50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
Encyclopedia
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand is a third-person shooting video game developed by Swordfish Studios
and published by THQ
for the PlayStation 3
and Xbox 360
. The game was released on February 20, 2009, in Europe and February 24, 2009, in North America and serves as the sequel to 50 Cent: Bulletproof
.
. The co-player's character can be one of three other members of the G-Unit
crew: Tony Yayo
, Lloyd Banks
, or DJ Whoo Kid
, each specializing in different combat techniques. The co-player is either run by the game or through online cooperative play.
The game is set in an urban warzone in an unnamed Middle Eastern country, where 50 Cent and G-Unit have been hired to play a rap concert. After the concert the promoter, Anwar refuses to pay them the US $10-million in cash he promised, but relents after being threatened. However, instead of the cash they were promised, he gives them a diamond-and-pearl encrusted human skull (bearing a striking resemblance to a platinum cast diamond encrusted skull
by artist Damien Hirst
) as collateral. This is promptly stolen by a paramilitary group led by the terrorist Kamal. 50 Cent (with the help of a selected G-Unit partner) decides to get it back at any cost and soon, they find out that there is a much bigger enemy than Kamal.
road chase and a helicopter-borne Minigun
shootout. There are also boss
battles against helicopters.
It has a feature called the "Shop" (activated in the game by placing a call on payphones hidden on each level), where the characters can use cash to buy new weapons, upgrade their old weapons, and learn hand-to-hand combat moves called "Counter-Kills". Cash can also be used to unlock Taunts (each rated by Profanity, Braggin and Triple X levels), which increase the points earned from kills.
Weapons are graded from 1 to 10 by Capacity, Damage Rating, and Accuracy, and also list possible Add Ons (weapon enhancements like scopes or silencers). Players can use a mode called "Gangsta Fire" (50 Cent's variation on the slo-mo "bullet-time" concept used in Max Payne
) to take on multiple opponents at once.
Each level has Target Enemies (5 per level; each is just a high-value target, not a "Level Boss"), crates of gold bars (which are broken open to earn money), as well as collectables like Posters (5 per level). Kills grant points, which help the player to earn Bronze, Silver, and Gold G-Unit Badges; these unlock better Weapons, Counter-Kills and Taunts in the "Shop". There are also Achievements (for completing the levels as one of the characters, getting all Weapons in a class, getting all the Posters and Target Enemies in a level, getting a certain amount of cash or number of Badges, etc.
As many reviewers point out, it can get quite repetitive. There are countless times, for example, when you have to manuever Fitty onto a target on the ground so that he can ask his buddy for a boost up a wall. It seems quite odd that Fitty is almost like a superhero in some parts of the game, but in other parts he has to summon his posse for help climbing a fence.
It also features more music tracks than the first game (40+ tracks in all); 50 Cent
made 18 exclusive tracks just for the game. Swizz Beatz
, Lab Ox
and The Individuals
made the original score for the game. There are also unlockable songs and videos.
, merged with Vivendi Games
, many games, including 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, faced the possibility of not being released. Then THQ
picked up the rights to Blood on the Sand.
Unlike Bulletproof, which was generally reviewed negatively, Blood on the Sand was more well-received by video game critics, scoring a 7 out of 10 on GameSpot
and a 4/5 on X-Play
. Critics also praised the improvement and 50 Cent's involvement in the game. Jeff Gerstmann of Giant Bomb said the story was "so awful it's amazing". In May 2009, Blood on the Sand was featured on Xplay's Best Games of 2009 So Far video.
Charlie Brooker
mocked the game's perceived infantile pretense of maturity on the BBC program Gameswipe. "The game's so desperate to appear grown-up it ends up looking downright ridiculous, like an adolescent straining to grow a whispery little moustache and bragging about how many girls he's fingered".
