50 Cent: Blood on the Sand

50 Cent is a rapper that spans multiple industries. Television, movies, music, and even video games have been unable to escape the influence of 50 Cent and honestly, we’re all the better for it. Okay, maybe 50 Cent: Bulletproof was a bit of a misstep, but his next title, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, was a huge improvement that I’ve loved and respected ever since it came out. It doesn’t have the most captivating gameplay – its fairly similar to the Uncharted and Gears of War series as a third person shooter, but its nonetheless a unique experience. Being released over 12 years ago now, this game still holds up incredibly well and is a great example of the potential that older systems had.

Blood Money

This game’s story is definitely not the main feature of the game. Looking back, it’s a bit odd and doesn’t play out how you think it would. It boils down to 50 Cent and fellow rapper G-Unit being hired to play a concert somewhere in the Middle East.

They’re promised $10 million, but are shorted by Anwar, the promoter, and given a jeweled skull instead. Though it is covered in pearls and diamonds, they aren’t too satisfied. Things grow worse when it is stolen by the terrorist Said Kamal – G-Unit and 50 Cent must now shoot their way through hordes of bad guys to get it back. Its pretty straightforward and there isn’t a whole lot to say about it other than it was a whacky, chaotic adventure.

Its hard not to enjoy the bits of comedy scattered throughout, although some of this ‘comedy’ was likely not intended to be funny at all. Certain points of the plot just come off as ridiculous, similar to the stunts seen in the The Fast and The Furious movies – this means it was so crazy I kind of loved it more. Not every scene is a gem and not every level is legendary, but it’s a consistently fun experience the whole way through.

Gangsta Fire is Truly Fire

Blood on the Sand’s gameplay is a gigantic step forward for the series. Boss battles against military tech, cool items in the shop, and a multitude of weapons to takedown evil terrorist organizations all contribute to what is a nonstop fest of destruction that rewards creativity. Various taunts can be bought from the Shop which have different Triple X, Profanity, and Braggin’ levels to increase points from each kill. With these aspects, the game never takes itself too seriously – each taunt is fun to pull off and gives the gameplay a lot of diversity in terms of execution. Additionally, Gangsta Fire mode allows 50 Cent to slow down time and absolutely destroy enemies.

Controls for this game were solid and surprisingly intuitive. Seeing how poorly Bulletproof was made truly made me appreciate the attention that went into BotS to make it thoroughly entertaining. Finally, the graphics are okay even for PS3/XB360 standards, nothing remarkable but far from the worst out there at the time.

Pros:

• Creative level design
• Adore Gangsta Fire mode
• Fun all the way through, full stop

Cons:

• Story is linear Some levels get repetitive
• Short campaign length