Bully: Scholarship Edition - A Review of Rockstar's Schoolyard Scramble
Rockstar Games' Bully: Scholarship Edition offers a unique take on the open-world genre, trading the gritty streets of Grand Theft Auto for the often-turbulent hallways and grounds of Bullworth Academy. Originally released as Canis Canem Edit, the game received a second life with the Scholarship Edition, adding new content and updated visuals. This review delves into the various aspects of the game, exploring its strengths, weaknesses, and lasting appeal.
Story and Setting: A Humorous Take on Boarding School Life
The story centers around Jimmy Hopkins, a 15-year-old who's been expelled from numerous schools. Dumped at Bullworth Academy by his mother, Jimmy must navigate the complex social hierarchy and survive a year filled with challenges. The game presents an over-the-top, humorous view of boarding school life and corruption, which proves to be one of its most engaging aspects. The narrative unfolds across five chapters, each focusing on Jimmy's efforts to take down different factions within the school.
The game's odd sense of morality adds to the humor, making the playthrough enjoyable. In each act, Jimmy confronts and dismantles the power structures of various cliques, including nerds, jocks, and preppies. This journey leads to a final showdown with Gary, after which the player is granted an "Endless Summer Mode," allowing for full exploration of Bullworth and the completion of any remaining activities.
Gameplay: A Blend of Open-World Freedom and Schoolyard Scrapes
Bully: Scholarship Edition plays and feels very much like other Rockstar titles, such as Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption, primarily set in a third-person perspective. The world is not massive, but each part of the town has its own collectibles, bike races, missions, and so forth. The gameplay involves a mix of story missions, side quests, races, jobs, and classes, providing a varied experience.
One of the game's strengths is its "do-anything" nature, offering an incredible amount of content spread throughout the town. Faster ways to get around town and multiple places to crash at night help manage the large world and numerous activities. The missions and side quests offer good variety, with elements of stealth, fighting, and racing. Completing these tasks unlocks rewards, such as funny clothing and better taunts.
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However, the gameplay isn't without its flaws. The controls can feel clunky, and the camera angle can be problematic, especially when riding a bike. The original reviewer found the camera would often change unexpectedly, leading to wipe-outs. Some also found the controls similarly lacking in GTAV. The need to tap a button to sprint rather than hold it down was also a source of frustration, especially during longer bike races.
Despite these issues, the combat is satisfying, deepened by unlockable punches, kicks, and grappling moves, as well as weapons. The weapons themselves are humorous versions of those found in Grand Theft Auto, including spud cannons and firecrackers.
Classes and Mini-Games: A Fun Distraction
Classes provide a nice distraction from the main game and help create a fun multiplayer experience. Unlike many games where classes simply teach new moves, Bully's lessons are QTEs or puzzles that are genuinely enjoyable. Completing Art class, for example, earns bonus health every time Jimmy is kissed.
The game also features a variety of mini-games, from arcade games to paper routes and lawn mowing. The reviewer admitted to being a mini-game addict and enjoyed the challenges these activities presented. However, some mini-game controls, particularly in music class, can be frustrating due to the Xbox 360 controller's trigger buttons.
Graphics and Audio: Showing Its Age with Charm
Graphically, Bully: Scholarship Edition shows its age compared to modern releases. The same characters are recycled, and the level of detail can be lacking up close. However, the game's art style and overall charm help to compensate for these shortcomings.
Read also: Unlockables in Bully: Scholarship Edition
The soundtrack is minimal but effective, kicking in during missions and complementing the on-screen action. Foley effects are spot on, and the voice acting does well to give distinct voices to different factions. The map is easy to navigate, and mission markers are clear.
Achievements and Collectibles: A Completionist's Delight
Bully: Scholarship Edition offers a variety of achievements and collectibles to keep completionists engaged. These include completing each act, finishing all bike races, knocking out 200 enemies, and riding 50km on a skateboard. Some achievements are more creative, such as "Over the Rainbow" for getting 20 kisses from the Gents and "Dual Nebula" for achieving a high score on all the arcade machines.
The game also features a comprehensive stats page that tracks nearly every action the player takes, making it easy to monitor progress towards specific achievements. The world contains 72 rubber bands and 40 G&G cards to find.
Performance and Technical Issues: A Rocky Start
Upon its initial release, Bully: Scholarship Edition suffered from performance issues, including framerate drops and game freezes. Rockstar acknowledged these issues and released a patch to correct them. The patch improved the game's performance, making it run much smoother.
Humor and Tone: A Rockstar Trademark
What would a Rockstar game be without humor? Bully has plenty. The writing is expertly done, and there are thousands of small and hilariously funny incidents throughout the game. Whether it's a random comment from a passing student or the antics of the various cliques, the game is consistently amusing.
Read also: In-Depth Bully: Scholarship Edition Completion Guide
Lasting Appeal: A Cult Classic
Bully: Scholarship Edition has maintained a dedicated fanbase over the years, thanks to its unique setting, engaging gameplay, and memorable characters. The game offers a blend of open-world freedom, schoolyard brawls, and humorous storytelling. Despite its age and technical shortcomings, Bully remains a highly enjoyable and replayable experience.
Bully: Scholarship Edition is all about keeping yourself busy all of the time. No matter where you are at in the storyline, what section of the bully universe you are exploring or what people you are interacting with, there will always be something to grab your attention, place to explore or an object to just screw around with.
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