Rockstar, makers of the critically acclaimed and uber popular GTA series, have completely outdone themselves with their release of Bully – hastily renamed to Canem Canis Edit to weather the global backlash of bad publicity the name Bully was attracting.
If youve ever played a Rockstar title, youd know that the majority of their games are presented in a sandbox style, basically meaning you have a free-roaming city in which to play. Bully basically uses the same engine theyve used countless times for their titles like GTA and The Warriors, but this time the game setting is a little more unique.
Bully tells the story of young James Hopkins, sent to the Bullworth Academy boarding school while his mother and step dad goes on a year long honeymoon overseas. James, or Jimmy as most people call him is somewhat of a troublemaker – having been expelled from quite a few schools in his lifetime already. Now Bullworth as any other school worth its salt has all the usual clichs and groups and it becomes Jimmys goal to conquer these groups and eventually take the school over.
From here on out the game puts you into mission mode, where basically youre sent on a number of missions and errands, ranging from panty raids to helping the cook out on her date. And while there is no gun or knife violence in this game, Jimmy has plenty of other tools in his arsenal: like catapults, stink bombs, marbles and eggs just to name a few.
The game play itself isnt overly challenging, the tone is nice and humorous and the game length is quite satisfying. The musical score is quite enjoyable, setting exactly the right mischievous atmosphere that this games setting requires. The voice acting hits the nail on the head and to be honest, there is almost nothing a person can fault in this game.
A thoroughly engrossing and enjoyable game, a nice change of pace from the murder and mayhem associated with Rockstars other titles, Bully is a game well worth picking up. Highly recommended!
