Review of Bully: Scholarship Edition, for the Nintendo Wii

Jimmy Hopkins is the main character in this quirky high school Grand Theft Auto type game called Bully: Scholarship Edition. He basically has been thrown out of many different school's for his bad behavior towards teachers, staff and other kids.

This is how Jimmy ends up in Bullsworth, the school where the game will take place.

The moment you arrive (as Jimmy of course) kids are already on your case. I couldn't even walk through the front gates without getting into a fight with a group of 3 boys. I got caught, and had to start again.

So there is tip 1. Don't jump into fighting immediately. Get a feel for the game, and complete your first 2 or 3 missions before attempting to fight other kids.

After making myself comfortable with my surroundings and the controls, Jimmy meets up with another kid who seems to have some sort of bi-polar disorder. One minute he likes Jimmy, and the next minute he is stirring trouble with him. Anyhow, this kid shows you around, and you basically learn the ropes of how the school works, what cliques should be avoided, and so on.

While walking around Bullsworth Academy I found quite a few things to be not only amusing, but some things downright hilarious. I would over hear conversations between other students. Ranging from nerds plotting revenge, and preppy girls turning down guys for dates. I also ran into a few fights, such as a big jock bully pushing around a skinny nerd, or two rival cliques going at it.

Anyhow This boy has a plan though, he wants to take over the school, and he wants you to join him on his little quest.

The game is pretty fun, with mini missions around every corner. During my first few hours of game play, I became a fan of picking school locks to steal things from other students lockers. Mostly I made out with a few new duds, like hats, shirts, and coats.

The key to getting away with your crimes though is to make sure school guards don't see you doing it. You can locate the guards on the small map that sits to the right bottom side of the screen.

The guards are represented using red dots. If the red dots are nearby, it means most likely you will get caught, and your mission will fail. I found it difficult to outsmart the guards in the beginning of the game, as time goes on though, you won't even know they are there.

Plus if they happen to see you, you can always try and outrun them, or hide. Hiding spots vary throughout the school. A vacant locker, or garbage can works well when trying to hide from the guards.

Let's Get Into Trouble!
 
Getting into trouble is always fun...getting caught though sucks. Like I mentioned above, there will be guards just waiting for you to do something bad. There are plenty of fun and entertaining things to do though, even if you don't feel like completing a mission.

You can give other kids wedgies, throw firecrackers at people, plant stink bombs, shoot peers with your slingshot, push them around, join in on someones fight, or break up fights. You're pretty much in control, granted you are not caught engaging in these activities.

Get To Class:
 
Although class time can take a toll on actual missions, they are still extremely fun, and open up new items, or skills for Jimmy. In English class you are given a series of letters, you have to then unscramble these letters and make as many English words as possible before class ends. I find English class to be easy, and fun.

In Gym you are given different mini activities, such as dodge ball, wrestling, ans so on. Jimmy earns different fighting skills in gym sometimes.

In chemistry you have to follow wii mote, and nun chuck commands to make certain objects. My first day in class I learned how to make firecrackers!

Biology class allows you to remove organs from specimens (which reminds me a lot of Trauma Center for the wii), and in geography you have to use your own knowledge of the world to place flags on appropriate countries.

Math is basically basic math questions that you must answer correctly.

Other classes are included, such as art and music.

I found art class to be difficult at first, but once you get the gist, it's relatively easy. It includes an Atari type drawing game that I didn't really find very entertaining.

Anyhow, with that said, classes have to be attended. Whenever class is in session, an orange bell shaped avatar will show up on Jimmy's map. Get to class on time, or get busted by guards.

You can skip class if you'd like, but you risk being caught. Odds are if you are good though, you won't have to worry about the guards much. Just pay attention to them on your map.

I find skipping class dumb though, because some classes may offer something new to Jimmy that he can use to better himself in the game.

All in all, classes are like a series of mini games set into the actual game, which gives you a small break from actual game play.

Make Money:

 
When I first started playing Bully, I had another jock head bully in the game demand I give him all of my money. This pissed me off, because it was all the money I had, and now I couldn't afford to buy soft drinks (which put my health back up if I am low on health).

