What no Swirlies? Whatever...

I haven’t come across any stand out games in a while so it was a nice surprise when I found out that the 360 was reissuing Bully: Scholarship Edition for the next gen. I had played it a bit on the PS2 and had really liked it as a toned down GTA type game.

I know there was some controversy how it might promote school bullying and be a bad influence on school age children The game skirted the controversy a bit by having the main character stand up to all types of bullies aswell as act like one. And besides, only losers get bullied. O’Doyle Rules!!!

I’ll tell you know I love this game. Coming from an elite private school myself where I was nurtured and allowed to excel in all areas of academia, I have had a clear advantage over regular public school lower people and dweebs in general. This game is fun because it takes that experience and twists it into a very funny and well-designed game. The main character, Jimmy Hopkins, is nothing special but the game involves so many hilarious classic stereotypes; jocks, preppies, nerds, teachers.

The storyline is great and the game play is really varied allowing for a more satisfying gaming experience. There is nothing really new and inventive about the game-play itself but the setting and storyline are very unique. The standard missions, which revolve around mini mission and school classes, can involve anything from first person shooter to button response to word puzzles. They even have an dissection part that pulls from the Wii’s Trauma Center.

I also really like how Rockstar pushes the envelope with the Over the Rainbow achievement point. You get 20 A.P. for Getting Kissed by 20 Boys. Stick it to the homophobes! . I know my friends over at http://gaygamer.net were pretty psyched. But make sure you pass at least one “Art Class” before you try to do any boy-on-boy kissing. It takes an artistic touch.

So go off and enjoy. Just don’t bully anyone in the process. But it you have to, just make sure you say afterwards “ I’m just messing with you. Can’t you take a joke?” You’re pretty much untouchable after that.