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Previous50 Cent: Blood on the Sand Review
Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 Review by Tom Bramwell
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According to 50 Cent himself, the man you spend most of Blood on the Sand controlling had a lot of input into the game's design early on. Perhaps he's a big fan of Gears of War and The Club, then, because someone certainly was. This is a fast-paced cover shooter that riffs on both games and fills the gaps with unlockable melee combos, beefy weapons and exclusive music.
The debt's obvious from the end of the first cut-scene onwards. You control 50 from a tight, over-the-shoulder perspective, lock onto cover by hitting a button and lean over to aim by holding the left trigger. Whether manoeuvring through rundown buildings or crouched behind walls or cover points, the left trigger brings you into the zoomed-in firing view, with a reticule in the centre to line up your right-trigger shots.
Unreal Engine 3 games rarely look exactly the same, despite common characteristics, but Blood on the Sand is also a dead ringer for Gears on more than a few occasions, and not just in 50's bulky, muscular character model. The game's set in a fictional Middle Eastern country and the environments are the tortured, decaying aftermath of war, full of helpfully strewn concrete blocks, low walls, pillars and corrugated iron to hide behind. As with Gears, there's a set path through each level that takes in a few corridor brawls, and more open areas designed for mid-range cover combat. You're never in any doubt where to go, thanks to helpful on-screen prompts and convenient blockages.
There's plenty of bloodshed, but the game's so daft it's practically a cartoon. It doesn't help that the red-shirts look like Father Christmas.
Where Blood on the Sand appears to be charting a course away from Gears, however - perhaps fittingly, given the protagonist - it only finds itself in The Club. Successive kills - whether your own or those assisted by one of three AI counterparts - feed into a score multiplier, with hidden posters, crates full of cash and bull's-eye targets to snap at to bulk out your earnings. Points go towards unlocking more of the 40-plus-song soundtrack, while cash can be invested in new guns, melee kills and taunt packs.
There's nothing particularly original about any of it, but developer Swordfish Studios has done two important things right: the core combat is fast, intuitive and relatively graceful - certainly more Gears of War than Kane & Lynch - and the game plays out with tongue firmly in cheek. Right from the off, it's clearly ludicrous: 50 is on a quest to retrieve a diamond-encrusted skull from a local crime-lord, and has no trouble ploughing through hundreds of heavily armed terrorists and mercenaries, all the while he and whichever of his entourage you've chosen to flank him hurl obscenities above the crossfire. Once the area's clear, Lloyd Banks or whoever alerts you to this by observing, "We cleared them motherf***ers out," or questioning their masculinity.
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19 February, 2009 [0]
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Comments: 1-47 of 47 in total
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Silent-Hal
20/02/09 @ 00:29
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Well this is unexpected. A 50 Cent game actually being half decent? Whatever next! Just goes to show that with a little hard work any developer can make the most of even the worst licence, which is more than can be said about most. I might give this a rent for the comedy value.
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Triggerhappytel
20/02/09 @ 00:56
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Is it wrong that I think I might rent this? I find 50 Pence abhorrent, but quite fancy a third-person shooter at the moment.
However, Cold Winter 2 please, Swordfish. |
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devilfinder000
20/02/09 @ 01:30
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Find it quite ironic that the licence is actually detracting from the appeal of what seems to be by all accounts a solid shooter. Maybe they should have spent the money they gave to fiddy to motion cap the fool on a decent multiplayer element or some such.
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The story is hilarious, the gameplay is competent, and you can't help but laugh when pressing in the left stick to hear a new "muthafuka" taunt or see the infamous "Whurr ma skull?" cutscene. Genuine fun, as long as you take all the 50 Cent tracks out and opt for the Swizz Beatz instrumental soundtrack.
Decimating an entrenched enemy camp with a helicopter's Gatling gun, Lloyd Banks cracking wise and "I Get Money" pumping through my speakers ranks as one of my top gaming experiences of '09! |
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Kill_Crazy
20/02/09 @ 02:34
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I actually like 50 Cent's music. However, this game just does not appeal to me. Might be a rent or bargain bin at a later date.
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spookyzombie
20/02/09 @ 07:59
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It's good fun, but not something I'm proud of playing in my 'crib'. I'd describe it as a cross between GOW and The Club. Oh and the PS3 version doesn't have trophies in case anyone is wondering.
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the_dudefather
20/02/09 @ 08:20
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I'm so getting this if I can convince a mate to get it for co-op (and maybe a little cheaper) :D
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rhubarbandcustard
20/02/09 @ 09:07
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50 Cent is the most important pop cultural icon of the 21st Century.
