Bully for PS2
© Rockstar

Mania Grade: A-
Maniac Grade: B-
Platform: PS2
ESRB: T
Genre: Action
Players: 1
Online: No
Developer: Rockstar Vancouver
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Suggested Retail: $39.99
Graphics: B+
Sound: A-
Gameplay: A
Replay: A-
Fun Factor: A-
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"Bully"

The world of Bully is an interesting one. It is centred in the school of Bullworth, which is modeled after the worst-case scenario of forced education. For the must part, the inmates run the asylum, so long as none of the parental advisors are about. You play as Jimmy Hopkins, a boy pushed away from his family for being a nuisance, only after his mother marries a rich old man. Before his mother and new father go on a yearlong honeymoon, Jimmy is hand delivered to this school of hard knocks, in hopes of correcting the juvenile delinquent. This school is unlike the many schools that Jimmy has been attended. It seems a lot more will be required to cause him to be expelled, though that is not the goal of the game. With a yearlong commitment to the school, he struggles to find his own niche to survive and eventually dominate. His indomitable spirit will flourish, and eventually change his perspective. Perhaps the school of Bullworth, which has been known to cultivate weeds of society, will finally grow a flower. 

The creators of the Grand Theft Auto designed this game, and their touches of gameplay are everywhere. While not exactly a clone or an expansion of previous games, it takes what it can from the engine and adapts it to a scholastic world. Everything from how to obtain life, to the authority system has changed. Since it also carries a teenage rating, the humour has been toned down to comply, along with the fact you cannot kill anyone. While previously we were promised an adult experience, lowering it to this style helps the game become more realistic. The game would be much too awkward if you ran around killing other students, or something like that, and it probably would have lead to Jack Thompson succeed in court at banning it. 

The world is very 3D, and you venture around it trying to accomplish tasks. Tasks range considerably, where some may take you to the classroom, and others may take you to a hobo in the scrap yard. In the top right of your screen, you have round mini-map telling you which direction that you need to go for a task, making it easy to navigate. If all else fails you can use the main map by hitting select, figure out where you need to go from there. To the left of the mini-map, your health metre resides. It is a curved bar that contours the map, which can make it a little difficult to read at times. Since it is also a bar, you will not have a percentage telling you how much life you have left. To the right of the mini-map there is a similar line, but this one deals with how much trouble you are in. 

Doing many tasks on the map will get you in trouble, which range from beating up a fellow student, to breaking into a locker, or whipping a person off of their bike. When not seen by authority figures, your bar will gradually diminish depending on the situation. There are things that you can do to speed this up, like hiding in trashcans or lockers. The bar will not always fade away completely, as if you are out after curfew, or in areas of the school you do not belong, there will be a baseline. Anytime that there is anything in this bar, you will be approached by the student, teacher, or police authorities, and possibly busted for your crimes. Getting busted robs you of the toys that you have collected. 

Toys are a major part of the game, much like you would find in regular schools. Items range from skateboards and slingshots, to fire crackers and stink bombs. Things like skateboards and slingshots will remain with you after capture, and also are unlimited when it comes to usage. Things like firecrackers, and stink bombs have limited uses, so when out of them, you will need to collect more. Firecrackers are used against people, and do a fair amount of damage, and most of the other toys are similar. 

The combat system uses the square button to attack people around you, where you will wing your fists mercilessly. String three together and you will have a combo on your hands. If you use the triangle button, you will grab hold of an opponent, allowing you to have unblockable attacks until it is broken apart. If you then hit the circle button you can take an opponent to the ground, and mount them to continue your assault. Likewise if you use your regular attacks to knock down an opponent, you can stand by the body and hit the triangle to get the same affect. As the game progresses you will learn more attacks. There are also different weapons for you to pick up and use in battle. One happens to be the slingshot, which at full power can knock out most students. If you pick up something like a fire extinguisher, you can either beat on them with the metallic part, or spray them down with the contents. All and all, the battle system works wonders, and keeps you entertained for hours. 

The game offers an interesting system for either bullying, or apologizing. If you take the bully path, you can push back enemies before a battle starts, possibly ending it there and then. Likewise in mid combat, you can rub it in that you have beaten them, which can lead to you spitting in their face, or giving them a noogie. If you take the opposite path, you can avoid a fight by apologizing for the incident. Likewise if you use this after being caught doing something bad, you can avoid the being chased down, if you are successful. For when you want to talk to another person, you will use this method. With girls it can lead to romancing them, but we will get to that in a little bit. Using this system though has you openly communicate with people, much like how two students would. 

The game has a dynamic learning system. As one of the tasks involves you needing to go to class, when you do, and succeed at the lesson, you will unlock additional abilities. When you complete an art class, it allows you to flirt with girls more efficiently. If you have a girl kiss you, it will refill part of your life. If you attend your gym class, it will enable extra attacks, or increased accuracy with your weapons. This is great to see, because knowing that you are going to unlock extra abilities if you attend classes helps give you a reason to show up to them. When you attend classes, there will be different games that you will need to play to succeed at the lesson. If you enter the chemistry lab, you must press the buttons in the correct sequence, almost like if you were playing DDR. Gym class will yield different games, where they are more physical. Early games include dodge ball and wrestling. Beyond classes, there are many mini games that you can take part in. 

In the end, Bully offers a great experience. This is a fantastic game, which comes off more about standing up to bullies, rather than being one. True to the GTA style, there is a nice storyline, with plenty of things that will keep you sidetracked from completing the game. As seasons pass you will have access outside of the school, so there are many things that you can do. I can see myself playing this game for many hours, while waiting for a GTA game on the next generation consoles. This game has even distracted me enough to prevent me from moving on to review other games. All and all, Captain Gordon gives Bully… an A-. 

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? CaptainGordonEdward@Gmail.com