BULLY

From Wikipedia:



Anyone who is even remotely interested in videogames (and especially interested in anything that comes from ROCKSTAR GAMES) will have heard of BULLY.

Its been dubbed by many as a "Columbine simulator." "A violent revenge fantasy."

Florida lawyer and anti-game crusader Jack Thompson (whom seems to have a personal vendetta against Rockstar Games) leads the charge, stating BULLY would "feature the murderous violence of GRAND THEFT AUTO in a school setting."

Rockstar Games have been under the microscope ever since the "Hot Coffee Scandal" shook the very foundation of gaming back in 2005, with Jack Thompson leading the charge.

Thompson even appeared on CNN's Lou Dobbs Moneyline program. He used this media platform to call for the outright ban of the game.

All this...and BULLY hadn't even been released.

In fact...there was still the better part of a year before the game was scheduled to ship to retailers. All this controversy wasn't helped by the fact that Rockstar Games is notoriously tight-lipped about their projects, not releasing any relevant information until mere months before the game is scheduled for release.

And the sad thing is...there was (and still isn't) any evidence to back up any of the claims Jack Thompson made...and yet...the media picked up on it like bloodhounds.

BULLY was released on October 17, to wide critical acclaim. Here's my take.

• BULLY is not a Columbine simulator
  
• BULLY does NOT contain the "murderous violence of GRAND THEFT AUTO in a school setting."
• Jack Thompson is a jackass.

Our main protagonist is Jimmy Hopkins, a 15-year old troublemaker who's been kicked out of every school he's ever attended. Jimmy is hauled off to Bullworth Academy, abandoned by his mother so she can go on ANOTHER honeymoon with her newest husband. Jimmy's got a whole year ahead of him at Bullworth...and the students are already trying to kill him (not literally). You're introduced to the headmaster of Bullworth (Principal Crabblesnitch), then told to put on your uniform. In between, you're confronted by THE BULLIES (one of the five cliques in the game), and forced to fight. Here you learn the basic fundamentals of the fighting system.

A fighting system is surprisingly simple, with one attack button and a button to grab. Three quick taps of the attack button performs a quick 3-hit combo...where as holding down the attack button throws a much harder punch. You'll pick up new moves from an old homeless guy who lives behind the school bus. Just bring him a transistor, and he'll teach you a new move. You'll also pick up grappling skills by wrestling in gym class, but we'll get to the classes in a bit.

As mentioned above, there are five cliques at Bullworth:

• NERDS - pretty self-explanatory (they wear green)
• BULLIES - pretty self-explanatory (they wear plain white shirts)
• PREPPIES - the rich, in-bred kids who think they're better than you.
• GREASERS - "tough guys" with greased-back hair and leather jackets.
• JOCKS - the big, dumb sports guys we all knew and despised (they wear letterman jackets and other sports-related apparel).
• TOWNIES (or DROPOUTS) - The ones who were kicked out (or dropped out) of Bullworth. They wear plain street clothes.

The missions you complete determine your standing with each of the cliques. If you complete a mission that benefits the Nerds...but hurts the Bullies, you're standing with the Nerds increases, and decreases with The Bullies. If you're on good terms with a certain faction...they'll help you out when you get in a fight...and basically be nice to you. If you're on bad terms...watch out! They'll usually come after you.

There are also PREFECTS you have to deal with. These are big, hulking guys who do the headmaster's bidding. If you're out of line...they'll give chase. If they catch you on a minor offense, you can usually escape with quickly tapping the Triangle button to stomp their foot. A more serious offense (i.e. hitting a girl or small child, hitting a prefect or teacher), its time to HAUL ASS. If they catch you...there's no escape...you're sent to the principal's office. Most of the time nothing happens, you just lose your weapons (firecrackers, stink bombs, itching powder, etc.) But screw up bad enough...and you're treated to a lecture by the principal...followed by detention. This consists of mowing the lawn, or shoveling snow in the winter.

Curfew is at 11 pm. If you're caught by a prefect after 11, they'll give chase, and make you go back to your dorm. Jimmy also passes out at 2 am...so wherever you are...if it reaches 2 am...that's where you're gonna wake up...and 9 times out of 10 you're robbed during the night.

It's usually pretty easy to escape the prefects. They're easily outrun...and they tend to run out of breath pretty quickly. Just jump in a trashcan or tear ass back to your dorm...and you'll be fine.

Being as the game takes place at a school...there are classes to attend. ROCKSTAR did a great job implementing the classes into the gameplay. You've got English, Chemistry, Art, Gym, Shop, and Photography. Each class upgrades a certain skill (pass English class and earn the ability to kiss girls and apologize to prefects; Shop class earns you new bikes, Chemistry earns you a chemistry set where you can make firecrackers, stink bombs and the like).

You have a 9 am - 11:30 am class, and a 1 pm to 3:30 pm class. If you're late...the prefects will come after you for truancy.

The classes are all actually pretty fun (except for art...stupid, stupid art!). English provides you with a word scramble, requiring you to come up with as many words in the allotted time. Chemistry consists of a timed button-pressing mini-game (not unlike PARAPPA THE RAPPER). By far the funnest of all classes is gym class. The wresting is ok...but the real fun is dodgeball. ROCKSTAR plays homage to the classic NES game SUPER DODGEBALL...and it works really well. Once you pass gym class...you can initiate a game of dodgeball at any time by going to the gym.

Thing is...you only have to pass 5 classes in each course. So once you've completely passed a course...there's really no reason to go back. You'll no longer be pursued for truancy. You can't really fault ROCKSTAR for this...as the mini-games are quite good...but only is small doses (which is what they give you.)

Despite its name...BULLY isn't about going around...well...bullying (although you're free to do that if you choose.) You're main goal is to stop the bullying...and to do so...you set out to take over the school.

The game is split up into 5 chapters...each chapter focusing on one of the cliques. Chapter 1 is basically a tutorial, showing you the ropes. You don't get to leave the schoold grounds until Chapter 2. Thats when things get REALLY interesting.

The missions are varied...and fun. The game runs on a modified version of the San Andreas engine...and its a free-roaming game...but that's really where the similarities end between BULLY and GRAND THEFT AUTO.

BULLY borrows quite a bit from many games (some of which ROCKSTAR made). The graffiti mini-game is almost identical to the one in THE WARRIORS (although much easier)...and there's a certain mission in the game that looks (and plays) eerily close to the second level in HALO.

Missions vary from protecting the would-be class president from being humiliated during his speech...to breaking into the girls dorm and stealing panties.

My favorite mission of all has to be the Halloween mission. This is where you REALLY get to test out all the various pranks you can pull.

Besides main missions...there are also plenty of side-missions. You can cut grass for money or take up a paper route (an awesome tribute to the arcade classic PAPERBOY). Also...every now and then a student or someone else will approach you with an errand they need you to run for them. They're all nice distractions...and they add to the overall feel ROCKSTAR was going for.

Speaking of pranks...Jimmy knows a thing or do about em. Scrawling graffiti on the walls, setting off firecrackers in toilets, shoving kids in lockers and trash cans, pasting "Kick Me" signs to the backs of oblivious passers-by. You name it...its probably there.

Graphically...the game looks great for a free-roaming PS2 game. As mentioned above...it runs on a modified version of the San Andreas engine, but unlike that game (which takes place across an entire state), BULLY takes place at Bullworth Academy, and the surrounding town of Bullworth. Because the environment is smaller, a lot more detail was put into textures, facial animations, and the like. No worries though, the environment is still plenty big enough.

It's also cool how the school environment changes as a holiday is approaching. You start seeing skeletons and lots of orange and black as Halloween approaches, and there's plenty of snow on the ground and colored lights nearing Christmas.

Speaking of snow...you can pick up and throw snowballs...and effectively cause a snowball fight (you can also do the same thing in the cafeteria with food.)

There are a few issues I need to point out. The load times are horrendous, most of the time lasting from 10 to 15 seconds. There's no loading in between Bullworth and the surrounding town, thank God...but there's a considerable amount of loading going in and out of buildings. It's understandable considering the level of detail...but its still annoying.

Overall...BULLY is just plain fun to play. ROCKSTAR has taken the free-roaming videogame to a whole new spectrum...the school yard. Anyone who's played GTA will feel instantly at home...and yet...its unlike anything you've EVER played (and thats a good thing). BULLY has gotten a lot of undeserved criticism. It's not a Columbine simulator. There's not even a single trace of blood in the entire game.

Its been said time and time again...but its true. Videogames are the "rock n' roll" of our generation. They're misunderstood...and constantly lambasted in the media and by the government.

Could BULLY be the CATCHER IN THE RYE of videogames? Only time will tell. All I know is...school has never been cooler.

Kudos ROCKSTAR!

9.5/10