Over the weekend we got to check out upcoming titles from Sierra care of their 2008 Spring Event. Ghostbusters, Prototype, 50 Cent and more; check out our impressions ... or die tryin'.

	Joystiq impressions: Ghostbusters (360/PS3/Wii)
	Joystiq impressions: Prototype (360/PC/PS3)
	Joystiq impressions: 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (360/PS3)
	Joystiq impressions: World in Conflict: Soviet Assault controls (360/PS3)
	Joystiq impressions: Assorted Sierra XBLA games
	Joystiq impressions: The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon (360/PS3/PS2/Wii/DS)
	Joystiq impressions: Crash Bandicoot: Mind over Mutant (Wii)

If you buy only one game featuring 50 Cent and G-Unit shooting people in a quest to get back their diamond-encrusted skull this year, make it 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand. I'm still overwhelmed by the game's plot, and when 50 Cent is your protagonist, you might as well embellish as much as you can. Go over the top, and then go even higher.

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand is a straight-ahead action game. You'll fire all kinds of guns to kill waves of disposable enemies, all trying to stop you from getting back what's rightfully yours. In a recent demo of the title, I felt a little bad for the sheer numbers of enemies you must dispatch; surely, these lowly thugs aren't making diamond-encrusted-skull money.

And before I get too far, a clarification: 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand is not necessarily set in the Middle East. Lots of places have sand, including Miami Beach, school playgrounds, ant farms, and other non-Middle-Eastern settings. The game is merely set in a fictitious, unnamed country with sand, palm trees, and vaguely Middle-Eastern architecture.

When we first read the title 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (the previously untitled sequel), we, like you're surely doing right now, prayed for Fugitive Hunter-esque hi-jinx that would have Fiddy & friends sorting out the U.S.'s problems in Iraq and getting home in time to record a new smash hit with Rhianna ("I'll stop those terrorists ... or die tryin'"). Sadly, MTV has shattered our dreams, reporting that the game "sets 50's character against a cabal of international gangsters on a far-flung, bullet-riddled adventure." Missed opportunity? Table for 1? (There are some screenshots here if you want to get a better feel for the new setting.)

On the plus side, the game will have nothing plot-wise to do with the poorly-received 50 Cent: Bulletproof. There's also encouraging word from Vivendi producer Aaron Blean who said, "We've emphasized the gameplay quality [more] than anything this time around." We think we speak for everyone when we say, "Yes. Yes, that's a good choice."

We're not sure if greenlighting a sequel to a game that garnered an impressively low 47% review average is such a smart idea for Sierra if it needs to keep it from the chopping block when (and if) the Activision merger goes through. To be fair, the company was probably looking more at the million plus sales of the game in the UK and North American (you chumps) than the dismal ratings; in other words, business as usual in video game land. We don't know much about the game, outside of what's been spotted on the cover of the upcoming EGM – which promises "first looks" and, try to contain yourselves, "first screens" – but we do know how to wag our fingers in disapprobation. For shame Sierra ... for shame.