Customer Reviews

Bully

5 star:		(78)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Bully may very well be one of the most controversial games of all time simply based on the fact that Rockstar made it. With only a name to their game, it was turning heads. People feared the worst. Mostly that the game would be as violent as Grand Theft Auto, but in a high school setting.

Let me set some minds at ease. There are no guns. The game doesn't even have any blood. Also, you can't kill anyone. Lastly, violence is rather discouraged.

You do not play the Bully. Instead you assume the role of Jimmy Hopkins, a boy trying to survive at Bullworth Academy. He's basically your run of the mill student. Your task inside the school is the same as they are for just about every student in high school. Pass your classes and stay out of trouble. Going to class actually is enforced for a time. Your classes are mini-games that you'll play. You're allowed to try and ditch class but there are consequences for not going. However, in this game you'll want to go to class just because participating in said class is actually fun, and can improve your skills. The mini games are fun and addictive. After a while it's no longer enforced, which I actually found rather sad. The aspect of going to class doesn't get nearly enough attention, but the mechanic works.

Outside of class, however, is where the game really begins to shine. If you're familiar with the gameplay of Grand Theft Auto, then you'll easily adapt to Bully. For starters, each and every student at Bullworth Academy has a unique personality. You'll make friends and you'll make enemies. The missions are fun and quite an experience. The game is original. Even better, the story sequences are filled to the brim with humor, quite simply it's one of the funniest games I've played.

In addition, you can also venture outside of the school. Jimmy can get a job to help him buy food and other things, and he's able to help people around town do some of their errands and chores as well. You'll also be able to date, go play some arcade games and plenty more. All the things most high school students do.

Jimmy isn't without a mischief. He's got a slingshot, a bat and a few other things he can use. Again, you can't kill anyone with these things, and eventually the objects will break anyway. Besides, if you beat up a kid, you have to serve detention. Part of the point of the game really is staying out of trouble.

The game also takes on a more realistic feel. There's a clock in the corner that shows you what time it is. If you're caught wandering around the school after hours there are consequences. If you stay out too late, you'll actually get tired and fall asleep.

The game looks and sounds brilliant. Fantastic voice acting really brings the story to life. The game also has some great visuals. The school and environments look astonishing.

Bully is a great game to be sure. It's almost like an interactive teenage drama come to life. A lot of the game is humorous and fun. But most importantly, it isn't Grand Theft Auto and it does stand on its own.

People can pick on the Rockstar group for their Grand Theft Auto series, but I actually found the Bully game much more redeeming. You're a schoolboy taking on the stereotypical cliques.

It's pretty clear why you're a depressed teenage boy when the game starts. Apparently your dad has died, and your mom has remarried an elderly, grumpy old man who wants you out of the picture. Your mom is more than happy to dump you off at a stay-all-year school while she goes off with Mr. Moneybucks.

On top of that, the school officials are pretty nasty to you right from the start. Hogwarts this is not! Then as you go into the run-down dorm, other kids start beating up on you! It's time for you to stand up for yourself and make a stand.

There are various groups of kids in this school - the nerds, the jocks, the greasers and the preppies. Activities you do raise or lower your respect level with each group. You have to go to class too - and be there on time! If you're able to manage your schedule properly, you can participate in some pretty fun mini-games (the word scramble can be challenging!) to earn you new skills.

There are girls to court, and usually they want a specific item. So you have numerous quests to go on. The bully activities range from escorting a nerd safely to his locker, to running races and protecting yourself from attacks. You get clothing along the way, and can customize your look (within school regulations, of course).

It's a bit depressing, sometimes, to see how these mid-teen guys treat each other, but this does actually happen in many schools. I'm sure pretty much every person who was once a teen can name the cliques that existed in their school.

The graphics are rather good for a PS2, and the sounds, while again a bit depressing for a teen environment, work well with the game too. On one hand I can not really like the swearing in the game, but certain teens do in fact swear far worse than this game does!

I'd even say this is more like Fable than other Grand Theft Autos, with some of the ways that you can choose how you react in situations.

This game won't be enjoyed by people who are squeamish about violence - it does, after all, involve teen guys all bashing each other for very inane reasons. It also involves a lot of bullying - as you might imagine. Still, if you can deal with those issues, you'll find a really involving game that might actually make you think about how to treat others well.

