Rockstar's last-gen hit finally comes to the PC.
Two years after making a splash on the PS2, Rockstar has finally ended their high school hooligan to the PC. Bully: Scholarship Edition puts players in the shoes of Jimmy Hopkins, titular tyrant. After being thrown out of a number of other schools, he is deposited on the gates Bull Worth Academy. As he begins a new school year here, he will have to compete and cooperate with the various Cliques around the school as he tries to rise to the top of the pyramid. And what is the best way to gain power and prestige at a new school? Pranks and violence, of course!
In accordance with the successful Grand Theft Auto approach tyrant is largely a one-note affair, which focuses on fixed clichés and stereotypes that have been used in countless shows, movies, books and video games. From the beginning, you can see Jocks, the Greasers, the Nerd and prepare and you pretty much know where everything will go. Throw in a wino in a Santa suit, a sickening cafeteria lady, and the required tyrannical principal, and you've got a game that tries to thwart convention so hard that it just winds up in accordance with it. Ultimately, you get the sense that Jimmy's crusade on behalf of the Nerd Bull Worth Academy is really nothing more than an excuse to run around and kicking people in the nuts.
Now, some may see this criticism as an unfair attack on the tone of the game. The game, after all, called "tyrant", so we should not be surprised if there is not much reason among its characters or situations. It is a perfectly reasonable proposal, to a point. But while the clichés and slightly sleazy nature of the world is not really an opportunity for great surprise or contrast in the game world, the real problem is that Jimmy's own motivation is not ever really explored, so the player is back on its own to bridge the large gap in his character. There is no clear reason why he is good or bad addition to the fact that he has a teenager in a new and unfamiliar environment. Ultimately, it is just too hard to reconcile his desire to rescue the stolen comic books for a group of Nerd with his instant and unquestioning complicity in the perverse life of his teachers.
You can argue that none of this matters to you as a player, and it is entirely possible to enjoy the game, despite the questions, play it for content and not comment. It's just a shame that with all the efforts to obtain such a coherent and engaging story that Rockstar went with such predictable high school stereotypes and a thoroughly indifferent protagonist.
The good news is that the content is generally very well designed. Missions are consistently entertaining from first to last, allowing the player to explore not just because of Bull Worth Academy and the surrounding city but also the private lives of students, faculty and townies. Whether it is poisoning a prized plant in the frat house, to blow up dwarf statues at the carnival, or ride a bicycle race to win sympathy for a girl in a very tight sweater, there's a lot of things to do in bully and the whole comes with a healthy dose of fun gameplay with just enough history to tie it together with the rest of the week events. Better yet, the missions are all reasonably short, so you can feel like you're making solid progress all the time, you play.
As the title suggests, bully involves lots and lots of matches, so it's a good thing to combat system is so well designed. Many games that have been fighting systems with just a single attack, and a grab move encountered feeling somewhat superficial, but although there are many possible approaches, bully allows you to chain moves together to create an impressive and tactically significant combos. Combine it with the accusation and humiliation options and you can really feel that you have a wide range of possibilities, even if you only ever really pushing a few buttons. Your gym teacher and hobo that lives behind the shop class you learn new moves through the game, so you have a chance to learn how to use each move to its greatest effect. Fortunately, the way combos are structured, you can even get away with some reckless button mashing and still feel somewhat effective.
There are also plenty of weapons you can use during the game, from the oh-so-satisfying spud gun and fireworks launcher to why-even-bother lameness of rotten eggs and bag of marbles. Still, nothing compares to the trusted duo of Slingshot and baseball bat when it comes time to take on the enemies of any kind. Even with the most vicious of beat downs, it is worth mentioning that the bully does not go for Gore or death. The worst thing you can do to your opponents, even when bludgeoning them with a bat, is to leave them writhing on the ground.
But combat and exploration is only part of gameplay. The school, after all, so you are expected to participate in class at least once in a while. There are two class sessions each day, and the truant officers who patrol the campus will try to hunt you down if you are found outside of class time. It's a funny sort of mechanic, which limits your mobility and your opportunities in the first half of the day, much like school in real life. And even if it means you will not be out running missions, it is still worth to go to class, because there has passed a one-day class will open new possibilities for you from a variety of social interactions that greater rewards when you kiss a girl (or boy), For better accuracy with your Slingshot.