Swordfish Studios
Swordfish Studios was a British software development company based in Birmingham founded by Rage executive director Trevor Williams and Joan Finnegan in September 2002....
and published by THQ
THQ
THQ Inc. is an American developer and publisher of video games. Founded in 1989 in the United States, the company develops products for video game consoles, handheld game systems, as well as for personal computers and wireless devices...
for the PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
. The game was released on February 20, 2009, in Europe and February 24, 2009, in North America and serves as the sequel to 50 Cent: Bulletproof
50 Cent: Bulletproof
50 Cent: Bulletproof is a video game for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox platforms. It was developed in response to Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas after 50 Cent was asked to voice the game's protagonist Carl "CJ" Johnson with 50 Cent stating that he will only voice himself in video games...
.
Plot
The game revolves around rapper Curtis Jackson Aka.50 Cent50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III , better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin and The Massacre . Get Rich or Die Tryin has been certified eight times platinum by...
. The co-player's character can be one of three other members of the G-Unit
G-Unit
G-Unit is an American hip hop group originating from New York City formed by 50 Cents. G-Unit emerged on the New York scene by independently releasing several mix tapes...
crew: Tony Yayo
Tony Yayo
Marvin Bernard , better known by his stage name Tony Yayo, is a Haitian American rapper and member of the hip hop group G-Unit...
, Lloyd Banks
Lloyd Banks
Christopher Charles Lloyd , better known by his stage name Lloyd Banks, is an American rapper and member of the rap group G-Unit. Raised in South Jamaica, Queens, he dropped out of high school in 1998. G-Unit released two albums, Beg for Mercy in 2003 and T.O.S. in 2008...
, or DJ Whoo Kid
DJ Whoo Kid
DJ Whoo Kid is a hip hop DJ and of Haitian descent raised in Queens Village, New York but with strong roots to Cap-Haïtien, Haiti. He is currently signed to G-Unit Records and its subsidiary label, Shady Ville Entertainment...
, each specializing in different combat techniques. The co-player is either run by the game or through online cooperative play.
The game is set in an urban warzone in an unnamed Middle Eastern country, where 50 Cent and G-Unit have been hired to play a rap concert. After the concert the promoter, Anwar refuses to pay them the US $10-million in cash he promised, but relents after being threatened. However, instead of the cash they were promised, he gives them a diamond-and-pearl encrusted human skull (bearing a striking resemblance to a platinum cast diamond encrusted skull
For the Love of God
For the Love of God is a sculpture by artist Damien Hirst produced in 2007. It consists of a platinum cast of a human skull encrusted with 8,601 flawless diamonds, including a pear-shaped pink diamond located in the forehead...
by artist Damien Hirst
Damien Hirst
Damien Steven Hirst is an English artist, entrepreneur and art collector. He is the most prominent member of the group known as the Young British Artists , who dominated the art scene in Britain during the 1990s. He is internationally renowned, and is reportedly Britain's richest living artist,...
) as collateral. This is promptly stolen by a paramilitary group led by the terrorist Kamal. 50 Cent (with the help of a selected G-Unit partner) decides to get it back at any cost and soon, they find out that there is a much bigger enemy than Kamal.
Gameplay
Blood on the Sand includes on foot combat, as well as vehicle missions such as a driver-and-turret-gunner HumveeHigh Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle
The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle , better known as the Humvee, is a military 4WD motor vehicle created by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles formerly served by smaller Jeeps such as the M151 MUTT, the M561 "Gama Goat", their M718A1 and M792 ambulance versions, the CUCV,...
road chase and a helicopter-borne Minigun
Minigun
The Minigun is a 7.62 mm, multi-barrel heavy machine gun with a high rate of fire , employing Gatling-style rotating barrels with an external power source...
shootout. There are also boss
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
battles against helicopters.
It has a feature called the "Shop" (activated in the game by placing a call on payphones hidden on each level), where the characters can use cash to buy new weapons, upgrade their old weapons, and learn hand-to-hand combat moves called "Counter-Kills". Cash can also be used to unlock Taunts (each rated by Profanity, Braggin and Triple X levels), which increase the points earned from kills.