I love this guy. Will buy the game for £20. Which should be in about three weeks I reckon. |
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Britesparc
20/02/09 @ 09:50
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This game does sound like a good weekend's fun, but there's absolutely no way I'd ever get a game with 50 Cent in it.
Sorry, Swordfish. Maybe do an unnofficial remake with original IP and competetive multiplayer? |
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Mentalist(air)
20/02/09 @ 09:59
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50 Cent is the most important pop cultural icon of the 21st Century.
God help us all, then. I'm incredibly relieved that this isn't *quite* as good as the previews are making out, and I don't feel compelled to smallow my pride and bear the shame of going down the shops to buy a copy. |
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aphexstwin
20/02/09 @ 10:01
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so, 50 cent the documentary then?
fuckers been shot that much he leaks like a sieve. no one could hit the face then? for shame. sounds like a decent shooter tho, in a time when very little in the way of games comes out. not as good as nobby nobby boy then. |
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ParanoidZombie
20/02/09 @ 10:30
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Buy The Club instead, it's a great game, that actually requires skill.
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Hmmm, after playing several levels of this game, I'd say the reviewer has been really positively biased towards it in the review, which is not uncommon for games made by British developers. Not a sin, of course, I just found Blood on the Sand to be pretty bad. Not atrocious, but certainly not good enough to warrant a seven (knowing that games like Devil May Cry 4 and Ninja Gaiden II got sevens around here). But then again, the scores are indeed not really important...
The game is accurately described as a combination of GeoW and The Club but the review places far too little emphasis on what I thought are the crippling features of this game: lazy level design and lazy AI. Yes, this plays like Gears of War in most shootouts, but most shootouts that I have done are in rooms/ places where there is no need (or even a possibility) for tactical decisionmaking that actually worked in favour of GeoW. Also, the AI rarely makes any proper aggressive gestures, basically waiting for you to get your ass in gear and shoot them in the head when they pop out from cover on cue.. Also, the recharging health is way too generous since many shootouts can be basically finished by walking to the enemies and melee-killing them. The quick time events for melee kills are extremely generous in time anrd rhythm and it's always the same three presses on the same button. I mean, they clearly made this for the proverbial casual gamer or someone with very bad hand-eye coordination. Also, the enemies blend into background if they are further away from the camera so if there is any challenge in shootouts it's not to do with tactics or reflexes, it's about finding the damn enemy on screen. Your partner's heads-up shouts and bullet trails help but clerly not enough as time and again I had to walk out of he cover to have them shoot at me so I can see where they are. This never happens to me in Gears so, the difference between well designed and not-so-well designed games is right there. Also, the environment is PEPPERED with large signposts that tell you where to go just in case you are an imbecille and can't find your way in really simple hallways. Not that I mind this too much but it does somewhat kill the immersion and just reeks of making sure non-gamers can play this without getting frustrated after three seconds. Of course, I'd prefer if they actually made the environments interesting enough so that you want to explore them and find your way yourself, but... Finally, driving sequences are equally undemanding of almost any skill, with physics that are extremely forgiving but comfortable and they are at least fast and furious... Either way, I didn't expect much from this game and this is what it delivers: not much. Considering many people think Gears are already a one-size-fits-all casual-gamers oriented shooter, I'm afraid that Blood on the Sand really should be approached with low expectations... |
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BiscuitBase
20/02/09 @ 10:59
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I want to play this now! Been waiting ages for an action game that doesn't take itself too seriously.
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metalangel
20/02/09 @ 22:12
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This sounds like a possible purchase to me... loud music and swearing to fill my living room, middle eastern stereotypes to shoot in the face, online co op. Won't pay more than £30 for it, though...
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FenderMaster
20/02/09 @ 23:40
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strange... this is one of those rare occasions where the game is pretty good, but the licence actually makes the game less appealing...
Does the game support custom soundtracks? I really don't think I could suffer through 50's "music" just to play an above average game... |
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spookyzombie
21/02/09 @ 01:45
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No one would touch this today at our place. No matter how it was explained to customers that it is a solid shooting game that's good fun, they were 100% put off by Mr Cent. This will be half price within a fortnight if today's sales are anything to go by.
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metalangel
21/02/09 @ 12:05
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I suppose I can wait a week or two... it'll give me time to convince an achievement whore or two to play it with me in co op.
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BillyBrush
21/02/09 @ 14:19
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rhubarbandcustard
20-Feb-09 09:07:13 50 Cent is the most important pop cultural icon of the 21st Century. Brilliant...and EG scored it higher than fear 2, irony overload |
Comments: 1-47 of 47 in total
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