That's a rap: '50 Cent' game sequel hits high note
— -- It's rare for a sequel to outshine the original, but that's the case with THQ's 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, an impressive follow-up to 2006's less-than-spectacular-yet-commercially successful 50 Cent: Bulletproof.
And yes, it's that 50 Cent, one of the hottest rap stars in the world.
Available for the Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3, this over-the-top adventure lets you play as the buff "Fiddy," who battles enemies in a fictitious war-torn Middle-Eastern country along with members of his G-Unit crew. The premise is quite ridiculous, though: After a sold-out show, the last stop on the tour, 50 Cent discovers his $10 million cash payment has gone missing, and instead, he is given a priceless diamond-encrusted skull by the show promoter. This, too, gets stolen, when 50 Cent's armored vehicle gets ambushed on the way to the airport by thugs working for a local crime lord, a ruthless organ harvester (and former CIA operative), no less. You with me so far? Your job is to shoot down hundreds of gun-toting bad guys, collect your payday and teach this ruthless thief a lesson. If you can get past the silly story, you're in for a gratifying action-packed ride.
As you play from a third-person perspective, you must run and gun through dangerous indoor and outdoor locations, find cover behind walls and cars and take down enemies with more than 20 authentic weapons you can buy from a local arms dealer. Money can be collected throughout the missions and used to pay for gun upgrades by calling your black market contact at various payphones. You can also buy many "Counter-Kills," special melee attacks that require perfectly timed button presses when 50 Cent engages in hand-to-hand or knife-wielding brawls.
At the start of the game you can choose which G-Unit member to fight alongside you — namely, Tony Yayo, Lloyd Banks and DJ Whoo Kid — and you can host or join an online game, too, allowing two friends to battle through the single-player campaign together in co-op mode. Too bad there aren't any special multiplayer modes or maps to add to the game's longevity and replayability.
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