Bully: Scholarship Edition

true Game: Bully: Scholarship Edition Genre: Action/Adventure Platform: Wii, 360 (Reviewed on 360) <img src="/contributed/1206460972rcP5qRUdGU.jpg" width="440" height="624"> Welcome to Bullworth Academy, where the educators are mildly insane, the girls are obsessed with kissing, and 90% of the male student body appears to be sociopathic- and I thought my high school years were difficult! As Jimmy, the new kid in school at the boarding school with a history of violence and academic underachievement, you’ll have to make your way through the social battlefield, making a few friends, even more enemies, and maybe even attending a class or two. Bully was originally released on the PS2 in October of 2006, accompanied by favorable reviews and mild controversy. Because the player takes the role of a sometimes-violent fifteen-year-old, some groups (and our old friend Jack Thompson) tried, and failed, to get the game banned. However, since it was released so late in the PS2’s life (only one month before the PS3 launched), many gamers, myself included, missed out on this one the first time around. Luckily, Rock Star decided to give us another chance with the newly-released Scholarship Edition for the Wii and Xbox 360. <img src="/contributed/1206460989ozrgsKABb4.jpg"> Though the 360 version of the game apparently launched with some technical issues, the release of a patch over Xbox Live last week seems to have cleared up any problems, or at least it has for me. The only issue I had was with load times, which seemed a bit long at times. There’s no denying that this game is a port; despite some added content, the game still looks like it belongs on the PS2. That doesn’t mean it’s an ugly game, by any means; it’s just apparent that it is not taking full advantage of the graphical power of the Xbox 360. However, the price reflects this, as Bully: Scholarship Edition is only $50, the same price the original Bully was when it came out. The Bully system of choosing missions to make money, gain skills or items, or advance the story will feel very familiar to anyone who has ever played a Grand Theft Auto formula. Bully can pretty much be described as GTA Lite, and while there’s less blood and automobile theft, the open-world formula is very similar. While Jimmy can only explore the grounds of the boarding school at first, the gates open at the completion of the first chapter, and the entire town is yours to roam. <img src="/contributed/1206460960iNwKFHsJkA.jpg"> Each day works on a constantly-ticking clock, with one class each morning and afternoon that you can attend to gain some new skills or items, or skip in order to complete missions. The choice is yours, but if prefects catch you in your truancy, you’ll be sent straight to class anyway. I actually liked most of the classes, as they have fun minigames that are a nice breather from the action. Of course, some are better than others. While photography has you snapping pictures around school and math class makes you answer a bunch of simple arithmetic problems in a row, Brain Age-style, there are also classes like art and shop that are more tedious. However, most of the time it’s fun, and sometimes even educational (geography class had me studying a map of Europe for the first time since high school). Just like in the Grand Theft Auto series, Jimmy must complete certain missions to further the story, but may also partake in side missions for extra cash, respect from certain school groups, or items of clothing. In the beginning, Jimmy can use his legs or a skateboard to get around, but later he can steal bikes and ride go-karts and mopeds. Again, it’s hard not to compare this to Grand Theft Auto, since the gameplay is so similar. But hey, that’s not a bad thing. As far as weapons and violence go, it’s been toned down quite a bit. Instead of machine guns and flamethrowers, Jimmy uses more youthful weapons like slingshots, stink bombs, and firecrackers. However, using violence on people who don’t deserve it, like girls or little kids, leads to serious trouble with the prefects or cops. A lot of the time, I found it easier just to fight with my fists than to scroll through my various weapons, stand back, and aim; if you use things like firecrackers or stink bombs on opponents too close to you, you’ll also be harmed, making it kind of pointless. It is pretty fun to stand back and release a stink bomb on an unsuspecting crowd of students, though. <img src="/contributed/1206460981weCRVS38a8.jpg"> Overall, Bully: Scholarship Edition is little more than a port with a bit of extra content thrown in, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth playing. There’s so much to do that it feels overwhelming at first, with so many missions, classes, students begging you for favors, and ladies looking for romance. Once you’ve spent a little time at Bullworth, though, you’ll learn how to manage your time wisely and get things done the way you want to. If you’ve already played the game when it first came out on the PS2, there’s probably not enough here to warrant spending fifty bucks. However, as a newcomer to the game, I found it a lot of fun and really addictive. If you’ve been curious about this game, or are just dying for something to tide you over until Grand Theft Auto IV comes out, this is a title I would recommend. <img src="/contributed/1206461323H3qenObBI8.jpg" width="275" height="175"><img src="/contributed/1204908946PhJqwa60Wv.jpg" width="275" height="35"> <a href="http://www.gamerankings.com"><img src="/contributed/12049090913D6uenyIJz.jpg" width="111" height="42"></a><a href="http://www.metacritic.com/games"><img src="/contributed/1204909164Gepk74pXtB.jpg" width="154" height="51"></a>   Related Articles: <a href="/gamer/gamervision/blog/article/rockstar_s_bully_coming_to_xbox_360_and_wii/">Rock Star's Bully Coming to Xbox 360 and Wii</a> <a href="/gamer/veggie_jackson/news/article/bully_scholarship_edition_has_a_release_date_sorta/">Bully: Scholarship Edition Has a Release Date... Sorta</a> <a href="/gamer/coop/news/article/bully_patch_goes_live_for_360/">Bully Patch Goes Live For 360</a>       review

2008-03-25T12:13:44-04:00

Game: Bully: Scholarship Edition Genre: Action/Adventure Platform: Wii, 360 (Reviewed on 360) <img src="/contributed/1206460972rcP5qRUdGU.jpg" width="440" height="624" /> Welcome to Bullworth Academy, where the educators are mildly insane, the girls are obsessed with kissing, and 90% of the male student body appears to be sociopathic- and I thought my high school years were difficult! As Jimmy, the new kid in school at the boarding school with a history of violence and academic underachievement, you’ll have to make your way through the social battlefield, making a few friends, even more enemies, and maybe even attending a class or two.

8133

2888

2008-04-03T08:39:54-04:00

2008-03-25T12:13:44-04:00

11601

8.0

bully_scholarship_edition_xbox_360 published High School is a Battlefield Bully: Scholarship Edition - Xbox 360

2009-03-02T14:28:44-05:00

763