By Martin A. Berrios
Developer/Publisher: Swordfish/THQ
Platform: XBOX 360
Players: 1-2(Online)
Release Date: 2/24/09
Rating: C
With the massive popularity of Curtis Jackson’s Rap persona, it is no surprise his brand has transcended past music onto clothing, movies, television, and beverages. In 2005, 50 Cent took his Southside Queens hustle to a platform Hip-Hop has often failed at; video gaming.
While 50 Cent: Bulletproof fell short of the hype, the poorly received title still went on to sell over a million copies to date. Now a couple of years later Curtis remerges on seventh generation consoles backed by a new developer with the sequel 50 Cent: Blood On The Sand (Swordfish / THQ).
From the intro, players will be impressed by the presentation. 50 and the crew just finished performing the last show of a Middle Eastern tour. Our protagonist goes to collect his payment, but the promoter is short. For collateral a priceless heirloom is offered but Fif’ is jacked for it upon exiting and the battle ensues.
The graphics are solid with the character models of the G Unit crew being spot on. All four members are finely detailed down to exact tattoos, signature clothing choices, and voicing; no Yayo dance though. We even get some of their off beat humor injected into specific sequences (50: “I do my banking online”).
Sonically Blood keeps the action moving with a soundtrack full of 50’s best work. Additionally post Young Buck tunes like “Southside N****” keep things fresh.
The game play is still very much a linear run and gun with your standard duck and cover system in place. Sadly after a run through of the first couple of missions, the action starts to get repetitive. What makes this process even more tedious is the awkward aiming mechanics.
Plain and simple bucking down multiple assailants is very cumbersome as the analog stick control is clumsy at best. Nevertheless Fif’ is armed for any challenge with easy access to knives, pistols, automatic weapons, grenades, and bazookas.
A new scoring system does inject some life into this shooter. If you’re a gamer that likes to own at high scores, this tallying progression will keep you tuned in. Timed objectives also pepper in some added challenge. Other promising additions include the cooperative feature where you can get assistance from an online associate.
While Blood On The Sand doesn’t break any barriers in the first person shooter genre, its fast paced action coupled with a never ending thugged out swagger should keep the G-Unit faithful on the sticks. If you side with Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, or Fat Joe, then you might want to rent or borrow.
50 Cent: Blood On The Sand Trailer: