Alright, so i was at my local none-Gamestop video game store the other
day, picking up the PC version of the GTA 3 trilogy. Through a strange
confluence of events, ended up leaving with a copy of 50 Cent: Blood in
the Sand, for which i payed 30 dollars for.
The game has kind of intrigued me since it's release, because, well, it apparently isn't terrible. which is shocking.
after a hilarious Giantbomb seal of... sort of approval?
i became increasingly curious, and decided what better way to celebrate
a large commission i recently recieved, than a possibly fun, if not
shamelessly ironic-for-the-sake-of-irony impulse purchase?!
that was two days ago, and having dropped a good five hours into this game, i can tell you... it's kind of rad.
the game play is far from original (it's essentially Army of Two:
Fix'd.) but there are elements that are totally functional and well
done. it doesn't do anything new, but ti takes it's influences from all
the right places. it's like they took a bunch of bad games with good
ideas (The Club, Army of Two, Stranglehold) and picked away the bad
parts.
you go through various combat theatres collecting money and ammunition.
the game is point-based as opposed to the standard kill base. you can
rack up points by chaining together kills, completing challenges in
limited time, collecting posters strewn throughout levels, preforming
elaborate melee kills and taunting enemies before and after you kill
them. you can use your money and points to unlock new weapons, new
melee kills, and newer, crasser taunts. there's also perfectly
compitent jump-in co-op, and weapons, money and points all carry over
into levels you go back too or if you restart the game after
completion, which is useful for completionists who want to get every
weapon, counterkill, poster, taunt and challenge available. there is
also the obligatory slow motion trigger available, and it is called
Gangster Mode, and that is awesome.
think of how much better Bioshock, Shadow of the Colossus and Okami would be, if they had Gangster Mode.
Think About it.
i dont know how much of an influence Mr. Cent himself had on the
title's developement, but i imagine developers Swordfish Studios (who
apparently made some sort of Cricket game before this) saw this as an
opportunity to make fun of 50 Cent without him realizing it. the game
is far too ludicrous to be unintentionally funny, and borders on the
self-refferencial. the game's story plays out like a lost sequel to
Tango and Cash, with brash american ass-holes (G-Unit) blowing up an
entire country populated by vaguely foreign people (who are also
vaguely arabic, making it totally okay) in order to obtain a the
bejewelled skull of a sultan's favorite concubine that they really have
no claim too in the first place. this is either social commentary at
it's best... or oblivious american pandemoneum at it's worst... it
could really go either way.
so has anyone else played this game? can anyone say they truly hated
it? i need to know if i'm insane for kind of liking this game.
