50 Cent: Blood On The Sand hits Xbox Series X, is still amazing

There are many hidden gems or at the very least, some video games that may have flown under the radar for many gamers. Perhaps one such game is 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand.

Released in 2009, developed by the now defunct Swordfish Studios and published by THQ, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand stars rapper 50 Cent as is the sequel to 2005’s 50 Cent: Bulletproof. For a while now, fans have been calling for the sequel to be remade, though that’s not likely to ever happen anytime soon.

Check out the 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand trailer below!

When it was released, it’s fair to say that 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand wasn't met with much critical acclaim, garnering a moderately average score of 71 from critics and 6.1 from users on Metacritic. However, that’s not the be-all and end-all of a game's success, especially when it comes to the paying customer. Even if a game isn't the most technically gifted, it can have a certain charm to become somewhat of a cult classic and that’s perhaps the category in which 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand falls into.

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand is an easy pick-up-and-play action title with pretty much a basic requirement to shoot everything that moves and blow things up. It’s the equivalent of a ‘switch-your-brain off’ popcorn movie if you will. Oh, and it even stars Eminem as a corrupt cop, so there you go.

What’s more, one of the best features of the Xbox Series X|S (and Xbox One), is its backwards compatibility and in some cases, not only does it boost the game with flush 4K visuals, but it may even provide a 60fps boost. Sadly 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand is a game that only benefits from a resolution boost, but that singular boost still gives it a distinct advantage over the Xbox 360 and PS3. Yet, despite looking at the clip below, it seems to perform at a very steady framerate.

“Genuinely one of the most fun co-op experiences I've ever had, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand,” exclaimed Redditor p4ul1023 kicking off the discussion on the thread. “It’s just pure, mindless fun. Being able to play this on the Series X is just amazing.”

“Haha, such a ridiculous game. I'm happy to see this has an appreciation in 2023. I don't remember anyone liking this when it came out,” replied Dirtydubya. “A classic. A pricey classic nowadays but I love this game,” said RealEatMeImaDanish.

Sadly, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand has long been delisted from the digital Xbox Marketplace, possibly due to music licence issues. As a result, you can only purchase physical copies from third-party sellers.

I’ve just checked the US eBay website and copies are selling between $50 to $100. In the UK, the prices are far more reasonable ranging from £20 to £30, and can also be purchased from retailers such as CeX. Regardless, if you manage to acquire a copy of this beloved game, at least you know that it's still backwards compatible with modern Xbox consoles.