After having played through a large portion of Bully, I can say this: Though its gameplay style may mimic other Rockstar titles (mainly the Grand Theft Auto series), Bully stands out on its own with many tweaks, themes, options, and fun to warrant itself as a standalone game worthy of praise, and not just another clone.

And yes, though the game was initially controversial, those same morons who continue to seek out the gaming industry for all the blame of messed up children who were going to do something bad either having the game or not (think of all the music, movies, and real life situations that include violence and sexual themes, etc.)...they came after Bully strictly because of the title and theme. The FACT is however, you'll find the games protagonist far from a Bully (this is nowhere near beating up hookers with a baseball bat, instead think of maybe a Bart Simpson with a little more edge.), and the title is a bit misleading...anyhow...

Even though the PS2 is on its last wheels, Bully manages to dredge up some very decent graphics for this title. Ambient sounds, music, and atmosphere are some of the best around, with tons of characters always surprising you with something new that may catch your ear. Whats really great about this game is that (and not to compare to the GTA series, but its inevitable)there seems to be a heavier emphasis on interaction with objects. You can break into certain lockers, pick up a large variety of objects and even climb trees, pull fire alarms etc. even when not in a mission.

I really enjoyed the missions overall, they gave a great sense of being in the schoolyard with its many cliques and funny themes. Lots of missions and side quests will keep you entertained for hours...appealing to both casual folks who may just want to finish the storyline or those who obsess on getting the game to 100% completion.

Most folks won't get that far, but its nice to know that theres always something you can do and come back to the game for if you get tired of it anytime soon. It may not be the absolute groundbreaking title you were thinking of, but its definitley a great game. If you enjoy the open ended feeling of 'free in a sandbox' style, or perhaps want a diversion from the same old GTA theme, pick it up and give Bully a shot.

Jimmy Hopkins is having a bad day. His recently remarried mother is running off with her rich husband on a yearlong honeymoon, and Jimmy, the 15-year-old troublemaker that he is, is getting sent off to Bullworth Academy, an extremely dysfunctional (hey, aren't they all?) boarding school. This sets the stage for Bully, Rockstar's latest release. We got some time in with the final version of the game, and it must be said that it makes a great first impression.

Right off the bat, you're shoved into a school uniform and forced to adapt to school life. That includes going to class, where you'll participate in brief minigames that upgrade your abilities in really useful ways. Gym class will teach you new fighting moves, English class helps you speak more articulately, which in turn makes it easier to talk your way out of trouble if one of the patrolling prefects sees you doing bad things or a harassing bully starts giving you the business ends of his fists. Then there's shop class, which gives you access to bikes, and art class. Doing well in art class makes it easier and more beneficial to get kisses from Bullworth's many female students, which gives you a health bonus. If you're wily and can hide out from authority figures, you can skip class, but the benefits of attending the classes really make you want to stay in school. But, of course, there's more to school life than just attending class.

Early in the game you'll become friends with this weird kid named Gary. Off his ADD medication, Gary's now got delusions about taking over the entire school. Since it's currently a very clique-filled place that offers the typical groups of nerds, jocks, bullies, preppies, and leather-jacket-wearing greasers, that's no easy task, especially because at the beginning of the game, all of these factions are way into beating you up. You're given a handful of powerful fighting moves that make one-on-one confrontations really easy, but over time your enemies grow in number, and fighting off three or four guys at once isn't nearly as easy, even if you know how to execute sweep kicks, uppercuts, and mounted wrestling moves. Your standing with each group is listed on a stat screen, and certain events will ally you with the various groups. Helping a nerd, for example, make his way to and from his locker without incident, raises your standing with the nerds. Bully is open-ended, but it's also a very mission-based game. Early on, you'll team up with Gary and essentially do his bidding, but before too long you'll hit the game's second chapter, which opens up the school gates and lets you venture into town. The missions are nicely varied, though none of the ones we've seen so far have been oppressively difficult, which keeps things moving along. Some missions are as simple as retrieving role-playing game character sheets from the bullies that have stolen them. Another has you going on a full-on nighttime panty raid in the girls' dorm. You'll also engage in bike races, boxing matches, and the occasional house egging. But you don't have all night. You wake up at 8 a.m. each morning and you're forced back to bed at 2 a.m. Throw in two classes each day and you're looking at a system that forces you to make the most of your time, but considering you can just as easily go an entire day without doing any missions or skip classes to focus on missions, time never becomes too much of a problem.

