I have not been able to escape The Club — a game I thought no one played.

For those who are among that crowd of non-players, all you need to know is that Bizarre Creations created this game for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. Sega released it two Februarys ago. It was a third-person shooter designed to be played for high scores — with consecutive kills adding to score multipliers like consecutive tricks racked points in a Tony Hawk. Trick shots and the shooting of various hidden signs and icons further boosted scores. The idea was for players to re-play enough so they could make the perfect run through the game's levels, to play the third-person shooter not for macho gunning glory but for arcade scoring thrills.

For a year I heard almost no one discuss the game, but then...

Rapper Ice-T goes on Jimmy Fallon's show last month, gives out his Gamertag, I look it up and discovered that he's been playing... The Club.

I go to a demo for the upcoming Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Game, which, on the higher-end consoles allows players to take missions set in a globe-spanning theater of free-range levels. The game is full of scoring opportunities. The producer showing me the game points to icons hidden throughout the level and says they can be shot at for points and score modifiers. It's like that other game, he says... The Club.

Some time close to these events I play through 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, a game that is a third-person score-based shooter, exactly like... The Club. (Whole lot of good that did it.)

Earlier this week, we cover the Edge cover story about Bizarre's next project, Blur, which we notice is a racing game constantly being compared to a shooter. A commenter notes that that is the inverse of the hype for Bizarre's last original game, which was sometimes described as a shooter influenced by a racing game. That game was... The Club.

When the chapter for this console generation is written in the history books, it will surely include the obligatory sidebar that notes that heavyweight Gears of War owes much of its cover-mechanics innovation to the unsung Kill.Switch.

If recent rampant references to another game are any indication, there may be a second sidebar for another unsung innovator... The Club.

Despite earning higher review scores than 2005's 50 Cent Bulletproof, February's Blood on the Sand has sold an estimated 56,000 copies in the U.S. between its February launch and early April.

Its predecessor did far better.

In its first two months of release in the fall of 2005, Bulletproof sold 681,000 copies, en route to life-to-date sales of 1,123,000 units, according to NPD.

The original game had a Metacritic score of 47; the new game has a 71 and has been described as a guilty pleasure on some of the top gaming podcasts and review sites.

It was obvious that something was wrong with Blood on the Sand's sales when THQ failed to hype the game's performance in its earnings report earlier this week.

50 Cent may not be as popular as he was in the middle of the decade, but he's by no means faded to obscurity. A drop-off this steep outpaces even the decline in the rapper's recent album sales. His 2005 album The Massacre sold 1.14 million copies in its first week, according to SoundScan, the group that tracks music sales in the U.S.. His 2007 follow-up, Curtis, sold 691,000 units in its first week, a big decline, but not a calamity.

There were stark differences between the two games. Bulletproof came out in the fall season and put 50 in an urban setting that was supposed to be inspired by what he raps about. Blood on the Sand was out in the winter and was more exotic, transporting 50 to a pseudo-Iraq where he needed to reclaim a stolen jeweled skull. Both games were released against tough competition.

How does a game considered by critics to be better than its predecessor and starring a celebrity fail to pull in bigger numbers?

One must at least look back to publisher Activision's decision to unload Blood on the Sand following its merger with Vivendi, the original publisher for the game. If Activision recognized some fatal flaw in Blood on the Sand, back then, fans of the other former Vivendi games let go by Activision – Ghostbusters, Brutal Legend , Wet— better hope Activision wasn't right about them as well.

THQ did not respond to Kotaku's request for comment about the performance of Blood on the Sand by press time.

As with Blood in the Sand, Rogue Warrior is chock full of four-letter words and profane trash talking. But unlike 50 Cent, Richard Marcinko's character is on auto pilot when he cuts loose with colorful phrases.

I asked Aeron Guy, senior producer at Rebellion for the game, if they planned on kicking the cussing up a notch and, as with Blood on the Sand, allow it to not only spice up the conversations, but impact score.

No, not really.

"We tried to keep them triggered to what's going on in the game," he said. "It always raises a smile when he does one of his lines. He has some fantastic sayings."

It's too bad, because I think the ability to earn cash by taunting your opponents during a kill is highly under-utilized.

On April 30, the rapper will be appearing at retailer Play N Trade to promote his game 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand.

