50 Cent: Blood on the Sand Review

By Tom Bramwell Published 20 February, 2009

"That bitch took my skull!"

Version tested: Xbox 360

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.

'50 Cent: Blood on the Sand' Screenshot 1

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.

It's absurd. Every crate is full of cash and every phone booth is an opportunity to instantly buy and switch up to more elaborate weaponry, including grenade launchers, RPGs, auto-shotties and monstrous assault rifles and hand-cannons. 50 takes it all in his stride, as a bulletproof action hero with superhuman accuracy and close-combat skills, battering anyone who gets up close with a succession of quick-time martial arts attacks and headshotting the rest before hiding for a few seconds to recover his generous health bar. Should you struggle - and you really shouldn't - there's a chargeable slow-motion "Gangster Fire" mode that virtually pauses the world around 50 so he can charge around at full speed restoring his advantage. New enemies entering the area are heralded by nothing less than a klaxon and a red "DANGER" message.

There's nothing here to worry Gears of War 2 - none of the more exotic and considered level layouts, movable cover points, or changes of pace - and your enemies are dimwitted and predictable opponents who rarely threaten you as the Locust can, while set-pieces like collapsing buildings and boss fights with helicopters are processional, but it doesn't matter: there are more than enough ridiculous, flying ragdoll deaths, bonkers taunts and comfortably brutal firefights to distract you, while the hit-and-miss hip-hop soundtrack keeps you up to date with 50's love of guns, New York and bitches. It's impossible to take seriously, and flippant to the point of being inoffensive.

There are a few drawbacks. Drop-in Xbox Live or PSN co-op works fine, and can be set to friends-only, invite-only or open, but the lack of split-screen is disappointing given the humour, and there are some minor technical issues. There's plenty of screen-tear in our Xbox 360 review code, characters clip into one another every now and then and your AI or human buddy often takes the most viable cover point when the game narrows - rarely a problem the more considered Gears had. There are also far too many gates to be opened, switches to be flipped and pointless rooms there to furnish you unimaginatively with more buckshot, bucks and bonuses. And throughout the campaign, the camera doesn't deal with certain angles very well, and rather than letting you pick a shoulder to fire from, you're switched from left to right depending on your position behind cover.

'50 Cent: Blood on the Sand' Screenshot 2

Gears 2 is a more impressive game, visually, but 50's no slouch, and the frame-rate's closer to 60 more often than not.

The absence of competitive multiplayer is also a shame, as the campaign is no longer than Gears or Gears 2 and less varied and thoughtfully constructed, with certain levels given over to forgettable, albeit harmless vehicle sections that see 50 tearing across town in a Humvee or firing a chaingun out of a helicopter, while the Club-style scoring bonuses are relatively superficial, and won't do much to tempt you back once you've reached the end.

So Epic can sleep easily, but on the whole 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand more than makes up for the wretched Bulletproof. Obviously us hacks try to avoid preconceptions when we approach any game, but after the first one hung the bar so low - and given 50's shilling for Reebok, Glacéau, Right Guard and others - it's fair to say nobody expected much from this. Like Activision, for example, who couldn't be bothered to release it after swallowing original publisher Vivendi last year. More fool them, because while this is never amazing, it's a competent, enjoyable third-person cover shooter with a sense of humour.

7 / 10

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About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (46) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • HolyJebus #1 3 years ago

    I would prob have got this if it had splitscreen co-op. I'm pretty much through all the other co-op games on the 360.

  • Silent-Hal #2 3 years ago

    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.

  • Tomo #3 3 years ago

    I pity the foo'!

    Oh... hold on.

  • Eraysor #4 3 years ago

    "it's clearly ludicrous"

    Surely Ludacris?

    >_>

  • Triggerhappytel #5 3 years ago

    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.

  • devilfinder000 #6 3 years ago

    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.

  • ejstyles #7 3 years ago

    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!

  • JayeM #8 3 years ago

    Might pick this up if I can get it for under £20.

  • Kill_Crazy #9 3 years ago

    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.

  • Iain815 #10 3 years ago

    I knew this game would end up surprising people.

  • Krelle #11 3 years ago

    Props to the developer for making a decent game out of this.

  • 3william56 #12 3 years ago

    Fiddy in decent game? It's the End of Times!

  • space_ace #13 3 years ago

    50 is a victim of prejudice! shame on ya ****az

  • spookyzombie #14 3 years ago

    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.

  • the_dudefather #15 3 years ago

    I'm so getting this if I can convince a mate to get it for co-op (and maybe a little cheaper) :D

  • morriss #16 3 years ago

    Me wan de game

  • harzo #17 3 years ago

    kelly's_h ...

    You are spot on haha! The game seems like fun, but I hate Fiddy Pence and my mates would probably disown me or delete me off their friends list!

  • rhubarbandcustard #18 3 years ago

    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.

  • mingster #19 3 years ago

    Wherz mah skull..

  • Valis #20 3 years ago

    Does it really have a sense of humour, or is the reviewer just enjoying it on an ironic level while most 15 year old chavs will be laughing as they shoot another middle eatern sterotype in the head?

  • Lionheart #21 3 years ago

    7/10.... really?

  • Razz #22 3 years ago

    Why on Earth did I just torture myself my reading these hateful and prejudiced comments. ;_; It just winds me up. :/

  • Benno #23 3 years ago

    as good as assassins creed?

  • siro #24 3 years ago

    I'm not sold on this yet. I'll get this for cheap so at some point, but I'll still think of your rating, Eurogamer...

  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #25 3 years ago

    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?

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #26 3 years ago

    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.

  • Buggs #27 3 years ago

    "Gangster Fire"

    Brilliant.

  • aphexstwin #28 3 years ago

    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.

  • ParanoidZombie #29 3 years ago

    Buy The Club instead, it's a great game, that actually requires skill.

  • andywilkie35 #30 3 years ago

    hahaha Gangster Fire

  • Meho #31 3 years ago

    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...

  • BigJonno #32 3 years ago

    I might have bought this for a laugh if it had split screen co-op.

  • BiscuitBase #33 3 years ago

    I want to play this now! Been waiting ages for an action game that doesn't take itself too seriously.

  • FogHeart #34 3 years ago

    Why isn't this game getting the same roasting by EG over use of jingoistic stereotypes that RE5 got? Is it significantly different in its treatment?

    Not asserting, just asking.
    Edited by 1 at 20/02/09 @ 11:55

  • konnsky #35 3 years ago

    thanks for that Meho, your comment gave a lot more detail than the review

  • JayKwon #36 3 years ago

    Like what the?! This game is rather quite uninspired and never 'amazing' and it gets such a positive review? I'm confused again.



    Thanks Meho for your comment.

  • TheComedian #37 3 years ago

    Better than F.E.A.R 2 then?

  • mingster #38 3 years ago

    Dis gam is da bom an betta than PS3 KZ2.

  • samaran #39 3 years ago

    if this game don't get released in japan heads will roll, motherfuckers

  • Kraftwurm #40 3 years ago

    Never in my life would I ever buy a game from which 50c gets just one cent for. Not in a thousand years, or even 50 thousand for that matter...

  • metalangel #41 3 years ago

    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...

  • FenderMaster #42 3 years ago

    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...

  • spookyzombie #43 3 years ago

    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.

  • Snowy #44 3 years ago

    ^

    Not at all surprised by that. I'd imagine the big sales for this would be stateside.

  • metalangel #45 3 years ago

    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.

  • BillyBrush #46 3 years ago

    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