That headline isn't a typo. 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, sequel to 50 Cent: Bulletproof, is coming to a bargain bin near you in the winter of 2008. You might wonder, "How can Vivendi Games possibly create a game that disappoints us as much as the 50 Cent: Bulletproof? No one can possibly slip under a bar that low." Well, prepare to have your spirit crushed.
Blood on the Sand is set in a fictional Middle Eastern country where 50 Cent and G-Unit are holding a concert. Instead of being paid in greenbacks for their performance, the rappers are given a diamond-encrusted skull by the concert promoter. The skull is stolen in an ambush and 50 Cent goes on a rampage with his posse. I'd point out that it's illogical, for camouflage reasons, that 50 Cent wears black body armor in a desert setting, but that's like picking a piece of lint off an enormous pile of sh*t.
In an interview with IGN, producer Aaron Blean notes "We hired a writer, actually, from Hollywood. He's one of the few Muslim writers in Hollywood." I guess that's supposed to mean that the game will portray Middle Eastern society accurately and won't rely on gross stereotypes (except for, you know, gun-toting rappers).
On the bright side, the game has a different developer than Bulletproof: Swordfish Studios, the company behind for Cold Winter and World in Conflict. The gameplay is said to be reminiscent of Gear of War. 50 Cent will fight through levels alongside one of three members of G-Unit, who will be controlled by the computer or another player. Like Gears, Blood on the Sand will also use Unreal Engine 3 technology to make the game, as Blean puts it, "more photo-realistic." The screenshots are pretty impressive - I'd go so far as to say that millionaire rappers single-handedly battling an entire Middle-Eastern nation to retrieve a diamond-encrusted skull never looked so realistic.
Anyway, there it is - another 50 Cent video game. It'll be on PS3 and Xbox 360, in case you're wondering. I don't feel guilty crapping on it so long before its release because I know it won't dent the sales. Bulletproof was pure ass and still raked in piles of money. Plus I've got this nagging feeling that 50's going to conjure up a publicity storm by declaring a feud on Electronic Arts or something.
