Taking on Bullworth

Published March 14, 2008

Ever wonder what might happen if you filled an open-ended sandbox game with a take-no-guff teenager, a corrupt prep school academy, and all the satirical wit developer Rockstar is known for? Well, Rockstar Montreal had the guts and gumption to not only dream it up, but create it as well.

One set of stink bombs, coming right up!

Good Luck, Jimmy

Bully: Scholarship Edition for Xbox 360® marks a familiar genre with equal parts teenage angst and school yard hilarity. You play as Jimmy Hopkins, a less than enthusiastic new student at Bullworth Academy and certifiably chronic troublemaker whose absentee mother and stepfather discard him outside his new prep school digs on their way to a year-long honeymoon.

The first couple of hours with Bully are spent getting a feel for the game's free-form style. You'll make a few friends and a whole lot of enemies, engage in a bit of fisticuff tomfoolery, do your level best to avoid getting busted by prefects, break into a locker or two, attend some classes, and maybe even lend a helping hand if you feel so disposed.

In Bully's case, you'll befriend or run afoul
of geeks, jocks, preppies, and greasers.

Young Jimmy is brimming with all manner of talents, including the use of a combo-based fighting system, environmental attacks (swirly, anyone?), basic platforming skills (run, sprint, jump), the use of various weapons (firecrackers, slingshot), school class-based mini-games (such as frog dissection in Biology), skateboarding, biking, and a great deal else besides. For all that though, it takes only a short time to get the hang of all the basics.

So Many Tasks, So Little Time

Once the game is confident that you've grasped the essentials, you're unleashed upon Bullworth to do your best, or worst, as you see fit. It's here that the game really opens up while using a finite day/night system to lend focus to the free-form gameplay.

Every day begins promptly at 8 A.M. and ends, whether Jimmy likes it or not, at 2 A.M. What you do during that time is largely up to you, but, as you might expect, bending and breaking the rules comes with a few considerations of their own. Here are just a few examples:

• Play the Academic: You can of course go to class, and while this may at first seem unappealing, learning offers more than just its own reward. For example, excel in Art class and you'll learn the rewarding art of flattering girls with chocolates and flowers. Likewise, studious application in Chemistry will allow you to fire up your own chemistry set in your room to make firecrackers, stink bombs and other worthy items.
• Advance the Plot: Every day offers the opportunity for one or more core story line related missions, which can (mostly) be attempted day or night at your discretion. It's these missions that help you advance from one term to the next, and eventually lead to the game's ultimate and satisfyingly rebellious conclusion.
• Play Hookie: Whether you're running an errand, working on the plot or just exploring, engaging in any anti-establishment shenanigans during class hours will require that you avoid contact with any patrolling prefects. Get caught and you'll be busted, forced to attend class and worst of all, have any contraband (such as your stink bombs, marbles, and itching powder) confiscated.

Jimmy's bane: prefects!

Out to Town

When you finish your first term at Bullworth, you'll unlock the last piece of the Bully puzzle, access to the nearby town, and with it, hundreds more opportunities for impromptu adventures along with scripted missions. When the gates open and this final freedom is offered, Bully really takes off, putting even more of a strategic premium on time management as you prioritize each day's schedule.

Faction Preference

Like any self-respecting school, Bullworth Academy is plagued by cliques of all kinds. You'll befriend or run afoul of geeks, jocks, preppies, and greasers. Juggling these relationships cuts to the core of the experience, as you must decide who are your allies and your enemies. Do a favor for one group, and you can be sure that you'll insult another.

For example, rescuing a precocious nerd from the auto shop near the greaser's hangout is worthwhile, sure, but you're not going to curry any favor with the tough-guy greasers when you knock the snot out of a few them along the way. Who your friends are and who you stand up for defines Jimmy throughout Bully: Scholarship Edition, and while you can't please everyone, why would you want to!?

Impromptu Interaction

Whether you're out to insult or impress your fellow students, use Bully's interaction system to let your opinions be known on the fly. Let go with an insult, butter someone up with a compliment, or even apologize to authority figures to get out of trouble.

Dodgeball, the Bully way!

This system comes into play even when in the midst of combat. Deliver enough punishment to your enemy and you can finish things off with a final, humiliating attack, such as slapping them silly with their own hands, yanking them to and fro with their ear lobe, or giving them a good ol' fashioned charlie-horse.

Like any great sandbox game, your time as Jimmy Hopkins is your own, to do with as you please in whatever way you find most appealing. Some may spend countless days exploring every nook and cranny, while others focus purely on Jimmy's epic prep school saga. Still others will focus their attention on the intricate relationships between the various cliques.

The genius here is Rockstar's willingness to leave the decisions up to you while still managing to provide a focused game on all fronts. Good luck braving Bullworth!

Article by Ryan Treit