Review: 50 Cent Blood on the Sand

I feel it's prudent to begin with a little clarification: I don't like 50 Cent as much as you can possibly dislike someone without having met them or taken them out for a few pints and a drive-by shooting. Consequently, I had pre-baked impressions of Blood on the Sand which, by a large part, ventured in to the realm of petty childish mockery – but I'll spare you the details. I'm supposed to be impartial, right?

Still, I stand by the fact that it's perfectly acceptable to assume a shooting game based around a famous rap star's pursuit of a diamond-encrusted skull is unlikely to breach the 5/10 mark, but as sure as the gunshot wound scars on 50 Cent's body indicate that there are some god-awful marksmen in America's gang scene, Blood on the Sand is actually... quite good.

I can tell you're all wide-eyed and confused at the very concept considering his dire first outing, Bulletproof, but what Swordfish has managed to create here is a brainless but very solid gun-fest with an arcade-style points system and so many collectibles they're coming out your piece.

Am I'm Fiddying Good

The charm of Blood on the Sand comes from how tongue-in-cheek the whole experience is. Listening to 50 - and whichever of the three sidekicks you've selected – fill the gaps between magazines with abrasive, arrogant taunts is vastly amusing when contrasted with the situation they're in. There's no sense of urgency about the fire fights; no feeling of impending doom synonymous with games like Gears of War, but it's this lack of tension that makes Blood on the Sand so likeable – it's all about shooting terrorists with a smile on your face.

50 can carry only four weapons at a time, ranging from light sub machine guns to medium assault rifles to heavy rocket launchers and sniper rifles. You can change your load-out either by picking up the weapons dropped by fallen enemies or giving your contact a call from designated areas and having him deliver one of the 20+ weapons, providing you've collected the necessary money from crates and, again, fallen enemies.

The more enemies you kill in quick succession increases your score multiplier which, along with the poster, badge and target collectibles, unlocks more of the 40+ music tracks included with the game. Interestingly, as much as I dislike 50 Cent's music, the tunes he created for Blood on the Sand are fairly enjoyable, albeit a little too focused on guns, bitches and bling – apparently the most important things in life for Fiddy.

You can also use your hard-earned loot to purchase newer, more stylish melee attacks for use in the quick-time, single-button finishing moves, or, if you're harder beyond the reach of your enemy's fists, you can squander their pride and integrity with a selection of taunt packs, each of which contains sayings more ludicrous than the last.

My Two Cents

It's all fun and games when 50 Cent is your host, but Blood on the Sand isn't without its shortcomings. First and foremost, in spite of the game's generally impressive Unreal engine-powered aesthetic, it suffers from a shameful amount of texture pop-up at the beginning of levels, some of which lasts for up to seven or eight seconds. The taunt and melee packs are also fairly rubbish when you consider there are better things you can spend your money on, and a lack of split-screen co-op is confusing for a game so obviously designed for co-op, but you can team up with someone over Live if you fancy it.

So to summarize, Blood on the Sand doesn't suck. After Bulletproof it didn't look to have much of a chance, but the game plays to its strengths by not being anything too serious or demanding, giving way to a simple, solid, unpretentious and surprisingly enjoyable third-person shoot-'em-up.