The bulk of the spotlight Bully has received prior to its release comes from the recent failed attempts to block it from reaching stores, the theory being that a game called Bully would have to be harmful to children. But the T rating for Bully means that there's no explicitly foul language, and from what we've seen so far, the game comes across much like a lighthearted PG-13 movie. Yes, there's plenty of mischief, and yes, there's plenty of kid-on-kid fisticuffs. But this is most certainly no Grand Theft Auto. In fact, you spend more time in the game defending weaker children from bullies, not bullying them yourself--though that option is always there, even if it doesn't gain you anything.

The game's dedication to keeping things light comes across in its set of weapons. As you do well in chemistry class, you earn the ability to make weapons like firecrackers and stink bombs. You'll also have a slingshot that you can use to attack foes (or windows) from a distance. You'll also find bags of marbles that you can use to make would-be pursuers slip and fall, and cartons of eggs, which always come in handy. The characters in Bully are very expressive and well-animated, which goes a long way to help make the world feel alive. The environments look pretty nice for a PlayStation 2 game, and the world is large, but not sprawling. The voice work in the game has, so far, been pretty good, and the music is really, really great. There's a different instrumental track for each faction, which plays when you're attacked, but every piece of music so far has been outstanding and it really sets the mood well. Overall I think this is the best game of 2006!

I normally only review books on Amazon, however I couldn't resist posting a review of Bully. At it's worst, Bully is a slightly cheesy (and somewhat) stereotypical story of a kid with a dysfunctional family. At it's best, Bully is the best example of making a story more engaging, interactive, and fun by making it a video game. Bully is not only a blast to play, but the story keeps you captivated.

In Bully, you play the role of Jimmy - an unloved child from a dysfunctional family who is dumped off at Bullworth Academy. Bullworth, a rundown prep school, is full of warring cliques of students - the jocks, the preps, the nerds, and the greasers along with an assortment of other characters - the hobo, the school principal, the teachers, the townies, etc. Jimmy, in an attempt to "get by" tries to bring bring peace to the school and is constantly countered by the acts of his antagonist, Gary.

The gameplay is superb, the "world" isn't quite as free or large as the GTA series (although this didn't make a difference, really), and the storyline is absolutely fun and well-written. Rockstar Vancouver really did a great job with this game and I hope they continue to release more games with the GTA gameplay but new and original storylines.

I've been getting back into gaming lately. My tastes in games range from some sports to action/RPGs. I bought GTA set that has all of the GTA games in it. I admit, it is fun, but how many times can you shoot a prostitute and take your money back?

Then I tried Bully out. I am not a young gamer, around 30. I love the sense of humor the game has, the violence that doesn't involve cutting off someone's head. Instead, run into the cafeteria, pick up an apple and throw it at someone. Next thing you know, you have a food fight on your hands!

Run up behind the prefects (school hall monitors) give them a wedgie and jump into a trashcan to hide. It is a very light-hearted game, great voice acting in it as well. How many times can you here one of the school bullies say, "What's the dealio?" without laughing?

You can open up more of the game and skip school to head to a neighboring town to do odd jobs, delivering papers, delivering food (complete with uniform) finding lost dogs and maybe the funniest of the odd jobs, shooting rats with your slingshot.

By the end of the game you will see the big lug Russell and give him a $1 just because you like him not because he is going to beat you up if you don't.

There are many things off the school grounds to do. Be sure to ride the carnival rides, race the go-karts, race bikes, seriously folks, this game is just great all-around.

One of my favorite parts is when Jimmy thinks his art teacher wants to go o a date with him...you will see when you play it. It really does play out as a year in the life of a teenager. From kissing a girl on campus to pinching them on the butt, to throwing snowballs during the winter chapters. Halloween and Christmas are both in the game and the buildings are decorated accordingly.

