Bully (video game)

Bully
Developer(s)	Rockstar Vancouver
Publisher(s)	Rockstar Games
Engine	Advanced GTA San Andreas Engine (RenderWare)
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Release	: October 17 2006 : October 27, 2006 : October 25, 2006
Genre(s)	Action / Adventure
Mode(s)	Single Player

Bully, also known as Canis Canem Edit in Europe and Australia , is a video game released by Rockstar Vancouver for Sony PlayStation 2 on October 17, 2006. An Xbox version was planned but has since been cancelled for undisclosed reasons [1]. The game takes place in a fictional reform school called Bullworth Academy. The motto of the school, "Canis Canem Edit", is Latin for dog eat dog. The game will also be available as a special edition that includes a limited edition comic book, and a dodgeball of the same style as the ones used in the game, with the word "Bully" engraved on it. It is unknown whether there will be a special edition for other markets.

A press release by Take-Two Interactive, publishers of the game, states, "As a troublesome schoolboy, you'll laugh and cringe as you stand up to bullies, get picked on by teachers, play pranks on malicious kids, win or lose the girl, and ultimately learn to navigate the obstacles of the fictitious reform school, Bullworth Academy."

Plot synopsis

The story follows Jimmy Hopkins, a teenager who's been expelled from every school he's ever attended. Left to fend for himself after his mother abandons him at Bullworth to go on her fifth honeymoon, Jimmy has a whole year at Bullworth ahead of him, working his way up the social ladder of this demented institution of supposed learning, standing up for what he thinks is right and taking on the liars, cheats and snobs who are the most popular members of the student body and faculty. If Jimmy can survive the school year and outsmart his rivals, he could rule the school.

Gameplay

Early information released by Take-Two Interactive seemed to indicate that the player would be taking the role of a bully, and screenshots printed in Electronic Gaming Monthly showed the player-controlled antagonist administering a "swirlie" and throwing a punch at another student. However, a new trailer in 2006 suggested this idea was abandoned and instead the player is in control of a new student Jimmy Hopkins standing up against bullies.

The released trailer shows Jimmy engaging in a wide variety of activities, running from bullies, dealing with teachers, and exploring the school. The game appears to be heavily story driven with a wide cast of both male and female characters, including the stern looking Principal Crabblesnitch, popular cheerleaders, and faculties of varying personalities.

Cliques

Like every school, Bullworth Academy has its various cliques among the student body. Depending on the choices he makes, Jimmy can make friends or enemies of the various cliques on campus. In keeping with American high school stereotypes, most students Jimmy deals with will fall into one of six cliques. A member of a certain clique can be identified by their unique clothes (not unlike gang colors):

• Nerds: Wear Green
• Preppies: Wear Light Blue
• Bullies: Wear plain white shirts
• Jocks: Wear Sports Jackets
• Greasers: Wear Blue with a black leather or denim jacket
• Townies: Wear regular clothes

Characters

Students

File:Rockstar Bully 02.jpeg

Jimmy Hopkins, the main character of Bully

• Jimmy Hopkins: Gerry Rosenthal
  The hero of the game, the player controls Jimmy and guides him in his quest to survive and thrive at Bullworth.
• Gary Smith: Peter Vack
  The main antagonist of the game, Gary is a sociopath who considers himself smarter than everyone and wants to run the school.
• Petey Kowalski: Matt Bush
  A smaller than average guy who has trouble fitting in with any group. He's picked on a lot by Gary. His main hobbies are TV and videogames, but he also enjoys art.

Bullies

The bullies wear untucked white shirts.

• Russell Northrop: Cody Melton
  The leader of the bullies. Russel is so stupid he can barely talk, he is as strong as he is stupid.
• Trent Northwick: Jaime McAdams
  This bully is a member of the photography club and a yo-yo enthusiast. He especially enjoys taking pictures of the girls on campus.
• Davis: Geoff Wigdor
  A bully who attacks Jimmy with a slingshot near the beginning of the game.
• Ethan: An African-American bully.
• Troy Miller: Evan Weinstein
  

Nerds

The nerds are easy to spot. They wear green and generally have bad posture and grooming.

• Earnest: Jesse Tendler
  Leader of the nerds and would-be class president.
• Algie: Brett Tabisel
  Short for 'Algernon'. A tubby nerd with poor bladder control. This has saddled him with the name "Pee Stain", and he is considered the least cool kid in the entire school.
• Melvin O'Conner: Charlie Saxton
  A pudgy nerd, Melvin's diverse interests include medieval theater, chess, astronomy, and table top role playing games. His favorite game is Grottos and Gremlins, a play on Dungeons and Dragons. Melvin considers role-playing to be the high point of human achievement. During the game, He wants Jimmy to get his character sheets back from the bullies and if he pulls it off he can have pick from Melvin's so-called "wenches".
• Bucky Pasteur: Tim Wersan
  
• Fatty: Ryan Cotler
  A fat nerd who Jimmy has to wrestle repeatedly during gym class.
• Cornelius: Chaz Stevens
  
• Thad: Kevin Cahoon
  
• Beatrice Trudeau: Caitlin Greer
  A female nerd, Beatrice is often picked on by the more attractive girls at the school, especially Mandy.

Preppies

The preppies can be recognized by their Aquaberry sweater vests and generally tucked-in appearance.