If you don't care about 50 Cent (and why the hell not!), there will be a Street Fighter/Virtua Fighter 5 event with one of the world's best fighting game players in the world, Justin Wong. Yep, the same Justin Wong whose battle with Daigo is internet famous.

50 Cent in store and more at Play N Trade [NEW YORK - TOKYO]

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand is the second game to feature the famous rapper's name and likeness, following up on the multi-million selling 50 Cent: Bulletproof for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360. Now 50 and the G-Unit take battle off of the mean streets and into into desert, shooting, driving, and flying their way through a fictional country in order to retrieve his stolen diamond skull. An epic tale of adventure if I'd ever heard one.

During the interview, I finally got a chance to ask 50 Cent the question that's been nagging me ever since Blood on the Sand was announced - why the hell did you make a game where rappers shoot up an imaginary Middle Eastern country?

"It might be far-fetched, but that's me avoiding you telling me that my game is so graphic that you feel like it will make kids go do stuff that they're not supposed to." 50 is actually addressing the concerns raised by his first game, 50 Cent: Bulletproof, that took place in an urban setting that many felt was too realistic. "If I didn't do what I did conceptually when it came time to create the setting for the game, I would get all these complaints about the game being too aggressive."

So in essence, Blood on the Sand's rather strange story and setting are a direct response to criticisms over the last 50 Cent game. He was aiming at making a non-realistic game. Mission accomplished.

Before answering the question, however, 50 actually corrected me, telling me that the game didn't actually take place in the Middle East - it just looks like the Middle East. It could be anywhere, really. He pointed out that Blood Diamond, a movie he likes to cite as an inspiration for the game, takes place in Africa, though it certainly looks like the Middle East at times. I just assumed "fictional Middle Eastern country" still indicated the Middle East. 50 Cent doesn't think so.

The war setting is not only inspired by movies, but by 50 Cent's own visit to the troops in the non-fictional Iraq. "The intensity of being a part of the war setting...it's probably the most dramatic situation you can actually be in, and people consciously go into that, which is a trip to me."

We also asked 50 is the release of games like 50 Cent: Bulletproof and now Blood on the Sand had an effect on the sales of his music.

"I do see a change in the response to the actual music. What I've learned is a lot of time they'll turn the television down and play music from another source, because the quality of material that's on the actual game isn't up to standards right now. The opportunity to provide that intensifies the actual experiences.

This is why this is perfect to release (the game) prior to the sales of the actual album. When they actually get a chance to hear some of that material, it raises the anticipation of what my next album is going to be because this music has been held to standard."

50 Cent is a pretty big gamer himself at this point. He's got a Nintendo Wii in his office, complete with Wii Fit, an Xbox 360 in his truck, and all three systems at the racquetball room in his house, where his kids play on a 24-foot projection screen.

As for what's next for 50 Cent in the games industry? Aside from delving into video game films with Saint's Row, the rapper expresses great interest in creating new games that don't actually feature him as a playable character. "I'm a big fan of Tetris (as mentioned in McWhertor's interview with the G-Unit)...some of the older games...Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Centipede...where you only had one joystick and one button. I want to be able to create...not necessarily a different controller and all that...just to be able to create something different."

Maybe 50 Cent has a better head for gaming than we first expected?

Seriously. I don't know if I can ever get past that.

The video takes us through most if not all of the gameplay mechanics for the new 50 Cent game, covering weapons, vehicle combat, online multiplayer, and close-combat kills. What it doesn't do is justify the existence of a video game in which a drug dealer turned raper and his posse take on the population of a small country in the Middle East. The whole concept is made even sillier by the members of the Swordfish development team, whose English accents only add to the surreal feeling surrounding the title.

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 should be hitting store shelves later this month. Maybe then I'll finally be able to believe it's a real game and not some elaborate prank.

Or not. Please don't watch this at work. Please.

Your laughter will make co-workers suspicious.

One that weaves together strands of love, betrayal, politics, conflict and the questioning of self.

OK, I lied. I'm sorry. Still, amazing seeing them keep a straight face through the whole thing, isn't it? Like, these guys know the inherent awesomeness of their self-parody storyline, but to keep the ad men and PR team happy will play it serious for a 4-minute video.

