Bully: Scholarship Edition Review (WII)

Top of the Class…Again,Have an A+ Rockstar

Now then, If you have not heard of Bully (and I don’t mean the mascot from Bullseye either) , then you are either not a gamer (in which case its time to become one) or you have been living under a rock for the last few years. Bully Started life as a school based sandbox third person action game from the masters of the genre (ie they made Grand Theft Auto III) Rockstar. It was originally called Canis Canem edit and came out on the PS2. It was an amazing game that this site gave a 10/10 review. And rightly so.

All in all, one of the best games on the Wii. Buy it now, or I’ll send Jimmy Hopkins round to throw eggs at your house!

Some call this game a GTA clone, and the mission structure is the same. But since this is based in a school, you have teachers and prefects to avoid, as well as bullies to avoid/ take on. You have weapons to use in school, but unlike kids these days, these weapons are nothing more deadly than a slingshot, some stink bombs, spud gun and a box of eggs! No knives and pistols here!

The PS2 version did not reach the masses as much as it should have done, as it was on a dying console. With this version on Wii, and a graphically superior one for 360, hopefully the gaming world that originally missed this gem will pick up on it now.
This updated scholarship edition boasts 8 new missions, some new characters, and most importantly 4 new classes. Arguably the thing that set this apart from GTA III is the fact that you are attending Bullworth Academy and are required to attend lessons. These classes are clever mini games that if passed with flying colours, will unlock extra items and abilities. The new ones here are Biology, Music, Geography and Photography. None of these feel added on, and all are useful, and most importantly fun. The unique Wii control method make these mini games easier to perform, and they become more intuitive- i.e. the Biology class it plays just like Trauma Centre, where the Wii remote is used as the scalpel to dissect various animals. The Music lesson, plays like a rhythm action game. All good fun

Fighting against bullies is also handled better, and is reminiscent of the boxing game on Wii Sports, where the Wii remote acts as your right fist, and the nunchuck as your left fist. Tap the Z button to Grapple- dead easy, and makes fighting back less of a chore. It’s almost like this game had been created for the Wii. It looks and plays like a Wii game should. My only complaint is that they could have improved the graphics somewhat. There is still the odd bit of pop up.