An Activision press release last night indicated that the publisher is picking up several franchises from recently acquired publisher Vivendi Games. But the games not on the list include a few that we’ve covered quite a bit at MTV News and MTV Multiplayer: “Brutal Legend,” “50 Cent: Blood On The Sand” and “Ghostbusters.”

Are these games going to find new publishers?

An Activision rep hasn’t directly answered our questions about the fate of the games yet, instead reiterating the message of the press release with the following e-mailed statement:

Activision Publishing is retaining those franchises that are a strong fit with its long-term strategy including Crash Bandicoot, Ice Age and Spyro, as well as two new intellectual properties that are currently in development — Prototype and a second game that has not yet been announced.

The company will not publish other titles that previously were part of the Vivendi Games portfolio and we are currently reviewing our options regarding these titles.

On his blog, “Brutal Legend” creator Tim Schafer posted a blog entry today that reports that “Brutal Legend is fine.” My requests for comment to both 50 Cent management and folks behind the “Ghostbusters” game have not been answered yet, but I’ll keep readers posted if I find out more.

Should I walk across the hall to MTV’s acquisitions guy and tell him about “Brutal Legend” and “50 Cent: Blood On The Sand”? That’d be crossing the line. But it sure seems like there’s at least one publisher that would suit those games.

I saw “50 Cent: Blood On The Sand” in action yesterday during a demonstration in Manhattan. Producer Aaron Blean shared some details in a report I filed at MTVNews.com. One of the details involves the woman in “Blood in the Sand.” I didn’t see here, but I did learn that she’s a character the rapper dreamed up.

From my story:

Blean didn’t reveal too much about the love interest, but she’s apparently a fictional character with a twist that 50 thought up: “His idea was to not just have a female character be a love interest but someone he would lose trust in.”

I didn’t have very high expectations before sitting down for a demo of “50 Cent: Blood on the Sand.” Heck, I’m not even that into rap music.

Yet, like I mentioned in a story filed at MTV News earlier this week, I left a 15-minute demo at Sierra’s recent media event and told other games editors they should check out “Blood on the Sand.”

Not only is it better than you think, I told them, it just might be good.

Everyone’s already heard the comparisons to “Gears of War,” but I think there’s a closer friend in Sega’s recently released but mostly ignored score-based shooter “The Club.”

“The Club” was surgical in design. “Blood on the Sand,” however, is the exact opposite: a big, beautiful, unapologetic mess. And, well, 50 Cent’s in it.

Read more…

You could read the above headline about the new “50 Cent: Blood On The Sand” game with one of two minds. You can read it as the voice of MTV, the channel that covers 50 Cent a lot and — cynics would say — would like any 50 Cent game.

Or you can read it as it was intended, in the voice of our man Patrick Klepek, who is such a savvy hardcore gamer that he didn’t want to cover the 50 game until I twisted his arm. He really thought it was going to stink.

Then he saw it.

As he writes at MTVNews.com today:

We came away surprisingly impressed. “Blood on the Sand” intentionally adopts a zealously over-the-top stylization reminiscent of old-school arcade light-gun shooters. There is hardly ever a moment when something (or someone) isn’t blowing up.

Patrick will have more on the game later today. Suffice to say, “50 Cent: Blood On The Sand” is no “Bulletproof.”

I checked with other game reporters to see if Patrick had his head on something. They tell me he did not.

In honor of the 20th anniversary of the seminal rap and hip-hop show “Yo! MTV Raps” I have put together a top ten list of the best hip-hop video games ever to hit the streets.

Hip-hop is one of the most raw and emotional musical genres, and the same can be said about the video games that it inspires, at least some of them. Also much like hip-hop as a genre, hip-hop games have had their fair share of Vanilla Ices.

We know calling this a “top 10″ is stretching it a little bit, as that implies that these games stand out, above all other games. Hip-hop has had much more success as a musical genre than as a basis for video games.

To help frame the list, “Shaq Fu” almost made the cut.

1. Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style (PS1)
Saying that “everyone had their own fighting game back in the 1990’s” really isn’t too much of a stretch, as is proven by “Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style.” You could complete the trials of the 36 chambers in order to save Master Xin. Your weapon: the ancient form of kung fu, known as Wu-Tang. With “Shaolin Style” Wu-Tang became the first rap group to break new ground in terms of mass marketing your brand. While the game may not have been that great, it is the only game on this list to have its own awesome controller.

2. Def Jam (series spanning PS2, PS3, Gamecube, Xbox, Xbox 360, PSP)
No other franchise on this list oozes hip-hop more than the “Def Jam” series. Collectively, over 60 artists and celebrities have appeared over the course of three different fighting games. Spanning the past twenty years of hip-hop, the series let you kick some ass as everyone from old schoolers Funkmaster Flex and Public Enemy, to today’s hottest emcees, like T.I. and The Game. The series has the most complete assembly Def Jam’s classic artists. Read more…

Here is 50 Cent, in his house (formerly Mike Tyson’s), talking to MTV News on Wednesday about his new game, “Blood On The Sand.” Portions of the interview also appear in my article today about the interview:

(Below is the first part of an interview with 50 Cent at MTVNews.com about the rapper’s new video game, “Blood On The Sand.“)

FARMINGDALE, Connecticut — Citing influences that include his son and a Leonardo DiCaprio movie, 50 Cent sat down with MTV News at his house on Wednesday to talk about his newly announced second video game, “Blood on the Sand.”

The rap icon did his interview in style, sitting at a broad wooden desk in front of a small framed picture of himself with Bill Gates and across from Mike Tyson’s old bookshelf. He said he was excited about his new game, which he thinks makes him look like a “superhero.”

The developers of “50 Cent: Blood on the Sand” already told MTV News that 50 had a significant hand in crafting the story for his new virtual adventure. What they didn’t say was that he drew his ideas from the big screen. “I enjoyed ‘Blood Diamond,’ and I wanted to take some of that concept and move it into the video game front,” he said.

He explained that this new game is a big departure from his last, the urban crime drama “50 Cent: Bulletproof.” This game sets 50 out on an international adventure filled with some high action. “I think for entertainment purposes it’s better to do something like that than to make it feel like it’s totally real,” 50 said. “Because you’ve got some people out there, people that should be in Creedmor [psychiatric facility] that are still on the street. They can’t decipher between entertainment and reality, so you gotta make it a little more out-there.”

For the rest of 50’s thoughts about his new game — and insight into how much help his son helps shape his games — check out MTVNews.com.

(Below is the first part of a story filed at MTVNews.com about 50 Cent’s new video game, “Blood On The Sand.“)

Three years ago, 50 Cent was “Bulletproof.” Now he’s leaving “Blood on the Sand.”

The hop-hop star is getting a new video game this year, one that takes him to new platforms, a new game developer and a whole new role.

And for anyone who wasn’t satisfied with 2005’s multimillion-selling “Bulletproof,” the game’s producer hears you. This one is going to be better.

(See for yourself in these exclusive screenshots of the game.)

“Once we get the game out there … I think people will realize right away where our focus for the sequel is,” Vivendi Games producer Aaron Blean told MTV News. “We’ve emphasized the gameplay quality [more] than anything this time around. We can’t wait to show the game around.”

So what’s this “Blood on the Sand” stuff? Why is 50 wearing desert camo?

For the rest of this story — including whether the game deserves the moniker “Gears of 50″ — check out MTVNews.com.