Bully
Xbox360
PS2
Ahh… the youth of today. They have no respect for their elders and love to get into trouble regularly, in my day things were soooo different… actually, no they weren’t… and this new offering from Rockstar north is a reminder to all past and current pupils of the education system, just what a nightmare school could be at times. Canis Canem Edit as it is called here or ‘Bully’ for those of you that feel Political Correctness has gone to extremes yet again… is the latest game from the genius’s over at Rockstar and it is a very controversial yet brilliant example of art imitating life. From the start you will get a look and feel that is reminiscent of past GTA games. This of course is no bad thing and when you add a huge array of fresh ideas and humour on top of it, you have a super packed lunch box full of gaming, apples and all!
You are Jimmy Hopkins, a lil brat of the highest order and have been dumped into Bullworth academy to fend for yourself. Here you will meet some of the weirdest teachers and students, giving you flashbacks form your own school days.
The whole atmosphere has a dysfunctional Harry Potter feel, with a splash of ‘Revenge of the Nerds’, an old 80’s movie. The task is simple, initially survive and eventually become the top Dog of Bullworth. There are missions galore to take part in and several of the main ‘click’ groups in school will have you running around the grounds on various tasks, from planting stink bombs in the girls locker room to spraying graffiti on the town hall for all to see.
The characters are convincing and all characters are interactive, whether you talk, insult, punch, kiss, wedgie or just grab their bum, all have a reaction to your actions. Missions see you gain or loose favour with school faction and open up new possibilities on compleation. Everything you do in Bully has an effect on your skill, weapons and general abilities giving the game a RPG feel without any complications.
Bully is very story driven with loads of cut scenes all of which play on fun stereotypes and have an excellent sense of humour, there is a story based mission that you must follow and a large amount of optional tasks. There is also the freedom to explore the campus, bully the bullies, chat up chicks or just lob dangerous and gooey things at people, fun, fun, fun….
Its not all fireworks and egging people, you also have to attend class and learn… stuff. Studies include the usual things like English, PE, Chemistry and Art, where you are faced with tasks that are portrayed in the form of short in-games. This is allot of fun and can really help you in your everyday existence at Bullworth by giving you various abilities and fighting moves to defend your self with upon passing the class. Everything is governed by real time and you must meet school rules including being in class on time, not breaking the curfew and not slapping around other students in the presence of authority figures. Break the rules and you will have the prefects and cops on your tail forcing you into hiding position like a locker or bin, if caught there’s a good scolding in store from the headmaster and can sometimes lead to detention… which is… fun believe it or not. Again you are treated to an ‘in-game’ as your punishment, getting caught has never been so much fun.
Later in the game you get a skateboard and various bicycles to get you around the hood and make travel fast and fun. There are so many things to experience in this title that it would take forever to point out, but learning what’s on offer is one class you won’t want to miss.
Bully is a supremely varied and rich game bursting with character, the graphics that are very nice but nothing groundbreaking, acting and voice-overs are excellent, flawless and witty. The controls, although sometime a little annoying are easily gotten used to with an fast learning curve helped by tips along the way. The camera can sometime be a pain but is generally not a big problem and the save system will be familiar to anyone who has played GTA games in the past, which is not to everyone’s taste. This game is not a star pupil however and has a few ‘grade F’ flaws, at times it can feel repetitive and the code has quite a few bugs in it leading to blacked out screens and even the odd console crash.
That said, Bully is a must buy for any gamer who loved the GTA feel or for those that need a little reminder of their school days. Time to do your gaming homework… Here end’ith the lesson. Class Dismissed!
Reapers Verdict: - Not for everyone but I loved it! GTA fans will probably enjoy it the most, perhaps a rental for those who are not to impressed by what they have seen.
Xbox360
PS2
Ahh… the youth of today. They have no respect for their elders and love to get into trouble regularly, in my day things were soooo different… actually, no they weren’t… and this new offering from Rockstar north is a reminder to all past and current pupils of the education system, just what a nightmare school could be at times. Canis Canem Edit as it is called here or ‘Bully’ for those of you that feel Political Correctness has gone to extremes yet again… is the latest game from the genius’s over at Rockstar and it is a very controversial yet brilliant example of art imitating life. From the start you will get a look and feel that is reminiscent of past GTA games. This of course is no bad thing and when you add a huge array of fresh ideas and humour on top of it, you have a super packed lunch box full of gaming, apples and all!
You are Jimmy Hopkins, a lil brat of the highest order and have been dumped into Bullworth academy to fend for yourself. Here you will meet some of the weirdest teachers and students, giving you flashbacks form your own school days.
The whole atmosphere has a dysfunctional Harry Potter feel, with a splash of ‘Revenge of the Nerds’, an old 80’s movie. The task is simple, initially survive and eventually become the top Dog of Bullworth. There are missions galore to take part in and several of the main ‘click’ groups in school will have you running around the grounds on various tasks, from planting stink bombs in the girls locker room to spraying graffiti on the town hall for all to see.
The characters are convincing and all characters are interactive, whether you talk, insult, punch, kiss, wedgie or just grab their bum, all have a reaction to your actions. Missions see you gain or loose favour with school faction and open up new possibilities on compleation. Everything you do in Bully has an effect on your skill, weapons and general abilities giving the game a RPG feel without any complications.
Bully is very story driven with loads of cut scenes all of which play on fun stereotypes and have an excellent sense of humour, there is a story based mission that you must follow and a large amount of optional tasks. There is also the freedom to explore the campus, bully the bullies, chat up chicks or just lob dangerous and gooey things at people, fun, fun, fun….
Its not all fireworks and egging people, you also have to attend class and learn… stuff. Studies include the usual things like English, PE, Chemistry and Art, where you are faced with tasks that are portrayed in the form of short in-games. This is allot of fun and can really help you in your everyday existence at Bullworth by giving you various abilities and fighting moves to defend your self with upon passing the class. Everything is governed by real time and you must meet school rules including being in class on time, not breaking the curfew and not slapping around other students in the presence of authority figures. Break the rules and you will have the prefects and cops on your tail forcing you into hiding position like a locker or bin, if caught there’s a good scolding in store from the headmaster and can sometimes lead to detention… which is… fun believe it or not. Again you are treated to an ‘in-game’ as your punishment, getting caught has never been so much fun.
Later in the game you get a skateboard and various bicycles to get you around the hood and make travel fast and fun. There are so many things to experience in this title that it would take forever to point out, but learning what’s on offer is one class you won’t want to miss.
Bully is a supremely varied and rich game bursting with character, the graphics that are very nice but nothing groundbreaking, acting and voice-overs are excellent, flawless and witty. The controls, although sometime a little annoying are easily gotten used to with an fast learning curve helped by tips along the way. The camera can sometime be a pain but is generally not a big problem and the save system will be familiar to anyone who has played GTA games in the past, which is not to everyone’s taste. This game is not a star pupil however and has a few ‘grade F’ flaws, at times it can feel repetitive and the code has quite a few bugs in it leading to blacked out screens and even the odd console crash.
That said, Bully is a must buy for any gamer who loved the GTA feel or for those that need a little reminder of their school days. Time to do your gaming homework… Here end’ith the lesson. Class Dismissed!
Reapers Verdict: - Not for everyone but I loved it! GTA fans will probably enjoy it the most, perhaps a rental for those who are not to impressed by what they have seen.
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