PlayStation 3

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand

50 Cent’s first foray into video games (50 Cent: Bulletproof) was a hot mess of action clichés and poor control, so kudos to new developer Swordfish Studios for delivering a vastly improved sequel. It’s a thuggish, high production value exercise in excess – not unlike the music of the man that inspired it.

50 Cent: Blood On the Sand is a huge improvement over the below-average Bulletproof, pitting the rapper and his G-Unit posse against gun-toting terrorists in the Middle East. Their leader steals a diamond-studded skull (or as Fiddy calls it, my "mother (bleep)in' skull!"), and the hip-hop star goes on a homicidal rampage to reclaim it. What the game lacks in originality, it makes up for in raw energy. We had a blast shooting enemies, racking up high scores and completing challenges. The game also supports online drop-in/drop-out co-op, so a buddy can play with you any time. The graphics look terrific and 50 put his stamp on the game with 18 exclusive tracks. In addition, there are various weapons to purchase, excellent vehicle sequences and unlockable music videos, so unless you despise rap, pick up Blood On the Sand and party like it's your birthday.

Fiddy proves his gaming career is more than wanksta dreaming with Blood on the Sand. You would almost have to be lifeless not to enjoy a few minutes of 50 this action packed shooter. This doesn’t mean you should run out and purchase Blood on the Sand, unless you’re a diehard Fiddy fan. Blood on the Sand is the perfect weekend rental to enjoy with a friend. Have a few pops, crank up the volume and mindlessly jump into the heavily geared up persona of 50 cent. The scary thing out of the whole experience is that I actually want to see the series continue... so how about it Swordfish, one more 50 game?

If, by contrast, you're a "beat it once on medium difficulty and trade it in" type, there's no need to keep 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand for more than a weekend, thanks to the short campaign. It'll be a heck of a fun weekend, though.

Swordfish Studios has taken a knowing and often wry eye to the swagger of the 50 Cent juggernaut, and in the process created a near-perfect popcorn game. Its gunplay is solid and backed up by a plethora of neat ideas, its co-op is strong and there's an undercurrent of savvy humour that helps to negate the heavy posturing and more dubious elements of the paper thin plot. Ultimately, the pattern of play becomes too familiar too quickly, but while it lasts Blood on the Sand is a smile-inducing blast.

Being honest, we're not huge fans of 50 Cent as a rapper, but it's hard not to warm to him in Blood on the Sand – provided you get what the dev team is trying to do. This is great mindless fun, with a huge head-nodding Fiddy soundtrack, highly competent visuals and a high score aesthetic that clicks enough to keep you playing.

In closing I am going to say that this is game does a lot of things right. The co-op is fun, the action is intense and in fact the only negative things about this game are the camera, story, and pop in graphics. If you can get past all of those things underneath you might not find the ultimate 50-Cent experience but you will at the very least find a pretty good action arcade shooter. For those hardcore Fiddy fans though, you will love everything about this one and will spend all your time making sure to unlock every single song the disc holds.

While few would have expected a solid entry out of this followup title, the truth is that 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand is a good shooter, especially for those looking for a Gears of War-like action title. Swordfish did a pretty good job with 50's first next-gen title, and I think they've put together a great stepping stone for a potential solid franchise for THQ. For the sequel, I'd like to see a proper multiplayer mode in addition to a longer campaign and a bit more originality. But all in all, you can't deny that Blood on the Sand is a fun game with a great soundtrack.

Overall, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand is a decent game and well worth a look especially for the co-op gameplay. What it does, it does well, which surprised me and probably everyone else in the industry too.

At the end of the day, if you can look past the utterly stupid story and just enjoy the game for what it is, a fast paced, high scoring, arcade shooter, you'll probably find yourself having a lot of fun. Real 50 Cent fans will no doubt enjoy the various songs, videos and priceless banter between Fiddy and the rest of G-Unit. For the rest of you, well, you'll just have to be satisfied with getting extra points for using the "Gangsta Time" to detonate a rocket in the air, taking out the guy who fired it in the process. If that doesn't do anything for you, there's always Peggle.

While 50 Cent: Blood in the Sand is an adequate shooter, it can get fairly repetitious quickly. Personally I’m not a fan of 50 Cent and his genre, but for those gamers that love him, the game should appeal to you immediately. Although the gameplay itself is an off the shelf standard shooter, and it is really nothing new or revolutionary, the graphics are clean and the two player cooperative mode is a solid addition. Some pretty good fun can be had in the by two players as you can drop in and out of the game at any time. Unfortunately the short story and lack of trophies to unlock hinders the replay value. This would have given the game a bit more oomph in the replay department. At the end of the day though this game does deserve at least a chance to be enjoyed by most FPS gamers out there.

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand does a good job of alleviating the mistakes of its predecessor thanks to the better controls, great graphics and a foray into co-op. For die-hard fans, this is a no-brainer, as the excellent presentation and new music will surely please those who wish to step into the shoes of one of hip-hop's most notorious icons. I'd like to say that even non-50 fans should give Blood on the Sand a try because it offers a very playable action experience, but the repetitive gameplay and lack of adversarial multiplayer might restrict the game's appeal to only true G-Unit soldiers.

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand is certain to settle the debate over whether or not games are art. But the debate over whether or not you should play this game is going to rage on through the rest of the year. Blood on the Sand isn't broken, but it is at times unimaginative. If Gears of War 2's mantra was "Bigger, badder, more bad ass," then BOTS's should have been "Fiddy, Fiddier, more fiddier." Instead it's just one five-hour "Fiddy." There's no mistaking that this is a fun game to play -- particularly with a buddy -- but it's in no way excellent. Though I'd love nothing more than for people to put some coin in Fiddy's piggy bank, I'd recommend renting rather than buying.