• Derby Harrington: John LaVelle
  Snobbish leader of the preppies and WASP among WASPs.
• Tad Smith-Althorp Smith: Baron Vaughn
  An admitted nouveau riche preppie, Tad has little use for anyone he considers of lower station. He is disturbingly well versed in the legalities of what does and does not constitute inbreeding. He speaks in a fake British accent.
• Pinky: Kaija Matiss
  A preppie girl with a princess complex. She was betrothed to Derby, despite the fact that they're first cousins, but dumped him after he was 3 minutes late for a date.
• Bif Taylor: Andrew Rannells
  The preppie boxing champion.
• Bryce Montrose: Ben Levin
  
• Chad: Brandon Gill
  African-American preppie who keeps his right hand wrapped in tape.
• Gord: Andrew Gehling
  
• Justin Vandervelde: Jaesun Celebre
  
• Parker:Cory Anker
  

Greasers

The greasers are a bunch of 1950's throwbacks, with slicked back hair and leather or denim jackets.

• Johnny Vincent: Rocco Rosanio
  Hot-tempered leader of the greasers and president of the Bullworth Hot Rod Club.
• Lola: Phoebe Strole
  Johnny's manipulative, attention-seeking, promiscuous girlfriend.
• Hal: Leonard Spinelli
  
• Lefty Mancini: Louie Torrellas
  
• Lucky: Mike Nathan
  
• Norton: Adam Chandler-Berat
  
• Peanut: Joe Aro
  
• Ricky: TJ Del Reno
  
• Vance: William De Vizia
  
• Wade: Matt Monroe
  

Jocks

The jocks wear lettermans jackets. The lower ranking ones wear blue sweaters.

• Ted Thompson: Alex Cendese
  Quarterback of the school football team and alpha male among the jocks.
• Mandy Wiles: Elena Franklin
  Queen bee of the Bullworth cheerleaders.
• Damon West: Ben Curtis
  Linebacker for the Bullworth Bullhorns, Damon's favorite things are football and shoving around anyone weaker than he is.
• Bo: Jason Fuchs
  The smaller African-American jock.
• Casey: Dimitri Michann
  
• Dan: Matt Sauerhoff
  A smaller jock with red hair. Refers to his biceps as "the big guns".
• Juri: Lloyd Floyd
  A jock with a Russian accent.
• Kirby: Chris Kromer
  
• Luis: Adam Scarimbolo
  A large jock with wavy blonde hair. Always wears a cap.
• Tom: Conor Paolo
  

Others

The students who aren't part of any of the cliques wear dark teal uniforms.

• Angie Ng: Sue Jean Kim
  
• Christy: Maine Anders
  A very attractive looking red haired girl.
• Constantino: Mathew Stadelman
  
• Donald: Jimmy Walsh
  
• Eunice Pound: Cody Rose
  A fat and particularly unattractive girl who falls in love with Jimmy after he retrieves a box of chocolates that were stolen from her.
• Lance: Dylan Schneider
  
• Ray: John Walker
  
• Trevor: Adam Serwer
  

Prefects

• Edward Seymour II: Ryan King
  A Bullworth prefect who enjoys abusing his authority. He is a member of the sailing and yacht club.
• "The Punishment Prefect": A prefect with a buzzcut. Name unknown.
• An African-American prefect. Name unknown.
• A prefect with a flat top. Name unknown.

Little Kids

• Gloria: Lea Ostner
  
• Karen: Cai Oglesby
  
• Pedro: Daniel Tay
  
• Sheldon:John Magaro
  

Townies

The townies are not actually students at Bullworth.

• Zoe: Molly Fox
  A former student at Bullworth, Zoe was expelled after complaining about the gym coach Mr. Burton hitting on her and holds a grudge against the school in general and Mr. Burton in particular.
• Edgar Munsen: Jan Milewicz
  The leader of the townies.
• Omar Romero: James Kennedy
  Another townie.
• In addition, there are some nameless townies.

Faculty

Teachers

• Dr. Watts: Jarel Davidow
  Bullworth's chemistry teacher. He seems to have performed some experiments on himself which do not help his mental state.
• Dr. Slawter: Kurt Rhodes
  The rather morbid biology and life sciences teacher. His hobby is taxidermy.
• Ms. Philips: Blair Ross
  The fine arts and photography teacher. She's oddly fascinated by the artistic aspects of bananas.
• Mr. Hattrick: Charles Turner
  The math teacher, and least popular teacher in the school. Arrogant and self righteous, and tyrannical to his students.
• Mr. Galloway: Robert Stanton
  Bullworth's English teacher takes his subject seriously but is prone to drinking heavily when upset.
• Mr. Burton: |Michael Boyle
  A former pro football player who now serves as gym teacher. He has a very drill sergeant-like approach to teaching. He encourages bullying, and has also been known to hit on the female students.
• Mr. Wiggins: Gary Yudman
  The history teacher.
• Neil: Jesse Lenat
  The gruff-spoken shop teacher.

Other Staff

• Dr. Crabblesnitch: Ralph Gunderman
  Principal of Bullworth Academy and all-around killjoy. Dr. Crabblesnitch takes a dislike to Jimmy from their very first meeting. While seemingly well-intentioned, he is completely oblivious to the bullying and corruption in his school.
• Miss Danvers: Lori Funk
  Dr. Crabblesnitch's high strung secretary. She is fanatically devoted to Dr. Crabblesnitch.
• Nurse MacRae: Susan Blommaert
  The school nurse.
• Mrs. Carvin: Patricia Kilgoriff
  The stereotypically tight wound, prim and proper librarienne.
• Mrs. Peabody: Flo Salant
  The hall monitor and dorm mother for the girls. She wishes for Bullworth to be an all girls school.
• Mr. Luntz: Susan Eden
  The janitor, or as his official job title says, "sanitation engineer".
• