Review by: Brandon "Disco Inferno" Cackowski-Schnell

50 Cent has said that when coming up with the feel for Blood on the Sand, he wanted to make the video game equivalent of a summer action movie. Well, he succeeded as his newest game is full of action, explosions and a story dumb enough to make Commando look like Citizen Cane. 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, Lloyd Banks and DJ Whoo Kid (collectively known as G-Unit) have finished their worldwide tour in some unnamed middle eastern country. Fiddy's ten million dollar payout ends up getting stolen and when 50 shows his distaste with the concert promoter via shotgun, the promoter gives 50 a jewel encrusted human skull in payment. Well, wouldn't you know it, but the skull gets stolen too, so rather than heading home and letting the proper authorities deal with it, 50 and G-Unit take matters into their own hands, murdering anyone in their path while on the way to reclaiming the skull. If the story sounds ridiculous, I can assure you that it's about ten times worse when watching it play out.

Luckily you're not playing the game for the story, you're playing the game to smoke some fools and in that regard the game delivers. Taking influences from The Club, the goal isn't just to kill anything that moves, but to do so in a manner that gives you as many points as possible. So, let's say you shoot someone, well that's good for a thousand points. Now, kill them while you're exposed and that's an extra 10%. Headshots are good for double points, being injured is good for an extra 25% and taunting your opponent with expletives from the various purchasable taunt packs is good for another 25%. All of the multipliers and bonuses make you look for the best, most spectacular way to take enemies out. The scoring explosion that ensues when you manage to take out three guys with one explosive barrel while you're injured and exposed is enough to bring a tear to your eye. Chapters are broken up into multiple sections with each section scored separately. Get enough points and you'll get either a silver or gold badge. The scoring and badges provides a nice risk and reward trade off where you'll often put yourself at risk while taking out enemies to get as high a score as possible and get that elusive gold badge.

To help keep the scoring going, as well as help keep the action interesting, as you play along you'll be presented with various scenarios such as killing a certain number of a certain kind of enemy, or killing all of the reinforcements, or busting open cash crates to earn enough money before the timer runs out. Completing scenarios not only gives extra points but also rewards the players with different grenade types as well as special ammo such as incendiary bullets and phosphorous rounds that send your enemies on to the afterlife in a blaze of glory. For even more points, 50 also has a full compliment of melee ranged counter kills: multi-move quick time events that has 50 punching, stabbing and neck snapping with gleeful abandon. New counter kills can be purchased at the weapons store and added to a play list of melee madness. Between the scenario timers, the scoring numbers flying across the screen and the warning klaxons signaling where the next band of baddies will be coming from, there is a lot going on at once in this game.

The game takes plenty of other cues from Gears of War in its implementation of a cover system. Anything that Fiddy can stand behind, can be used as cover by pressing the A button. When in cover, 50 can vault over, or snap to another piece of cover simply by pointing the thumb stick and pressing the A button. To fire from behind cover, pull the left trigger to aim and you can blast away. The game also borrows its use of an AI partner from Gears of War as 50 will have a member of G-Unit with him at all time. Your rap compatriots help you get over ledges and open large shutters as well as offer fire support, although they seem to be fairly ineffective in a firefight.