Weapons are graded from 1 to 10 by Capacity, Damage Rating, and Accuracy, and also list possible Add Ons (weapon enhancements like scopes or silencers). Players can use a mode called "Gangsta Fire" (50 Cent's variation on the slo-mo "bullet-time" concept used in Max Payne
Max Payne
Max Payne is a BAFTA Award–winning third-person shooter video game developed by Finnish developers Remedy Entertainment and published by Gathering of Developers in July 2001 for Microsoft Windows. Ports created later in the year for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and the GameBoy Advance were published by...
) to take on multiple opponents at once.
Each level has Target Enemies (5 per level; each is just a high-value target, not a "Level Boss"), crates of gold bars (which are broken open to earn money), as well as collectables like Posters (5 per level). Kills grant points, which help the player to earn Bronze, Silver, and Gold G-Unit Badges; these unlock better Weapons, Counter-Kills and Taunts in the "Shop". There are also Achievements (for completing the levels as one of the characters, getting all Weapons in a class, getting all the Posters and Target Enemies in a level, getting a certain amount of cash or number of Badges, etc.
As many reviewers point out, it can get quite repetitive. There are countless times, for example, when you have to manuever Fitty onto a target on the ground so that he can ask his buddy for a boost up a wall. It seems quite odd that Fitty is almost like a superhero in some parts of the game, but in other parts he has to summon his posse for help climbing a fence.
It also features more music tracks than the first game (40+ tracks in all); 50 Cent
50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III , better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin and The Massacre . Get Rich or Die Tryin has been certified eight times platinum by...
made 18 exclusive tracks just for the game. Swizz Beatz
Swizz Beatz
Kasseem Dean , better known by his stage name, Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, DJ, rapper and painter. At the age of 17, he gained attention in the hip-hop world through his friendship with rapper DMX. Grady Spivey and rapper Cassidy helped launch his label Full Surface Records...
, Lab Ox
Lab Ox
Darren Billy, Jr., better known as Lab Ox, is an American hip-hop, R&B, and pop producer from Houston, Texas, by way of New Orleans, Louisiana. He has produced for artists and groups such as 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, G-Unit, Drake, Yolanda Adams, and more...
and The Individuals
The Individuals (Chicago band)
The Individuals are a Chicago based Rap/Hip hop/Reggae band. Ando Tha Don, Big Lou, Raw Bizness, and T.C.O. are the current members of what started as a six member act...
made the original score for the game. There are also unlockable songs and videos.
Reception
After the original company planned to distribute the game, ActivisionActivision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
, merged with Vivendi Games
Vivendi Games
Vivendi Games, formerly known as Vivendi Universal Games, was the holdings company for Sierra Entertainment and Blizzard Entertainment. Vivendi Games was founded as Vivendi Universal Games after Vivendi bought Universal Studios in the early 2000s...
, many games, including 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, faced the possibility of not being released. Then THQ
THQ
THQ Inc. is an American developer and publisher of video games. Founded in 1989 in the United States, the company develops products for video game consoles, handheld game systems, as well as for personal computers and wireless devices...
picked up the rights to Blood on the Sand.
Unlike Bulletproof, which was generally reviewed negatively, Blood on the Sand was more well-received by video game critics, scoring a 7 out of 10 on GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
and a 4/5 on X-Play
X-Play
X-Play is a TV program about video games, known for its reviews and comedy skits...
. Critics also praised the improvement and 50 Cent's involvement in the game. Jeff Gerstmann of Giant Bomb said the story was "so awful it's amazing". In May 2009, Blood on the Sand was featured on Xplay's Best Games of 2009 So Far video.
Charlie Brooker
Charlie Brooker
Charlton "Charlie" Brooker is a British journalist, comic writer and broadcaster. His style of humour is savage and profane, with surreal elements and a consistent satirical pessimism...
mocked the game's perceived infantile pretense of maturity on the BBC program Gameswipe. "The game's so desperate to appear grown-up it ends up looking downright ridiculous, like an adolescent straining to grow a whispery little moustache and bragging about how many girls he's fingered".