Our hats are off to you, Swordfish.

At first I was a bit taken aback by the cover system, which as I said revolves around calling the enemy all sorts of bad names and then firing your weapon in their general direction, but after considering it for awhile I came to a realization: this is exactly what they do in action movies. You get behind something, insult your opponent's mother, and then shoot them. Hell, it save Xbox Live players a great deal of time by insulting the opposition automatically. That's innovation folks.

In fact, during our recent sit down with Banks and Yayo, they played 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand the entire time, attention divided between shooting up scores of unidentifiable Middle Eastern bad guys and answering questions.

Banks and Yayo are self-described "video game heads," raised on 8-bit classics like Contra, Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! and Commando, arcade fighters like Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat. Yayo's current obsession? Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, a title in which he feels pretty confident he could kick my ass. (We're exchanging Gamertags to settle that...)

Yayo even bragged about his Gunnar Optiks gaming glasses, the eyewear that purports to reduce eyestrain when staring at a monitor for hours on end. What else are bored rappers going to do while on the road?

"It's an addiction to me," Yayo lamented, admitting that he, like the rest of us buys games on a whim... and never even plays some of them.

Unsurprisingly, the G-Unit tour bus is decked out with plenty of sports games — NBA Live, Madden, 2K Sports. They play Madden and Live for money, with a hard and fast rule that if you lose a virtual basketball game by 40 points or more, you're banned for life. But Banks surprised us with mention of one of his favorite games of the PlayStation generation, Final Fantasy VII.

"They probably up to [Final Fantasy] XVIII now, huh?" he joked when I questioned his Japanese role-playing game credentials. "Yeah, man. Sephiroth and all them dudes. I remember when [those games] came on, like, four CDs. They were all scratched up by the time you finished ‘em. That was a big thing to see that game come up."

The G-Unit rappers seem to represent that most mainstream of audience, the hard-casual gamer who buys and plays nothing but the biggest and best-selling of titles. They're less fussy and learned about their gaming choices than the forum dwelling hardcore gamer, with little interest in distinguishing Rock Band — a G-Unit tour bus and green room favorite — from Guitar Hero.

But they have better taste than the purely casual gamer, preferring Street Fighter to the Def Jam brand of fighting games, Call of Duty 4 and Grand Theft Auto IV to, well, certainly not the game they're appearing in.

"This is going to be my favorite game when this comes out," Yayo confidently proclaimed, referring to his second video game appearance in Blood on the Sand.

The Swordfish Studios-developed third-person shooter might not appeal to the daily Kotaku reader, mainly because of its celebrity endorsement. But with some two million-plus copies sold of 50 Cent: Bulletproof, it's obvious that there's a substantial portion of the market that doesn't mind celebri-gaming. While the first 50 Cent title — created by Genuine Games — was panned by critics, it was loved by the group's fans, according to Banks and Yayo.

"People loved the game!" swears Yayo.

"Most people I talked to beat it," added Banks, even though neither of the G-Unit founders finished the original.

"You know what we did that we kind of laughed at?" Yayo told us. "We wanted there to be less curses than the first one." But there won't be an E-rated 'clean' version.

Fortunately for fans, Blood on the Sand looks like it will be a higher quality product than its 2005 predecessor. Swordfish has a more established development pedigree than Genuine Games did when Bulletproof was released and the UK developer looks to have borrowed smartly from its third person action game peers. 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand could easily be described as "Rappers do Gears of War while hunting down Damien Hirst sculpture," an appropriate sampling of tested gameplay and pop culture. It's got a good beat and you can dance to it.

And it has exploding barrels.

What was Banks' and Yayo's involvement in Blood on the Sand, 50 Cent's upcoming shoot 'em up featuring a financially scorned rapper on the hunt for his diamond-encrusted skull? To hear it from Banks, it was a considerable amount of work on their part.

The concept, they say, was borne from a sit down with the G-Unit crew, influenced by the movie Blood Diamond and the group's own travels in Iraq.

"But I have to give credit to the computer people," Yayo says, the folks at Swordfish who turned four rappers into virtual action heroes.

