When setting out to review 50 Cent Blood on the Sand, I felt like it was important to consider the following points: Do you like sniping with pistols? Do you like lifting doors? Do you like fighting helicopters? If you answered yes to any of those questions, then this game is for you. Everything about 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand is made for fans of 50 Cent, his music, and absurd game design. From the ridiculous music to the over the top melee sequences, everything is tailor made for the ultimate 50 Cent fan, and I love it for just that fact.

While some may pan the game for frustrating controls and repetitive encounters, everything about the game seems to unexpectedly succeed when it obviously shouldn’t. On the outside, Blood on the Sand is just a simple arcade-combo based 3rd person shooter, but it differentiates itself from others by having 50 Cent yelling expletives at nearly every moment during gameplay. Once again, it feels like this just shouldn’t work, but something about how self-referential it becomes allows this feature to never grow old or tiresome (This is probably aided by the fact that the game only clocks in at a little over 6 hours).

However, Blood on the Sand is not without it’s faults. Certain encounters can be incredibly frustrating, and a lack of ammo or clear objectives can also be a problem. While the game is obviously meant to be played Co-op, as a member of G-Unit is always with you during missions, it is disappointing that local multiplayer was not included especially when your companions often seem unable to hit the broad side of a barn. The driving stages, in which 50 and his G-Unit crew jump in a hummer also feel awful without a second player, as you are simply left to drive the hummer leaving you at the mercy of the games AI not to arbitrarily kill you while Tony Yayo seems to shoot everything but the enemy vehicles. Another seemingly odd design choice is the fact that every boss fight is with a helicopter that is destroyed in the same way every time (With a rocket launcher).

The soundtrack is fantastic if you are fan of 50 Cent’s music, but even if you aren’t a huge fan, the run and gun gameplay is surprisingly well matched with hip-hop music. If you are a huge 50 fan, you’ll find music videos and other bonus content to be unlocked, but the counterkills and taunt packs are what you’ll probably be spending your in game currencies on. Counterkills take the QTE in an oversimplified direction, but manage to still feel fun with over the top animations. Taunts are just that, phrases which are yelled at enemies to add to both your combo, and to your machismo while playing.

Honestly as much of a fan as I am of this game in addition to what it represents, it is actually a pretty decent game overall. If you can get over a few of the odd shortcomings including the really repetitive game design and the innumerable fights with helicopters, there is definitely a good game that is waiting to be played. Summed up by a lyric from “My Gun” off of Curtis:

“You only get one shot before I back out and fire back
At you hat, you back, you ass crack, you nut sack.
Your Cadillac if you make it to that,
I’m hitting that,”

Blood on the Sand, a game that seems to defy so many expectations, is definitely worth checking out.

-Eric Wall

Tags: 50 Cent, Blood on the Sand, Helicopters, Xbox 360

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