow and half action game that simply wasn't too proficient at delivering the action its fantastic trailers promised. Bulletproof was maligned and rightly maligned at that.

But Blood on the Sand takes Fiddy out of the concrete jungle and moves him into undisclosed, possibly Middle Eastern locales that fill the ambiguity requirements Swordfish greatly stressed to the naysayers as the game's pre-release bandwagon made its rounds. The company was well-justified in believing that placing a gun happy 50 Cent directly in the currently war-torn Middle East would cause an unwanted uproar and it is with great approval that I say Blood on the Sand feels as though it could be happening any where at any time. Though the game feels like it rips too much from our current headlines a bit too often, there is still just enough ambivalence to provide comfort.

But if you think you should play and/or buy Blood on the Sand looking for a deep, involving plot and rewarding character development, you’ve got another thing coming. However lacking the game may be in terms of creative storytelling, that makes it no less fun to embody 50 Cent or one of three other members of the G-Unit. Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo, and DJ Whoo Kid are playable in online co-op mode or offered as an AI controlled teammate in the game's single-player mode.

Blood on the Sand plays a lot like 2008's Army of Two in that taking cover is essential to survival and teamwork will get 50 and his selected accomplice through almost every one of the tough scenarios they encounter unscathed. Some aspects of game play can only be utilized with said partner, such as boosting each other up onto ledges or pulling open heavy doors. Other sequences simply require the extra firepower and coordination, thus making them much less painful.

Surprisingly enough, the AI controlled teammates aren't at all a detriment to the fun factor of Blood on the Sand. The main player will automatically play as 50 when beginning a new game but will have to, naturally, pick from one of the three remaining members of G-Unit to buddy up with. No, these characters don't have any differing skills so it all comes down to one’s own preference (being my personal favorite in the group, I chose Banks). I'll hand it to Swordfish for their fantastic programming here as the friendly AI are expert marksman, alert the player to incoming dangers, help Mr. Cent if he appears to be in one spot for too long looking for an exit, and they never seem to stray too far from a particular objective or battle.

Not without its gimmicks, either, Blood on the Sand has two flash-in-the-pan features that may not gestate well with some folks on a given day. The first is the ability to pull off button sensitive counterkills. The problem with them is that 50 must be in-close to one of his foes in order to execute one of these flashy finishers. Considering the nonstop ferocity of the firefights and the intense number of enemies on-screen at one time, it's highly unlikely you will ever get that close to an opponent willingly; it leaves you undoutedly defenseless at all other angles. Collecting money off of downed foes or from broken crates scattered throughout levels will allow Fiddy to purchase new weapons, counterkills, and taunts, but these abovementioned moves aren't anything the game greatly benefits from. Counter-kills are rather fun to witness, and pulling them off is as easy as pressing O as described above, then pressing O again in unique repetitions when the indicative icon is displayed until the move is complete.

Swordfish even saw fit to include a slo-mo feature that can be accessed by pressing Triangle when Fiddy's slo-mo meter is partially or completely full. Pulling off stylish kills fills it and it is quite a challenge to fill it completely, but it is a feature that I have probably used two or three times throughout my entire time spent with the game. As much as I love the slo-mo aesthetic in video games, this is a poorly implemented feature that does nothing to enhance the already hectic action. Instead, it seems like a half-baked idea that never takes off the way it could have. The counterkills are at least a satisfying way in which to dispatch of 50's opponents, the slo-mo is not only poorly implemented, but the effect itself is rather lackluster as well.

Even though the enemies are dumb as bricks, this is a game that doesn't ask to be played as some kind of thought-provoking experience. Case in point; there is a scoring system that bases its scores off of the types of kills executed. For each enemy killed in succession - and within a certain amount of time - points are gained, for example. Kill enemies with explosives (grenades, incendiary/exploding rounds, the infamous "red barrels," etc...), eliminate enemies by way of headshots, with the help of your teammate, and numerous other possibilities and you gain points that earn you badges at the end of each section that add to your "high score." These aforementioned points later come into play as they grant you the ability to unlock items in the Unlockables section of the main menu. There you have access to 50 Cent music videos, still photographs, game art, and more. The game also offers up an in-game playlist that allows you to take out songs and add more from a list of 50 Cent/G-Unit songs as more become unlocked with your ever-increasing score.

An advanced version of the UnrealEngine3 powers Blood on the Sand's visuals and, while the engine has looked better elsewhere, it has never harnessed this much visual detail while still maintaining such a consistent framerate. The character models are striking and, as usual with an UnrealEngine3-powered title, the cut scenes look magnificent. The PhysX technology put to use during combat sequences is an assurance that each gunfight will lead into one jaw-dropping moment after the next. Textures are a bit muddy and nothing is ever beautiful, but the visuals are especially solid considering the massive amounts of activity present on-screen at one time. Explosions look spectacular and the weapon-specific ambience is second-to-none. For a game of this ilk, Swordfish could have done a lot worse than to tack on the technological power of an A-list engine and try to squeeze out every last one of its resources that they could.

Blood on the Sand even features "on-rails" vehicle segments that are so confined that they tread the line between "shooting gallery" and "useless." Levels are more like huge mazes than true-to-life locations, and even the game's weaponry is so unrealistic you'll be pissing yourself laughing at how 50 manhandles the game's various firearms. But that's OK.

The smirk-inducing score system and the sheer simplicity of the game offers up a truly unique experience in a world where every other game is seemingly vying for interactive supremacy with lengthy cut scenes and ever-evolving game play. There will always be a place in our hearts for the BioShock's and Metal Gear Solid's of the world, but sometimes a good old fashioned shooter with wanton violence and insane amounts of profanity is just what the doctor ordered.

“Clickity clank, clickity clank, the money goes in to my piggy bank” – 50 Cent