Blood on the Sand is better enjoyed with a friend, and the well-implemented drop-in/drop-out Cooperative mode is a solid addition. It's easy to let people join your game, and just as easy to keep them out or boot them should they become a nuisance. Whether you play solo or cooperative, you'll get a solid 10+ hours out of the campaign, in addition to any high-score runs that you attempt for the sake of making the online leaderboards. The run-and-gun gameplay isn't particularly inspired, but the scoring system adds enough to keep you engaged. The pervasive attitude is so excessive that it borders on parody, but when underlaid with a robust offering of authentic songs, it works surprisingly well. This isn't the best action game you'll play this year, but that doesn't mean you won't have a damn fun time playing it.

Though a little on the short side, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand is entertaining while it lasts, and there’s further replay value in its co-op mode and trying to rise up the rankings, or searching for any collectibles that you may have missed. It's a game, however, that should have Trophy support, but disappointingly doesn't. The added incentive of Trophies would certainly have encouraged further gameplay time. Despite its ropey script and fairly bland visuals, however, it gets a lot of things right. 50 Cent fans will undoubtedly love seeing their idol brought to life and will appreciate being able to mix and match the soundtrack with his tunes, but there's also plenty here that shooter fans in general will enjoy.

All things considered, I won't lie: I'm nowhere near above an old fashioned trigger-happy bloodbath, and Blood on the Sand lives up to its name in that respect. If you want variety, depth, and a story you can really sink your teeth into, look elsewhere. If you're in dire need of a mindless gold and platinum coated shoot-em-up experience, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand might just be right up your alley.

A few months back our expectations of 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand were so low that we wouldn't have been surprised had no one picked the game up after Activision Blizzard dropped it. Looking at it now the real surprise is that the mega publisher let this highly enjoyable game slip through its fingers, giving THQ an extremely solid next-gen action game in the process. 50 Cent fans are going to love every minute, and non-fans are likely to have a pretty good time too. Just don't expect a deep gameplay experience.

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand is surprisingly fun. It's easy to pick up and play and checks all the boxes for an action shooter. It's not very original, but it's miles better than the last game to bear the hip-hop star's name. You'll get several hours of enjoyment out of it, and it's great rental fodder for those who have long since laid the locust to rest.

The thing is, Blood on the Sand is a weird, weird game. On one hand, it borrows good parts from great games with enough content and unique ideas to make it competent enough to stand aside from the bullshit posturing 50 Cent and his crew bring to the table, and perhaps reach a bigger audience of gamers and be a better game for it. On the other hand, gamers are incredibly fickle creatures, and at least this way THQ have guaranteed some sales within a huge fan base. You can’t blame them for playing it safe. The biggest chunk of praise needs to go to Swordfish, though, who have managed to take what – on paper, at least – is an awful idea and turn it into a decent shooter, even in a very crowded market. Ultimately, strip Blood on the Sand down to its basics and you are left with a good videogame and, fan or not, that’s all that really matters, right?

Fans van 50 Cent kunnen opgelucht adem halen: Blood on the Sand is twee keer zo goed geworden als het eerste deel en bij vlagen hartstikke tof om te spelen. Het in het wilde weg schieten in combinatie met de hits van 50 Cent die op de achtergrond spelen zorgt voor een sfeer die perfect is voor een ieder die ‘respect’ heeft voor G-Unit of ‘Fiddy’.

"50 Cent: Blood on the Sand" é um dos raros jogos licenciados a escapar da maldição de prazos apertados e orçamentos baixos, livre de corresponder ao lançamento de outro produto relacionado, e apoiado na força da marca e do carisma do rapper e seus colaboradores mais próximos. Com uma apresentação bastante razoável e canções inéditas dos envolvidos, a produção é acima da média para este tipo de game. Pena que a ação não traga nenhuma novidade e caia em um mar de clichês no gênero, apagando-se diante da competição acirrada.

So, even if 50 Cent killing a country full of terrorists to ensure he gets paid for playing a concert is the most absurd story in gaming history, the only thing less likely being an M4 wielding Rhianna dealing death on K’Rd, it doesn’t matter. Developer Swordfish Studios have delivered a game as blunt, as fun, and in your face as… well, as a sold-out 50 Cent concert.

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand neemt zichzelf niet serieus als shooter en mikt ook niet hoger dan popcorn vermaak. Wat dat betreft is deze game goed geslaagd en je zult hier dan ook genoeg plezier mee beleven. Vooral als je samen met een vriend speelt, komt Blood on the Sand volledig tot zijn recht. Jammer genoeg ontbreekt de splitscreen mogelijkheid en zijn er buiten de coöperatieve modus geen online modi. De moeilijkheidsgraad ligt ook niet al te hoog en Blood on the Sand is hierdoor misschien minder geschikt voor hardcore gamers.

Blood in the Sand takes its missteps in stride. The game doesn't takes itself too seriously and if you try to, it completely unravels. Similarly, go in looking for old school street cred and you'll come up empty. Blood in the Sand channels "gangsta" culture as intended, and in so doing accurately reflects that rap has became part of modern pop culture over the past several years. Like one of those movies that run over and over on cable, you'll never hold great debates about the game, but when it comes on you can have a good time with it.