I've read reviews about how short the game is. Don't believe that. It is short if you are just doing the missions so you can say you beat the main game. Similar to the GTA games. I'm sure a person could run through GTA Vice City in a week if they didn't do any of the extra things that Rockstar puts in the games.

I played Bully for a solid 3 weeks, probably 2 hours a day and had finished the missions, but was only about 80% finished with the game. I had enjoyed it so much that I deleted the save file and will be starting a new game of it in the next week or so. This time I will spend more time looking for rubber bands, collector cards, it has all of the extras that GTA has with the hidden packages and so on.

I would list God of War as the best game I have played, but I would take Bully over it just because of the amount of fun, very laid-back, "not in a hurry" type game it is. This is a must buy. Take a few days on the game to just around the campus and look for hidden areas. Do the same when the cities open. Jimmy, the main character is a lot of fun to use and you will enjoy this game...if not, well, go play Gorefest 9000 or something.

Well after all the media attention Bully has arrived. It would seem that all those nutty parental groups were wrong again. May be now they'll focus on some real problems facing our poor children. Not only did this game prove not to be a "Columbine" handbook it tries to show a better way to deal with the problems facing teens.Well the rant is over now for the rave. The game mechanics are excellent. Like many of Rockstar titles they've improved on the GTA engine allowing smoother play. Stepping away from the mission types in the GTA series Bully had to have better ideas without falling back on the GTA typical T&A/wholesale killing. Now don't get me wrong I enjoy the GTA series, and most of Rockstar's other releases. I never passed shop class though. Seeing the GTA open ended engine applied to another series just shows me the various directions they can go in as far as game creation.The mini-games are fun and addictive. I wish they would have other classes represented. With Bully you get to not only play a great game, but some of us old folks will travel back to a simpler time. Overall this is an excellent game, worth your time, and a is a fine example of how stupid the media and those parental groups can be.

How can the media and that one Jack Baoer wannabe say such crap about this game? IT`S FRIGGEN HARMLESS!!! The grosses thing it has is the monkey arcade game with the feces and all that....ahem....players know what im talkin about.....

So anyway, get this game; the media went overbored on this one. Now GTA i can see but this? No. The point in the game is STOP bullys!!!

Rockstar.....er..... Rocks!!!!!

After the incredible "Monkey Island" series was halted, I feared that I would never find another series of games that had such imaginative storylines, entertaining dialogue, and lush scenery. Then "Bully" came along, and I was hooked. This really is a great game, and you shouldn't be set against it because it's really nothing at all like Grand Theft Auto. There's no blood, no sexuality (except for kissing), and there's so many involving and engrossing storylines. The characters are also some of the best I've ever seen, each having their own stories and personality. The whole clique thing also reminds you of your days in high school. GET BULLY-- IT'S AN AWESOME GAME. People who like this game should also look at the "Monkey Island" series of games for PC and PS2, and the "Nancy Drew" series for PC.

I just received this game yesterday and I've already put a few hours worth of time into it. You can't help but notice the Rockstar trademark graphics and intro. Although the controls and character movements I think have improved over the San Andreas controls and movement.

I found it challenging to balance the time in this game. The clock moves pretty fast, and you have to run around finding challenges as well as watching the clock to make sure you aren't truant from class or trespassing at night when you're supposed to be in bed! You also have to really watch out for the Prefects, which by the way, is the same term used in Harry Potter. Maybe it's a British thing?

I have to disagree with the one reviewer saying that Jimmy is not a Bully. He isn't like the other bullies, but he does have to win the respect of others (GTA style) by protecting and beating up the Bullies. So basically Jimmy bullies the bullies.

Breaking into lockers, running errands for the underpriveleged, flirting with girls, getting good grades in class, riding around on a skateboard, and one of my favorites is Dodgeball in Gym Class! And these are all things I've come across in the first few hours of play! What's next?

Get this game! It's a vast array of ecleptic gaming skills and entertainment styles, you won't regret it!

And if you are also looking for a completely original game, graphics like I've never seen before I noticed alot of Bully buyers get Okami, which I did also, and that is like no other game graphics-wise. VERY artistic for those who's girlfriends get tired of watching you play the same ol. It is pleasing to the eye. Very artistic and original.