Genre: Shooter
Developer: THQ
Players: 1-2
Retail Price: $60
Availability: Xbox 360, Playstation 3
I’ve never considered myself a fan of 50 Cent’s music, even during the unfortunate period where I thought I liked rap/hip hop in an ironic sense (like most things enjoyed ironically, you quickly either grow tired of them or like them outright soon enough). Still, though, I am rather fond of absurdity, and that’s where Blood on the Sand is prepared to deliver in spades. There’s plenty of 50′s music to be found, constantly playing in the background of the game (though it can be switched out for instrumental beats if you’d prefer), but that takes a distant second in importance to the game itself, which is at once over the top, self indulgent, hypermasculine and adolescent.
That was a compliment, by the way.
The plot of Blood on the Sand is well known by now, at least tangentially. Moments after the G Unit finishes a concert in Generic Middle Eastern Country X, 50 discovers that his payment has gone missing. Being a reasonable fellow, he does what any entertainer would do: grabs a semiautomatic rifle and shoves the promoter up against the wall. But wait! In lieu of cash, he’s given a diamond encrusted skull, which quenches his bloodlust. This skull is quickly stolen by a mysterious woman, though, and so the majority of the game is spent searching for ‘that bitch that stole [his] skull.’
Let’s get one thing out of the way right now: Roger Ebert can look elsewhere, as this is not a ‘games as art’ candidate. The framework is a third person shooter with a cover mechanic, which should be familiar to most players by now. The diversity comes from the arcade-like metagames inserted into the story: as you kill enemies, your score goes up. This score can be given multipliers for more kills before the multiplier bar goes down, headshots, kills while wounded and — my favorite — taunting after a kill, among other things. Taunts are the poster boy of what gives this game its charm, as you are given a 25% bonus for swearing at your dead enemies. Headshot someone? Press the right stick and hear 50 say ‘Die, bitch, die!’ or ’50 Cent, motherfucker!’ Any game that rewards me for profanity is alright in my book.
Another multiplier is given for executing a counter kill, which is a close quarters quick time event. Unlike the paltry 25% increase that a taunt gives you, counter kills rack up a 300% bonus. I’m not sure why they’re called counter kills, since the majority of the time I executed them I’d run up to someone and press B/Circle. The quick time event is pressing the same button again at various points to punch, stab and/or slam your opponent to their demise. Like taunts, you can purchase more brutal counters with the money you earn by smashing open crates around the level.
Adding to the arcade feel of the game are the mini challenges that present themselves. Whenever enemies are about to spawn, a ‘Danger!’ notification displays where they’re going to appear (which gives you time to prepare a grenade for them). Sometimes you’ll be given a time limit to kill certain enemies, like 60 seconds to eliminate the two snipers. Your targets will glow red, making them easy to spot, and completing the challenges will give you grenades or special pistol ammo. By the time I realized that my pistol was more then a pea shooter I had about 75 rounds of explosive pistol shots, which were stronger than any of the other guns I had.
The issue with an overly strong pistol was that, while explosive bullet are certainly powerful, by the point in the game I should have had a stronger assault rifle. I had been able to afford one for quite some time, and had already purchased all of the taunts and counter kills, but was dying too frequently because my current AR was crap. I eventually realized that I should buy a better gun; I had looked before but the interface was too cluttered and disorganized for my liking. I couldn’t see which model I had equipped in the purchasing section, so the few times I considered upgrading I thought ‘eh, it’s probably fine.’ Yes, I should have looked at the stats for what I had beforehand, but it still would have been nice to see a side by side comparison of ‘this is what you have now vs what you’d get if you purchased this,’ especially since the guns weren’t separated into the four subcategories. Once I upgraded my yellow-class weapon (your guns are blue, yellow, red and pistol, with ammo for the first three scattered around the levels), life was much easier.
Generally, when I come across a licensed game I expect it to be subpar, riding on the laurels of its star power. While Blood on the Sand certainly hits you over the head with its Fiddyness, though, it remains a competent shooter in its own right. It’s not a ‘(insert prominent genre title) killer’ by any means, but even removed from its outrageous story it could stand on its own. It does tend to get a bit repetitive at times, but there are two driving levels and a ‘mow down everyone in your path’ helicopter scenario to mix things up a bit.
Helicopters are a recurring theme in the game, as they comprise all of the boss fights. Luckily for 50, you’ll always find a large stack of rocket launcher ammo nearby, but since there’s no locking on you’ll probably need to restock a few times before you learn how much you need to lead the choppers. Since I was less than stellar at shooting them down, though, these fights tended to drag on longer than they should have and provided no real tension.
You’re never without backup in the game, since 50 always rolls with a member of the G Unit at his side. You can play through the game in co-op mode as either the titular 50 or his sidekick, and online play is drop in and out. I played the last portion of the game with an open party, and discovered that if your random partner annoys you — by pausing the game for an extended period of time, or by incompetently manning the gun of the car you’re driving, for instance — you can boot them and restart from your last checkpoint. Even early in the morning on a weekend I was able to find some matches, which is a good sign for anyone looking for some random obscenity filled violence.
This game does not know there’s a setting on the dial below 11. Everything about it is physical and visceral, not to mention completely removed from reality: you’re constantly smashing through barriers and boxes, punching dudes in the face before you stab or suplex them and can take a rocket to your chest without dying. But then, would you want a reserved, dignified treatise on the human condition from a 50 Cent game? I wouldn’t have Blood on the Sand any other way.
