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BULLY: SCHOLARSHIP EDITION (X360) Publisher: Rockstar Games.
Developer: Mad Doc Software. Released: March 2008 (Europe). Genre: Sandbox. Other versions: Wii; PC. Posted 11th February 2014. By Shane Battams © 2014 |
While all the buzz was around the hyped release of Grand Theft Auto IV in 2008, there was also a little Rockstar gem re-released for 360. Bully, essentially a free-roaming school simulator – complete with all the angst, fights and pranks – dips its toes onto Microsoft’s platform with Scholarship Edition, along with Wii and PC ports. This port sees news missions, lessons, characters and other tweaks. It remains one of the more unique, fun examples of the genre, but some porting woes ultimately hurt the experience, and question the value of this port.
Bully’s premise still remains one of the most unique of the genre. You take the role of Jimmy, a delinquent boy who is shipped around schools as much as his mother shacks up with new men. In a last ditch effort, his mother and new stepdad enrol him into Bullworth Academy, a rough school divided into several cliques and run by an oppressive headmaster. Jimmy tries to survive several years of school while dealing with all the groups and attempting to, perhaps, create peace between them. It’s an entertaining romp, with a mostly likeable lead and even more likeable characters you meet along the way. It’s more often than not funny, even hilarious, filled with Rockstar’s typical wit.
Speaking of which, Bully is much like your typical Rockstar game. One of its strengths, however, is the more confined nature. The map is far from huge, but seeing as you can’t drive cars, and are limited to a modest skateboard/bicycle combo, this is welcome. More interesting, however, is the presence of wholly unique NPCs. Rather than repeat the same few models, Bully’s ecosystem is populated by individual characters, each of whom have a place in a Yearbook you can unlock. It makes the game feel more like a living, breathing environment, though the random warping of some NPCs is a tad bizarre. Though contained, the world feels more immersive than any Rockstar game before it.
Bully’s premise still remains one of the most unique of the genre. You take the role of Jimmy, a delinquent boy who is shipped around schools as much as his mother shacks up with new men. In a last ditch effort, his mother and new stepdad enrol him into Bullworth Academy, a rough school divided into several cliques and run by an oppressive headmaster. Jimmy tries to survive several years of school while dealing with all the groups and attempting to, perhaps, create peace between them. It’s an entertaining romp, with a mostly likeable lead and even more likeable characters you meet along the way. It’s more often than not funny, even hilarious, filled with Rockstar’s typical wit.
Speaking of which, Bully is much like your typical Rockstar game. One of its strengths, however, is the more confined nature. The map is far from huge, but seeing as you can’t drive cars, and are limited to a modest skateboard/bicycle combo, this is welcome. More interesting, however, is the presence of wholly unique NPCs. Rather than repeat the same few models, Bully’s ecosystem is populated by individual characters, each of whom have a place in a Yearbook you can unlock. It makes the game feel more like a living, breathing environment, though the random warping of some NPCs is a tad bizarre. Though contained, the world feels more immersive than any Rockstar game before it.
I'm guessing he's not talking about Jimmy's language in this instance...
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Cola vending machines. Every self-respecting adventure has 'em
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Playing Bully is also great fun. The game’s mechanics are all sound, as the decision to borrow The Warriors’ combat mechanics was a smart move, with a solid lock-on system and straightforward fighting mechanics. Combos can be unlocked through Gym lessons and finding special collectibles, meaning there is a good dose of variety. You also unlock weapons, such as literal potato shooters, and though it’s a bit clunkier than hand-to-hand, it still works well enough. The missions are usually really fun, whether you’re performing pranks on Halloween night, taking a girl on a date to the local Carnival or defending a Nerd as he gives a speech. A heap of side activities are available too, including Bike races, Paper Routes and Boxing challenges.
And gamers can also explore new content, exclusive to the Scholarship Edition. These include Christmas-themed side missions, new classes such as the rhythmic Music lessons and animal-dissecting Biology classes, local multiplayer games which borrow from the arcade mini-games in the campaign, revamped NPC dialogue and new classmates. It’s all small stuff, amounting to a couple extra hours of content, but its fun none the less. It’s just a shame that so little care was taken into optimising the game for the system, as those who have played the original to death won’t find enough to warrant a buggier return to Bullworth.
Bully was a quality game in its own right, and Scholarship Edition should only make it better. However, it’s clear that Mad Doc’s port of Bully wasn’t wholly smooth in translation. The main woes are constant dips in frame rate, as the game almost never maintains a smooth performance. It can really drag you out of the experience, as the game sometimes swaps between extreme smoothness to slideshow choppiness. The other woe is constant loading screens, which similarly separate you from the experience. This would be okay if the game looked good, but Bully hardly pushes the system. Some characters are detailed, and animation during certain cut-scenes is great. But more often than not, Bully’s blurry texturing is hard on the eyes. This all makes the technical woes that much harder to bear.
And gamers can also explore new content, exclusive to the Scholarship Edition. These include Christmas-themed side missions, new classes such as the rhythmic Music lessons and animal-dissecting Biology classes, local multiplayer games which borrow from the arcade mini-games in the campaign, revamped NPC dialogue and new classmates. It’s all small stuff, amounting to a couple extra hours of content, but its fun none the less. It’s just a shame that so little care was taken into optimising the game for the system, as those who have played the original to death won’t find enough to warrant a buggier return to Bullworth.
Bully was a quality game in its own right, and Scholarship Edition should only make it better. However, it’s clear that Mad Doc’s port of Bully wasn’t wholly smooth in translation. The main woes are constant dips in frame rate, as the game almost never maintains a smooth performance. It can really drag you out of the experience, as the game sometimes swaps between extreme smoothness to slideshow choppiness. The other woe is constant loading screens, which similarly separate you from the experience. This would be okay if the game looked good, but Bully hardly pushes the system. Some characters are detailed, and animation during certain cut-scenes is great. But more often than not, Bully’s blurry texturing is hard on the eyes. This all makes the technical woes that much harder to bear.
Jimmy gets some bullying done before his breakfast
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Dressing as a ninja offers no drawbacks, so make it happen!
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Though the visuals haven’t held up, audio remains stellar. The voice acting is simply fantastic, combining with the witty dialogue to create a light-hearted, humorous game. Music is also top, with an excellent original score which changes and fits all the wild scenarios you find yourself stuck in. Some audio bugs, such as dialogue cutting out, hurt the package, but overall Bully remains a treat on the ears, if not on the eyes.
Bully: Scholarship Edition remains a hugely fun game at its core, but as a port, it’s not nearly as successful. Rockstar Vancouver’s school free-roamer still contains oodles of fun missions, humour and charm, meaning you’ll still have a good time with the game, especially if you never played the original. Those who have stepped into Bullworth Academy before, however, will be unable to ignore Mad Doc’s lacklustre porting, and though fun, the additional content isn’t quite worthwhile enough to bring those players back. None the less, Bully: Scholarship Edition is a solid sandbox game, and anyone looking for a unique, if unstable, free-roamer could do much worse.
Bully: Scholarship Edition remains a hugely fun game at its core, but as a port, it’s not nearly as successful. Rockstar Vancouver’s school free-roamer still contains oodles of fun missions, humour and charm, meaning you’ll still have a good time with the game, especially if you never played the original. Those who have stepped into Bullworth Academy before, however, will be unable to ignore Mad Doc’s lacklustre porting, and though fun, the additional content isn’t quite worthwhile enough to bring those players back. None the less, Bully: Scholarship Edition is a solid sandbox game, and anyone looking for a unique, if unstable, free-roamer could do much worse.
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