50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
You’ll get your four bits worth of entertainment
Tags: 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand Categories: Reviews, Xbox 360 Reviews
Posted by Mark "MadMup" Zwolanek on May 8th, 2009
Back in 1994, two videogames were released that featured two celebrities doing things in the game that weren’t related to what they were famous for. Michael Jordan starred in Chaos in the Windy City, a platformer that was at least slightly related to basketball – different basketball powerups helped MJ in his quest. Shaq Fu, though, featured Shaquille O’Neal in a fighting game, no basketballs to be found. Neither critics nor players had much good to say about either game, but there’s something to be said about both athletes trying to branch out and expand their media presence.
Fifteen years later, another celebrity gives it a shot – make that a SECOND shot. Blood on the Sand is the second 50 Cent game featuring the rapper as himself. In Blood on the Sand, 50 and his crew have just finished up a concert and are expecting to be paid the $10 million the promoter promised. Alas, the promoter doesn’t have the cash, and this gets 50 mighty perturbed. He’s about to start trashing the promoter when, “Oh, hey, how about I give you this diamond-encrusted skull instead?” Since 50 doesn’t already have one and he likes things that sparkle, he agrees. Again, just to be clear: this is an actual human skull encrusted with diamonds, and it’s being offered and accepted like chewing gum on a playground.
As things sometimes go, the skull is stolen from 50 and his crew (the “G-Unit”) while they are headed to the airport with it. 50, already peeved about the loss of the $10 million, decides right then and there that he’s going to get the skull back no matter the cost. From there it’s a non-stop ride of shootings, knifings, betrayals, misogyny, and swearing, swearing, swearing, all set to a background of Mr. 50’s music.
Okay, so, the first thing we have to do is get past the ridiculous plot of this game. If we can just agree that it’s ridiculous that a grown man – and a famous one at that – would essentially kill hundreds of people to get paid for performing a rap concert, then we can go on from there and see how the game is. Okay? Okay.
Weirdly enough, the game is actually a lot of fun. Even after the previous paragraph where we agreed to ignore the story, it’s still hard to admit there’s an actual game here. But… it works. The AI character (one of three different members of the G-Unit) that tags along actually makes a difference, and isn’t a complete idiot. The rough-and-tumble fast-moving gameplay really just is a lot of fun. There’s a cover system that actually protects 50 about 90% of the time (hmm… 90% of 50 is 45, so from here out he’s 45 Cent), and again, the AI-controlled helper really does help out, actually taking out some enemies rather than just standing around getting himself killed.
The two-player system sets up a great online aspect of the game. Games can be set to “open,” meaning anyone can jump in at any time, play for as long as they want, and drop out whenever. The AI picks up when it needs to without any interruption to gameplay.
Every level has collectibles to find, and there is a scoring system that rewards combos and there’s cash in each level that allows you to buy more guns, more close-kills, and, yes, it even lets you buy more advanced insults to yell at the myriads of enemies that come your way. There are also a couple of vehicle levels, both Humvee and helicopter, that allow for plenty of things to get blown up.
The game is not without its faults, of course. The same button that causes 50 to dive for cover also makes him roll or jump over things, and the game isn’t smart enough to make the right determination every time. Every boss in the game is a helicopter, too. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it is a bit … odd.
Honestly, I’m exactly the wrong target for this game. I don’t listen to Mr. Cent’s music, I don’t call women names instead of their actual names, I don’t enjoy hearing the f-word 40 times per second – but, in spite of all that, I actually did enjoy the gameplay. At some point, even the ridiculous story started amusing me, and this bigger-than-life version of 50 Cent was so outlandish that I had to admire his putting his stamp of approval on it.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ Multiplayer drop-in and -out + Run-and-gun play mixed with a little exploration makes for a lot of fun |
6.5 |
| What Doesn't | |
|
- Most ridiculous story ever - Jeepers! The language! F-words and racial epithets all over the dang place! - Cover button is also the roll button and some other things and it doesn't always react correctly |
|
| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| If you really, really, really love shooting down helicopters, this is the game for you. If you really, really, really hate swearing, rap music, or 50 Cent as a person, this game is not for you. | |
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Tags: 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
Posted by Mark "MadMup" Zwolanek on May 8th, 2009 and is filed under Reviews, Xbox 360 Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
