Bully

"Rockstar's Never Failed to Disappoint Me"

This game is no exception. When I first heard about this game, I thought to myself "What has Rockstar gotten themselves into this time?" I expected a game as bad, if not worse, as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. By bad, of course, I don't mean not fun to play, but I thought the amount of violence, blood, gore, language, etc. would be on par, if not above, GTA: SA. Many people, including myself, were surprised when the game got a Teen rating. Rockstar has proved to me with this game that they can do Teen. Now let's get started with the actual review.

Gameplay: 9
Ah, gameplay, the most important element of a game. And Rockstar did fine when it came to this. As with any GTA game, you can free-roam not only around the school, but the town where the school is located. There's a fairly good area to explore and I had no complaints here.

If you've played a GTA game before, you should have no trouble adjusting to the controls, which are very similar to the GTA games. The X button is to run or sprint, the O button is used to jump, the Square button is used to attack, L1 is used to target people, etc. The only thing that might give you trouble when it comes to controls is the camera, which sometimes doesn't like to act the way you'd want it to.

One element I liked about the GTA games was its variety of weapons. Bully doesn't fail to deliver the same interesting arsenal. However, these are teenagers, not adults, so you don't have AK-47's, Uzi's, and other guns like that. However, the weapons are still fantastic and I think they're great for what this game is about. You get firecrackers, stink bombs, itching powder, a slingshot, cartons of eggs, among others. There's also some weapons that you need to unlock, like the Rubber Band Ball, Spud Gun, and Bottle Rocket Launcher.

In GTA games, you can't just commit wrong deeds and expect to not get in trouble, and it's no different in Bully. Well, it is different actually, because in GTA you have wanted stars, but in Bully you have a trouble meter, which is similar. If you commit wrong deeds that aren't very serious, like breaking into lockers or skipping class, then your trouble meter only goes up a little bit. If you commit more serious acts, like hitting girls and little children, then you're more likely to get busted. The authority figures in this game are prefects and cops, and if you do something bad, you better watch out for them. If you don't commit the more serious acts and a prefect or cop catches you, you will be prompted to push the Triangle button to escape from their clutches. However, if you commit a more serious act and a prefect or cop catches you, sorry buddy, there's no chance of escape for you. You can lower your trouble meter by hiding in places such as trash bins and lockers.

The last part about gameplay I'd like to cover in this review is the vehicles. As a GTA fan, I'm used to having vehicles in Rockstar's games. This game, to my pleasure, also had vehicles. Although you cannot steal cars and motorcycles like in GTA games, that doesn't mean you have to go on foot all the time. Once you unlock them, you get to go around on a skateboard or a bike. There's also a moped you can win at the carnival, but to be able to ride it without getting in trouble by the authorities, you must wear a helmet. Also, if you complete all the go-kart races, you get to free-roam with a go-kart!

Story: 10
The story was excellent. I have no complaints here. You play as a young boy named Jimmy Hopkins. He's been expelled from seven schools, and his mom is getting married, and this definitely isn't the first time. His mom and new step-dad decide to send him to Bullworth Academy, the school that will make him or break him. Jimmy must survive one year at this school while his mom is on her year-long honeymoon. The school is filled with all of the groups you'd expect in high school. You have your jocks, nerds, preppies, greasers, and your bullies. You soon befriend two boys: Pete Kowalski and Gary Smith. Pete is quiet and keeps to himself, but Gary is a boy who you can say is off his knocker. He says that you and him will take over the school. One thing leads to another, and eventually you must gain the respect of all the groups, or cliques, in the game.

Graphics: 9
They weren't the best PS2 graphics I've seen, but they still were great. Rockstar did very well especially when it came to the facial expressions. You can tell Rockstar put a lot of time and effort into this game, because there's a lot of things that were designed with some of the finest detail.

Sound: 9
I've heard some complaints about the sounds, but I personally had no trouble with it. When you're a GTA fan, you're used to having the radio in the cars that you jack. That's not in this game. However, even though there was no radio, Rockstar did a fabulous job with the background music. They really made the music suit the situation that you're in. At no time while playing this game did I find myself turning down the volume because I was annoyed by the music. The voice actors were absolutely fabulous in this game. There's a ton of characters in this game, and that means there was a lot of voices recorded. I'd say this game had more voicing done than any GTA game. Not only is the quantity of voices impressive, but the quality is as well. The voices seemed to suit the characters perfectly.

Play Time/Replayability: 8
If you're looking to just beat this game's storyline, you won't get a lot of play time out of this. However, there's plenty of side quests and I managed to get 100% in this game after 37 hours of gameplay. That may not please some people, but that's good enough for me. As for replayability, if you're familiar with the GTA games, it's the same here. If you have no other games to play, then it'd be fun to play through the game again. I won't find myself going back to this game anytime soon, because I have too many other games to beat. However, I most likely will go back to this game someday.

Final Score: 9
When it comes to the question of "Should I rent it or should I buy it?" this is what I'd say. If you want to go for 100%, I'd say definitely buy it. If you just want to go through the storyline, you should have no problems beating it in one rental period. Even if you only want to beat the storyline, though, I'd still suggest buying it. It's a great game, and it was released for $40 in US money. I figured that it was a good deal, and I wasn't disappointed. Enjoy the game.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/13/06