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50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
G-g-g-g-gamers!
March 3, 2009 | 7:25 AM PSTKombo's Review Policy: Our reviews are written for you. Our goal is to write honest, to-the-point reviews that don't waste your time. This is why we've split our reviews into four sections: What the Game's About, What's Hot, What's Not and Final Word, so that you can easily find the information you want from our reviews.
What the Game's About
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand stars the famous rapper by which the game is named. Fiddy did a concert in the Middle East, and when time came to pay him for the performance, the money didn't come through. Being the businessman he is, Fiddy demands payment, with interest. Blood on the Sand is an over-the-top third person shooter that combines elements of gameplay from Gears of War, Army of Two and The Club. Combat is ruthless and constant as you blast your way to get paid. The lead will fly and there will be blood… on the sand.
What's Hot
After the debacle that was 50 Cent: Bulletproof on the last generation of systems, hopes weren't all that high for Blood on the Sand. The amazing thing is that Blood on the Sand came out of left field by being shockingly fun and enjoyable. There is plenty to back up that claim, too.
For starters, with a story and concept as crazy as the premise is, Blood on the Sand never takes itself very seriously. In fact, it has fun and relishes with how corny and ridiculous it sounds for a rapper to be taking down terrorism with a few members of his crew. The dialogue is filled with gangsta one-liners, loads of profanities and delivered naturally like Fiddy was talking with his homies. The ludicrous story is complimented by totally implausible solutions to problems, kind of like a MacGyver episode or a Chuck Norris movie. You'll be laughing with the game rather than at the game.
As if taking down terrorist organizations and surviving double crosses left and right wasn't all in a days work, the gameplay keeps the Blood on the Sand interesting. Since the game is made with the Unreal 3 Engine, you'll notice a lot of similarities to Gears of War. Taking cover behind barriers while enemies fire at you is what you'll find throughout the game. You have access to a wide variety of weapons to defend yourself with as you pop from behind your cover to blast a few caps. Blood on the Sand is arcadey in nature, so the enemies are bullet sponges and ammo is plentiful. You are encouraged to go balls out with guns blazing, which is how a video game is supposed to be.
To keep you on the offensive, Blood on the Sand implemented a points system that correlates to unlocking more content in the game. Not only do you have the overarching mission of getting payment for your concert, you also will have beating highscores looming over your head. Buying better weapons and stringing together more kills is the way to keep besting your own scores and sit on top of the leader boards. The inclusion of the point system gives Blood on the Sand a surprising amount of replayability. It is a misnomer to say that Fiddy didn't get any help. Other members of the G-Unit tag along for co-op action and your friends can jump in your game to increase the fun exponentially.
What's Not
Blood on the Sand suffers in some areas for being unpolished. A few times when we wanted to get interact with an object or pick up a pay phone to purchase weapons that Fiddy needed to be in a very specific spot to make it work. Animations for switching weapons and reloading aren't all that smooth. The fact that Fiddy doesn't blink is a minor but disturbing facial feature.
To break up the constant action and the endless stream of bullets, there are some missions designed to give you something else to chew on. These diversions usually involve driving in some sort of vehicle and shooting stuff. These driving levels are underdeveloped and could have used some more time to percolate in development. While they do provide a nice change of pacing, they could have been much better.
Adding to the list of items that could have used some more work are the Counter Kills and the bullet time mode. They are glorified quick time event Counter Kills do not add much to the frenzy of the action and the bullet time mode is helpful but feels more tacked on to the game more than an integral part of being successful.
With all the fun to be had, it does end all too quickly. It all feels rushed towards the end with so many twists and turns that your head will spin. It is a shame that the ending comes because you feel the entire game is an entire level rather than different stages in a larger adventure. The Middle Eastern setting throughout the game is cohesive but doesn't feel like each level has its own distinct feel.
Final Word
What was the first thing we did when we finished Blood on the Sand? We started it over. Don't think for a second that Blood on the Sand gets repetitive because when you start to feel that, the game will throw something wacky and more over-the-top to keep you glued to the controller. Blood on the Sand is all about 50 Cent and is not bashful about it. Top to bottom, G-Unit has its mark all over the game and damned if we don't absolutely love the game. It's fun, funky and action loaded game with addicting gameplay to warrant a purchase even for the most skeptical gamer thinking that this rap mogul couldn't pull off a worthwhile game.
