50 Cent: Blood On The Sand

Ha! This is funny stuff. Perhaps not intentionally so, but nonetheless theres a level of ridiculous exuberance here that's hard not to enjoy.

How much do you enjoy swearing? Have you ever wished you had the ability to turn the very air blue with just a click of the left analogue stick? Well hurrah, you now can, with a hilariously buff and shiny Fiddy (complete with slightly manic eyes) roaming around a generic landscape of shanty towns and wartorn building sites killing enemies with a few well placed Mutha flippers and the odd Fudging mutha hubbard. Of course it might be the insane amounts of bullets Fiddy and sidekick are spamming around the levels, but surely this much swearing must be helping the cause.

The problem is, whilst hilarious and entertaining, theres a niggling sense that none of this is tongue in cheek. Theres a slight feeling that this is actually what Fiddy/Swordfish call serious hard man gaming. And its really not, its about as childish and immature as you can get whilst mowing down the hordes - not to say its not good fun, but its pretty much everything the Daily Mail thinks games stand for - violence, swearing and strippers. Theres no pretence at story in any way (bling skulls?) and about as gratuitous as it can get.

Forget the social ramifications though and enjoy. Repetitive, but mostly good looking fun, enemies die in spectacular fashion and theres a constant barrage of explosions and bullets to dodge. Even the obligatory driving mission is entertaining. Theres a few technical glitches here and there (locking to cover is a problem occasionally) and the screen is unattractively cluttered with all manner of hideous and huge icons - a constant reminder of where you can take cover is particularly annoying. By the time you've ploughed through your 1000th bad guy, you know where you can shelter and where you can't.

Utter popcorn shooting fluff then, with a huge dose of foul language and looping hip hop beats to urge you along. Never less than entertaining, never more than simple brain off fun.

If you like 50 Cent then you will love the soundtrack - simple as. For anyone else they may want to give it a miss. Extra points for some highly entertaining dialogue though, assuming you do not take things seriously.

Fiddy looks good but the rest of the cast seems to be little more than an afterthought and all of the enemies are pretty much the same but with a different colour t-shirt. There is also some shocking pop-up at times, particularly when starting a level.

Surprisingly enjoyable and the scoring system adds a novel twist to proceedings as you attempt to better your score. Team up with a buddy for double the fun but the A.I. is capable enough so that you will have a blast even when playing solo.

This game borrows heavily from a lot of other franchises but never quite manages to hit the heights; it is fun for what there is but what there is, is frankly not that much.

The achievements are pretty bog standard and you will rattle through most of them without realising it. Play the game again in co-op for some more and then go and gold star the levels to finish it off. Uninspiring.

I hated this game when I first played it but the more time I put into it, the more it grew on me. You do not have to be a fan of 50 Cent to enjoy this cheesy slice of shoot 'em-up pie, and if you have a friend to play it with all the better. That being said, the game is pretty damn short and you will have zero inclination to play it again so it is probably better saved for a rent

This game was very good, the controls were superb, the gameplay is very much like Gears of War, the acting is humerous and the soundtrack is awesome which adds to the atmosphere whilst you run around shooting bad guys mindlessly. The only downside of this game is that it is short, i beat it in 7 to 8 hours but if you're good, it's possible to do it in 5 to 6 hours. Having said that, i prefer short games that are fun and memorable than long games that are a complete bore.

This game is made to entertain you and be a good laugh and short so you can play it over and over again...And thats what it delievers...its not serious.. so people should stop comparing it.

This game is alot like going to see any of van dammes films at the multiplex- you know deep down in your heart that it is rubbish- but by god its fun. This game is the ultimate guilty pleasure. I ordered it online as I didnt want to have the embarasment of buying it in a shop (vein i know). I dont really like 50 cents, and certantly dont like the culture that they endorse- though even I found myself laughing at some of the one liners. I also read somewhere that 50 is a dedicated gamer himself, so this has been crafted using his knowledge of what works in other games. It could be considered as a cross between 'the club' a criminally underated old school shoot and gears of war. Cover system is very slick. Sound track in the back is awsome, and compliments the game perfectly (why dont more games do this?). Weapon choice is good. This is basically the ultimate lads game, just add a crate of carling and lap it up. The only negatives for me would be its questionable longetivity and its somewhat dodgy political footing in the middle east at a time of universal conflict that may put some off and could be argued to being increadibly insensitive.