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Yeah, they made another one -- 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
Click for high-resolution image. Rapper 50 Cent is on a quest. His in-game character is looking for a diamond-encrusted skull in an unnamed fictional Middle Eastern country. The real-life rapper, though? Well, perhaps he's on a quest to save a dying breed: the really awful video game. Perhaps the Metacritic scores for his first effort weren't low enough. Or maybe his upcoming PS3 effort, Blood on the Sand, will change things. The over-the-top action game promises a thyroid-exploding amount of adrenaline-pumping action, with brand new features like a precision-focused "Gangsta Fire" mode. Maybe playing the game is like seeing a car accident -- Joystiq's Zack Stern got some hands-on, saying "I'm strangely attracted to the spectacle of the game." To be honest, after seeing the first trailer from the game, we're also strangely intrigued. But we don't know if in a good way, or not. New screens here, trailer after the cut. %Gallery-21749%
X3F Impressions: 50 Cent Blood on the Sand
When the first 50 Cent game was released, it wasn't exactly to critical praise, and many didn't think that it would be anything other than a footnote in the history of licensed games. Surprisingly, the game sold over a million copies and has a sequel well into development. 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand is following in the footsteps of its prequel with its focus on the characters and gunplay, but everything else seems to have been left behind. Despite the commercial success of the first game, it's reported that 50 Cent was unhappy with the first game, and wanted an entirely new team to work on the second game. Hence, Swordfish Studios took the reins on development, with the goal to create a game that was easy to pick up and play in a fun and arcady fashion. Our first impression upon being shown to the seats was "Wow, this looks a lot like Gears." And not just because both games are running Unreal Engine 3. The base gameplay of Blood on the Sand is almost an exact copy of Gears in every way, right down to the cover mechanic and melee activation. The movement is faster overall (to keep up the arcade feel the devs are shooting for) and you're definitely not in as much danger as you are in Gears. While there is a cover mechanic that allows for crouching, firing from behind cover, peeking around corners, and everything else you would expect out of a Gears clone, it's mostly unnecessary as the bulletproof vest your character wears is MUCH tougher than it looks (at least on the default difficulty).
See the debut trailer for 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
We're not positive (yet), but the more material we see from 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, the more sure we are that it's going to be the best game ever made. Barring that, it's almost sure to be the best one featuring the theft -- and subsequent retrieval -- of a diamond-encrusted skull by a hardcore rapper (except, of course, for Kid Chameleon). Things we love: When Fiddy takes a shotgun blast to the chest without flinching; when Fiddy casts his assault rifle aside to kick a guy in the junk and when Fiddy is assaulted by not just a white guy, but (for the benefit of those of you who are not so much with the symbolism) the whitest guy on the face of the Earth. We're betting that guy's name is White E. Theman, but that's just a guess. Best. Game. Ever.
Joystiq impressions: 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (360/PS3)
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Impressions_50_Cent_Blood_on_the_Sand_360_PS3'; If you buy only one game featuring 50 Cent and G-Unit shooting people in a quest to get back their diamond-encrusted skull this year, make it 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand. I'm still overwhelmed by the game's plot, and when 50 Cent is your protagonist, you might as well embellish as much as you can. Go over the top, and then go even higher. 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand is a straight-ahead action game. You'll fire all kinds of guns to kill waves of disposable enemies, all trying to stop you from getting back what's rightfully yours. In a recent demo of the title, I felt a little bad for the sheer numbers of enemies you must dispatch; surely, these lowly thugs aren't making diamond-encrusted-skull money. And before I get too far, a clarification: 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand is not necessarily set in the Middle East. Lots of places have sand, including Miami Beach, school playgrounds, ant farms, and other non-Middle-Eastern settings. The game is merely set in a fictitious, unnamed country with sand, palm trees, and vaguely Middle-Eastern architecture. %Gallery-21637%
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand plot revealed in IGN interview
50 Cent is hunting a "diamond encrusted skull" in the Middle East. Seriously.
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand revealed for PS3, Xbox 360
When we first read the title 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (the previously untitled sequel), we, like you're surely doing right now, prayed for Fugitive Hunter-esque hi-jinx that would have Fiddy & friends sorting out the U.S.'s problems in Iraq and getting home in time to record a new smash hit with Rhianna ("I'll stop those terrorists ... or die tryin'"). Sadly, MTV has shattered our dreams, reporting that the game "sets 50's character against a cabal of international gangsters on a far-flung, bullet-riddled adventure." Missed opportunity? Table for 1? (There are some screenshots here if you want to get a better feel for the new setting.) On the plus side, the game will have nothing plot-wise to do with the poorly-received 50 Cent: Bulletproof. There's also encouraging word from Vivendi producer Aaron Blean who said, "We've emphasized the gameplay quality [more] than anything this time around." We think we speak for everyone when we say, "Yes. Yes, that's a good choice."
We'd buy that for a dollar: 50 Cent sequel in latest EGM
We're not sure if greenlighting a sequel to a game that garnered an impressively low 47% review average is such a smart idea for Sierra if it needs to keep it from the chopping block when (and if) the Activision merger goes through. To be fair, the company was probably looking more at the million plus sales of the game in the UK and North American (you chumps) than the dismal ratings; in other words, business as usual in video game land. We don't know much about the game, outside of what's been spotted on the cover of the upcoming EGM – which promises "first looks" and, try to contain yourselves, "first screens" – but we do know how to wag our fingers in disapprobation. For shame Sierra ... for shame.
World in Conflict console delay extends to Fall '08
Sierra just announced that their already delayed console port of PC real-time strategy slash tactical game World in Conflict would indeed be coming in 2008, as promised, but long after the originally planned November '07 release. The Xbox 360 and PS3 ports will be released this Fall (yup, that's one year later than you expected) with new single- and multiplayer content looking to make up for some of that delay. If it makes you feel any better, Martin Tremblay, president of worldwide studios, Sierra Entertainment, says the "franchise" is being "reinvented" for consoles. We're not really surprised they're planning to make more, but we still love when they call singular releases "franchises."%Gallery-6395%
