50 Cent: Bulletproof - Hands On Preview

Hip-Hop; currently one of the biggest genres in global music with artists both alive and dead pulling in the dollars and mentor/protégé relationships prevalent throughout; one of the most iconic between Dr Dre, Marshall "Eminem/Slim Shady" Mathers, and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson. Originally touted as a star voice in Rockstar's GTA: San Andreas the über-business savvy Mr Jackson turned down the role preferring to star in a game about something he knew more about: himself. VU Games' 50 Cent: Bulletproof may not be autobiographical but it does have the most impressive multimedia features seen in a videogame for quite some time. Not only does it feature a bullet heavy action game, but it also includes over seven albums worth of music from either 'Fiddy' or his homies G-Unit, every music video made by the artist, and exclusive tracks written for this very hip-hop of videogames.

Being a tad partial to the whole hip-hop milieu, TVG recently packed some heat, dropped the waist of our denims to halfway down our butts, and experienced exactly what it's like being Curtis' larger than life persona.

With the hip-hop genre entrenched in a world of ghettos, bling, drugs, and of course guns, it's no surprise to find that Bulletproof is a brutal bullet-ridden action game where the frantic pace literally never drops for a second. Literally. Though we were only able to play through the first two missions (due to the build being closed) it certainly gave an ample taste of what gamers can expect on release. It's not much of a spoiler to reveal that after the first tutorial mission 50 Cent winds up getting shot nine times and lives (hence the subtitle â??Bulletproofâ?); from there it's a story of revenge as Curtis and his chums the infamous G-Unit try to uncover the truth behind the would be murder.

Whilst each and every level turns into a bloodbath to end all bloodbaths, thoughtless trigger-happy runs into the centre of the game arenas will quickly end up with the main man winding up in a pool of, well, blood. Instead the level of violence is able to continue unabated thanks to the covering system implemented in the game that enables players to use environmental objects as cover - wheelie bins are particularly useful since Mr Cent can move behind the protective article to get in closer to the shooters.

Besides health and armour bars, players have to be aware of the stamina bar, which enables 50 Cent to execute, literally, enemies by way of the Counter Kill system. In short these are one hit kills that emphasise the action with a slow-mo effect; around thirty Counter Kills are available in the game and are chosen randomly with examples including the likes of gutting an enemy like a fish, breaking their necks, and throwing them to the ground before blowing their brains outâ?¦nice. Such moves really take it out of Fiddy's stamina however it thankfully regenerates fairly quickly ready to be used once more. Taking enemies hostage is another option available to players where they can use them as a human shield or begin interrogations; of course there's also the tried and tested method of pistol whipping them or even executing them, but at the end all it does is fit in with the image of hip-hop.

Speaking of the image of hip-hop, Bulletproof features two of some of the biggest name - mentor to 50 Cent, Eminem, and his mentor Dr. Dre also feature in the game as a corrupt cop and weapons dealer respectively. Other members of G-Unit feature in the game and it's also worth noting that the money continues to roll since all of the gang wear G-Unit merchandise. Several members of the gang feature in the multimedia side of the title and players can take advantage of the mixing desk to spin their very own take on the Bulletproof sound.

One or two examples aside there was very little of this multimedia experience available on the build we tested; currently the game is running across two discs and is yet to be compressed so it was a very limited showcase. Instead it was left up to the actual gameplay of Bulletproof to showcase a title that will undoubtedly sell well this Christmasâ?¦

50 Cent: Bulletproof will sell - fact. The hip-hop industry is so big that the game could be the modern day equivalent of Rise of the Robots and still sell by the bucket load thanks to the name of 50 Cent. Even though we were only able to play a very limited part of the game it's obvious that the videogame part of the 'experience' is a overdose of brutal shooting action with very little in terms of real depth; but that fact that the multimedia arm of the game is a 50 Cent fan's dream come true will prove to be a massive attraction that may deflect any criticism of the violent nature of the game that it may have. This is a game for fans - if you're not a 50 person then this is not something for you, but you already know thatâ?¦