50 Cent: Bulletproof

Fiddy fails to impress Paul

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Lets be honest, after the critical mauling the PS2 and Xbox versions of Bulletproof received earlier on in the year hopes weren't high for this PSP incarnation. To give developers High Voltage credit where it's due they haven't simply ported the original game over warts and all. Instead they've taken the fairly radical step of changing it from a third person shooter into a top down one instead, in the process making it almost a different game. "A better game?" I hear you ask. Well not really no, but we'll get to that later.

The PSP version, released with the new 'G-Unit Edition' subtitle, follows the same plot as the PS2 and Xbox original, even using the same cut scenes, so no surprises to anyone having played those versions when it comes to the actual plot, which sees 50 fulfilling his Rambo fantasies by trawling through wave after wave of bad guys in the hope of finding out who killed one of his friends and why the secret service want to frame him for the murder (why he's quite so worried about being framed for that one murder was a little beyond me seeing as he happily commits what amounts to mass slaughter during the rest of the game). The cut scenes are probably the highlight of the game to be honest, with better than average acting (for a videogame anyway, no need to bother Oscar) although the slightly prudish amongst you may find the very colourful language that peppers the entire game a bit much.

The game itself revolves around a central hub, an area around 50's home, where he can return to after missions to restock on painkillers (health packs to you and I), ammo, talk to friends and, this being a 50 Cent game after all, purchase new soundtrack songs and videos from the extensive list of old and new 50 Cent tracks available in the game. It's from this hub area that 50 embarks on each mission, which, regardless of what the plot tells you, essentially can all be described like this. Walk around a bland environment populated with look alike generic bad guys killing everyone while spouting pointless expletive ridden 'gangsta' quips as you go, then go to next very similar area, repeat till end of mission. A little variety now and then in the form of very simple puzzles or boss battles try, and fail, to break the monotony.

However, even such uninspired old fashioned game design could have been saved somewhat if the combat itself had managed to be fun in some small way. Unfortunately Bulletproof fails this hurdle just as dismally. While the top down view is a welcome change, and in theory suits the PSP much better, the game engine does it's best to make the game as painful to play as possible. The already dire camera is so zoomed in that it is simply impossible to see enemies until they are almost on top of you (to be fair the game is honest enough to stop bad guys you can't yet see on screen yet from actually shooting you) and the small onscreen map not only fails to show you much more of the level than you can already see on screen, but also fails to show you the locations of any enemies meaning each battle consists of running blindly around the level till you find a gang of enemies, then running backwards in an attempt to keep them at a safe distance while shooting them as they all charge towards you. The developers have provided an 'auto lock on' facility in a possible attempt to appease the players who suddenly find themselves surrounded by enemies they had no way of seeing on the horizon, hold down the right shoulder button and 50 will target the nearest bad guy, keep it held down while shooting and as each goon dies 50 will move on and target the next. While this works pretty much as advertised, it also takes all sense of involvement out of the game too. Combat becomes a cycle of pressing and holding the lock and fire buttons together while moving 50 around the screen a little in a vague attempt to dodge enemy fire and keep them from getting too close. There is a whole close combat system where you can disarm enemies and use them as human shields before dispatching them execution style but quite frankly why anyone would bother with any of that and risk getting shot to pieces is beyond me (Please Mr Bad Guy, stop shooting me so I can get close enough to you to disarm you), its far easier to use your guns, the plentiful ammo and ability to restock after each level means there is no need to ever get that close to enemies in the first place.

There was a point, about two hours into Bulletproof, where I started to lose the will to live. It came soon after the second boss battle when I realised that the simplistic combat really wasn't going to improve and all that was going to change from now till the end of the game was that the bad guys would gradually require progressively more shots to kill as I waded through them. I'd almost compare the game design and level progression ethos to a top down 'Streets Of Rage' style early 90's throwback, but that would risk making it sound far better than it is! There are millions more silly little niggles, the dodgy camera leaving you stuck behind walls while being attacked by people you cant see, bodies disappearing when you move away even though they are only just off screen, the absurdity of levels filled with crates and oil cans containing money and other pickups (for a game that seems to strive for some kind of 'gangsta' realism couldn't they have come up with a better pickup system than the age old hit a crate till it brakes?) the list just goes on and on.

The one area where High Voltage have got it right is in the use of the 50 Cent licence, any fan will find doubtless find all the unlockable songs, videos and clothes almost worth the price of the game alone and in a handy addition from the PS2 and Xbox originals this time round you can access all the media content from the main menu as well as from in the game itself giving players yet another reason not the play the actual game any more than you have to.

Coming to the PSP at a time when appetites are being well and truly wetted for Killzone: Liberation, a game that shares a similar top down viewpoint but appears to use it to far better effect, there can really be no good reason to recommend 50 Cent: Bulletproof (G-Unit Edition). 50 Cent fans may get some enjoyment out of it but even that will be limited, and the rest of us will find nothing in the gameplay to hold our interest, far better to save the pennies for something else in the pre-Christmas release bonanza.

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By Paul Newcombe