"[We] just take pictures for hours," Banks noted, sounding still exhausted from all-day voiceover recording sessions and texture-building photo sessions. That effort of showing up to THQ's studios may have been time consuming, but it also contributed to former G-Unit rapper Young Buck being ejected from the group. He just never showed up, according to Banks.

Regardless of the poking, prodding and voice acting, Banks and Yayo still sounded as thrilled as two rappers can to be starring in their second video game, excitedly pointing out "That's Banks! That's Banks, right there."

"It’s weird cause I'm from South Jamaica Queens and I remember when Banks and I didn’t have shit," Yayo said. "I still remember not havin'. We can go through our old neighborhood and still hang with the people that don’t have. You know what I mean? Whenever it comes out it'll be big for me. I’ll be in the store buying my copies."

For now, we're just going to have to settle with trash-talking each other in the games dated B.B.O.T.S. (Before Blood on the Sand). Banks is ready to take you (or Soulja Boy) on in Pac-Man. Yayo will gladly bust you up in MK vs. DC.

And 50 Cent?

"Tetris," Banks reveals. "Yeah, he talks all kinds of shit."

See, Fiddy's been playing his upcoming game, Blood on the Sand - which looks part-Gears, part-Uncharted - and fancies himself at it. Fancies himself to such a degree that he's challenging all comers to a little wager:

I actually had the opportunity to play it, and I'm pretty good at it. If anybody out there wants to create a challenge or wants to bet some money online, we could play the game right now.

I'll beat you, Mr. Cent. I'll beat you for free, too. All you've gotta do is record a "WHEH MA SKHULL" message for my answering machine and I'll walk away a happy man.

50 Cent Challenges Anyone To Beat Him At His New Video Game, 'Blood On The Sand' [MTV]

50 Cent: Blood On The Sand [OFLC via NeoGAF]

Yeah, it's dead. Caught in the unflinching cogs of big video game business, mergers, and close downs, we hear. Victim of a flooded genre and a potential publisher with one too many shooters on its hands.

But don't cry for Fifty. We hear the G-Unit-sporting rapper got his appearance cash, while Swordfish, the team behind the budding game, is likely to get sold off.

You gotta love this business.

Update, We Got it Wrong, Wrong, Wrong: Turns out that our internal sources were slightly confused and despite our best efforts we got it wrong. While I'm still waiting for some sort of official word from the companies involved, this is what we've heard: While 50-Cent: Blood on the Sand was indeed jettisoned by Activision, the project isn't dead. In fact we're told that it is approaching gold and that a deal, perhaps with THQ as publisher, is in the wings.

Update 2: Activision has responded:

"We have a policy of not commenting on rumors.

I can tell you that we announced back in July that we are retaining only those franchises that are a strong fit with our long-term strategy - - Crash Bandicoot, Ice Age, Spyro, Protoype and an unannounced new IP. We will not publish other titles that previously were part of the Vivendi Games portfolio and are currently reviewing our options regarding these titles."

The game's producer, Aaron Blean, told MTV that he sat through a demo of the game three times several weeks ago and was "really excited."

The producer also talked up a mysterious love interest in the game that, brace yourself, 50 Cent came up with. Oh, this is going to be a grrrrreat game.

50 Cent 'Really Excited' By 'Blood On The Sand'; Video Game's Music, Love-Interest Details Revealed [MTV]

We were very much given control of the core experience, what we wanted to create with a 50 Cent game. He took a look at it and he was like, 'You know, it looks really cool, I'd like something a little bit more.' The guy's a gamer, which in and of itself is actually an advantage because he came in with a very honest, very open opinion - 'As a gamer, I want more than just a core experience'.

When we heard he was coming we were like 'oh no, we're gonna get killed!' But he was over the moon, we're chuffed about it... We're obviously an Unreal Engine 3 licensee and he just came in for a visit and said 'oh my god, I can't believe you're working on this, it looks phenomenal'. That was it; it wasn't anything particularly formal, he came in to say hello to his licensees and was blown away by it. That was great for us.

MTV has eight exclusive screens of Mr. Cent's sandy adventure, currently planned for the Fall, which actually look quite nice. There's no shortage of details on the game, said to be a "Three Kings' meets 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'" crime story, which you'll find linked below.

50 Cent Video Game Exclusive: 'Blood On The Sand' Details, First Images Revealed [MTV]