It took me some time to discover ways to make money. First, you could pick locker locks. However mostly I only get new clothing by breaking into lockers. Other ways to make money include small side missions, such as mowing lawns, doing things for people in town, take yearbook photos, play an arcade game, and so on.

Get To Bed:
 
The school closes at 7pm. Which means guards will send you to your room if you are caught wandering the building. This does not mean though you have to go to bed. You can still explore the grounds of the school.

The school curfew is 11pm. Basically be in bed by 11pm, or, get busted. Getting busted though is not such a huge thing in the game. You are sent back to your room, and you could easily break out again.
I find that picking locks at night are the best times to not get caught.

Respect:
 
Like Grand Theft Auto, respect is also thrown into the mix. The more Jimmy progresses, the more respect he may gain from one group, and the more hate he may gain from other cliques. Colors on your map will represent your respect levels.

Clothing:
 
This (besides the map) reminds me of Grand Theft Auto all the way. In Bully, you can collect new gear by stealing things from others lockers. You may also find things that Jimmy could wear. Items include shirts, hats, hair styles, glasses, and so on.

What sucks though, is the school forces you to wear their uniform. If you are caught wearing anything else, guards will constantly hound you about your clothing. Although they may not bust you...the non-stop vocals can be annoying.

Multi-player:
 
My boyfriend and I didn't dabble for too long in multi-player mode. Granted the mini games offered are somewhat fun, they are not very compelling. There are a total of 10 events for you and a partner to compete in. Mostly the mini games are 'class' and arcade mini games for you to compete in.

Controls:
 
The controls in the game seemed to be well and fine for the first hour into the game. As time went on though, there would be times when the controls seemed to have a mind of their own; spinning my surroundings out of control for no reason at all. It especially pissed me off when it would occur in the middle of a mission where time was the key to completing the mission. Having a control go screwy on you while trying to keep up with someone who is trying to run from me, makes it impossible to catch them on time...resulting in a failed mission.

Besides that though, the controls seemed to work fine for the most part.

You control Jimmy using the nun chuck control stick. Jumping is a bit annoying, and requires you to press down on the wii motes control analog. Weird to be pressing down to go up, but that's how it works in the game, and it took me some time to get used to.

Fighting:
 
I love the fighting aspect in Bully. You fight like you would in Wii Sports Boxing. To fight someone you use the 'c' button to line up your target. After hitting the c button, you then can punch away at them by waving the wii mote and nun chuck left and right, as you would if you were really punching someone.

As the game progresses you will learn new fighting techniques, which for the most part are cool, but a bit annoying seeing how you have to remember certain combos if you want the move to work properly.

Graphics:
 
Although I have seen the Nintendo Wii deliver better, Bully: Scholarship Edition is decent for what I have seen come from other games. The graphics may not be jaw dropping, but they are very nice for the Wii. Environments are as realistic as they are going to get, and characters faces are done up relatively well.

Cut scenes are done up a lot nicer, and are very enjoyable to watch. Most games, cut scenes are downright annoying, but I don't mind them in Bully. They add to the story, and make things more believable.

Sounds:
 
Vocals are done up extremely well in the game. Voice actors are easy to understand, believable, and funny. Best of all, their voices match the characters lip movements, which many games fail to do.

Other sounds in the game come from surrounding students, and all of them come with fun dialog.

Lockers that slam sound realistic, and while picking locks things sound realistic. Overall, I was happy with all of the sounds in the game.

I am also glad that background music is not annoying, nor do they plague your dreams.

Cons:
 
So yeah, although I have been enjoying the game there are a few things I may as well complain about.

First is loading times. Nothing can cause a gamer more frustration then overbearing loading times!

Granted Bully does not have super long loading times, they are long enough. About 20-30 seconds. It can get annoying when every door you open, every building you enter, has a 20-30 second load time.

-As I mentioned, controls can go a little whack at times. It does not happen too often, but it should be mentioned either way.

Overall:
 
Out of 10 stars, I'd slap an 8.5 on Bully. The game is engaging, and takes older gamers back to a time and place we all dread, and love at the same time. School. It gives nerds the opportunity to be the bully, or the hero.

The game also has tons of re-play value, and offers hours of entertainment.

I recommend this one as a buy, it offers way too much to pass it off as a mere rental.