50: Cent Bulletproof is a game that centres around 50 and his G-Unit soldiers. The story is fictional and it launches straight into the story as soon as you load the game up. It seems 50’s friend K-Dog is in trouble and naturally he calls on 50 and his G-Unit soldiers for help. Towards the end of the cleverly disguised tutorial level you find out K-Dog has been killed and 50 Cent vows to find out exactly what happened and exactly what sort of trouble K-Dog was in. The storyline is pretty weak but anyone expecting an epic story probably deserves to be shot nine times.
Whoa, a camera.
The game is a third person shooter and 50 Cent is accompanied in the levels by the G- Unit soldiers. The G-Unit soldiers accompany you throughout the entire game and if you’re feeling lazy then you can actually let the soldiers do the work for you because the soldiers are seemingly invincible whereas 50 Cent has a life bar. The targeting system takes a lot of getting used too as well and 50 has a wide range of weapons at his disposal but they are pretty standard fare. If you’re close enough to an opponent then you can execute a countermove. If you just press a button then the game will execute your enemy and flash to a small cut-scene which generally ends up with your opponent dead on the ground with a broken neck or a knife in the throat.
The main real problem with this game is that all you’re really doing for the majority of the game is shooting at enemies over and over. The game play doesn’t really deviate from this pattern which makes the game really boring. The camera is also a bit of an issue as well. When you’re in enclosed spaces the camera will often get in the way which makes targeting even more a chore. The single player adventure is far too linear as well, so there you have no choice but to go where the game directs you which is a little disappointing. The game could have worked a little better if it was more open ended.
As you would expect from a licensed game the game includes a lot of 50 cent bonuses. As you play through each of the missions you will earn money which can be used to unlock bonuses such as songs and 50 cent videos. The videos are a little grainy though and it’s disappointing that you need to play through the majority of the game to have access to these bonuses.
The game play may be seriously broken but visually the game is above average. A lot of attention has been paid to 50 and his crew and all of the character models look very sharp. However, as a result of putting so much attention on the character models the environments themselves look really boring. As you move through corridors, sewers and dark alleys you’ll feel like you’ve actually visited the environments before but then you’ll realize that the level design is just uninspiring.
Audio wise the sound is okay, but the voices sound really generic at times. The audio is passable and the soundtrack is comprised of 50 cent songs so you should know what to expect from the audio. The weapon effects are generic as well and sometimes come off sounding a little fake though.
This is supposed to look cool. Supposed too.
The career mode is surprisingly short and even when the game is finished you won’t understand what happened to the storyline. The rest of the world (the UK included) actually gets the option to play through all of the levels again in an arcade mode but this has been removed for the game to be granted an MA15+ rating. The arcade mode actually gives you a score based on how well you can shoot people in the face so it isn’t a severe omission but nothing has been included so it feels like we’re actually getting less of a game here. This also means that the game is over far too quickly and there is literally no reason to come back to the title again.
50 Cent: Bulletproof is a below average game that feels like it has been developed to turn a quick buck. The title has actually been a huge success overseas and it looks like the game is going to be very popular here. It’s just disappointing that the game isn’t very fun and features poor camera work and linear and repetitive game play. There is no valid reason for purchasing or playing this game and if you’re a hardcore fan of 50 Cent then there are plenty of CD’s and DVD’s available that feature the rapper. If you’re just after a third person shooter then play Max Payne it is far more enjoyable and will last you longer than a 50 Cent concert, unlike this game.
A sports title next i think huzzah!
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