50 Cent dreams of a bloody Christmas
By Adam Sherwin, Media Reporter
ANTI-GUN campaigners have called on stores to withdraw a blood-soaked computer game starring the rapper 50 Cent and described as one of the most violent to be released.
Censors have given 50 Cent: Bulletproof, released next week, an 18 rating for its frequent strong bloody violence. Players follow the rapper from crack-dealing gangster to superstar by gunning down, stabbing or garroting rivals.
Despite the age restriction, the first game from the 20 million-selling 50 Cent will be on many childrens Christmas wish list. The £30 package includes an album of new material as an inducement to his audience of largely teenage fans.
It is expected to be the top seller in a Christmas gaming market that promises to the bloodiest yet, with a range of 18-rated games marketed on their violent content and body counts.
Campaigners are angry that Bulletproof glamorises the gangsta lifestyle of 50 Cent, real name Curtis Jackson who, when he was 12, sold crack cocaine. He claims to have been shot nine times and always wears a bulletproof vest.
The PlayStation 2 and XBox game begins at a seedy porn cinema where players pick up counterkill moves and acquire an arsenal of up to 25 automatic weapons and knives.
A profanity-laced voiceover by 50 Cent explains that points are gained by rifling through the pockets of murdered opponents to steal bling, wallets and weapons.
The advanced graphics allow for a bullets-eye view of a gunshot as it ploughs into a rivals exploding cranium. But 50 Cents bullet wounds magically heal, angering campaigners who deal with gun crime.
Gleen Reid, co-founder of Mothers Against Guns, said: This game glorifies guns and gangs at a time when we are trying to prevent real-life shootings. 50 Cent makes a profit out of the misery of parents who are burying their children.
Ms Reids son, Corey, was shot dead in a Birmingham nightclub five years ago. She believes the 18 restriction will be easily evaded by children and called on shops to withdraw the game. Parents should boycott retailers who profit from it, she said.
However, the British Board of Film Classification, which rates computer games, said it had no problems approving it without demanding any cuts. A spokesman said: The shoot em up genre is very popular and appropriate for an adult audience. The violence is no more glamorised or amoral than in a particularly violent film.
Although violent games have been implicated in murders in Britain, no link has been proven. A recent study of teenagers in Germany found that violent games train the mind to react aggressively.
Vivendi Universal Games is preparing a PlayStation Portable version of the 50 Cent game and anticipates lucrative sequels with the star who has overtaken his mentor Eminem as Britains top-selling rap act.Criticised for thuggish lyrics selling a fantasy of urban street life to a mainly white audience, 50 Cent has become one of Americas leading black entrepreneurs. He has amassed a £30 million empire through CD sales and merchandise endorsements, and last week released a semi-autobiographical feature film, Get Rich or Die Tryin, celebrating his rags-to-riches rise.
The musical accompaniment to Bulletproof is a series of typically self-aggrandising tracks such as Hole in Yo Back and Hit Your Ass Up.