What the Game's About
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand stars the famous rapper by which the game is named. Fiddy did a concert in the Middle East, and when time came to pay him for the performance, the money didn't come through. Being the businessman he is, Fiddy demands payment, with interest. Blood on the Sand is an over-the-top third person shooter that combines elements of gameplay from Gears of War, Army of Two and The Club. Combat is ruthless and constant as you blast your way to get paid. The lead will fly and there will be blood… on the sand.
What's Hot
After the debacle that was 50 Cent: Bulletproof on the last generation of systems, hopes weren't all that high for Blood on the Sand. The amazing thing is that Blood on the Sand came out of left field by being shockingly fun and enjoyable. There is plenty to back up that claim, too.
For starters, with a story and concept as crazy as the premise is, Blood on the Sand never takes itself very seriously. In fact, it has fun and relishes with how corny and ridiculous it sounds for a rapper to be taking down terrorism with a few members of his crew. The dialogue is filled with gangsta one-liners, loads of profanities and delivered naturally like Fiddy was talking with his homies. The ludicrous story is complimented by totally implausible solutions to problems, kind of like a MacGyver episode or a Chuck Norris movie. You'll be laughing with the game rather than at the game.
As if taking down terrorist organizations and surviving double crosses left and right wasn't all in a days work, the gameplay keeps the Blood on the Sand interesting. Since the game is made with the Unreal 3 Engine, you'll notice a lot of similarities to Gears of War. Taking cover behind barriers while enemies fire at you is what you'll find throughout the game. You have access to a wide variety of weapons to defend yourself with as you pop from behind your cover to blast a few caps. Blood on the Sand is arcadey in nature, so the enemies are bullet sponges and ammo is plentiful. You are encouraged to go balls out with guns blazing, which is how a video game is supposed to be.
To keep you on the offensive, Blood on the Sand implemented a points system that correlates to unlocking more content in the game. Not only do you have the overarching mission of getting payment for your concert, you also will have beating highscores looming over your head. Buying better weapons and stringing together more kills is the way to keep besting your own scores and sit on top of the leader boards. The inclusion of the point system gives Blood on the Sand a surprising amount of replayability. It is a misnomer to say that Fiddy didn't get any help. Other members of the G-Unit tag along for co-op action and your friends can jump in your game to increase the fun exponentially.
What's Not
Blood on the Sand suffers in some areas for being unpolished. A few times when we wanted to get interact with an object or pick up a pay phone to purchase weapons that Fiddy needed to be in a very specific spot to make it work. Animations for switching weapons and reloading aren't all that smooth. The fact that Fiddy doesn't blink is a minor but disturbing facial feature.
To break up the constant action and the endless stream of bullets, there are some missions designed to give you something else to chew on. These diversions usually involve driving in some sort of vehicle and shooting stuff. These driving levels are underdeveloped and could have used some more time to percolate in development. While they do provide a nice change of pacing, they could have been much better.
Adding to the list of items that could have used some more work are the Counter Kills and the bullet time mode. They are glorified quick time event Counter Kills do not add much to the frenzy of the action and the bullet time mode is helpful but feels more tacked on to the game more than an integral part of being successful.
With all the fun to be had, it does end all too quickly. It all feels rushed towards the end with so many twists and turns that your head will spin. It is a shame that the ending comes because you feel the entire game is an entire level rather than different stages in a larger adventure. The Middle Eastern setting throughout the game is cohesive but doesn't feel like each level has its own distinct feel.
Final Word
What was the first thing we did when we finished Blood on the Sand? We started it over. Don't think for a second that Blood on the Sand gets repetitive because when you start to feel that, the game will throw something wacky and more over-the-top to keep you glued to the controller. Blood on the Sand is all about 50 Cent and is not bashful about it. Top to bottom, G-Unit has its mark all over the game and damned if we don't absolutely love the game. It's fun, funky and action loaded game with addicting gameplay to warrant a purchase even for the most skeptical gamer thinking that this rap mogul couldn't pull off a worthwhile game.
November 20, 2009
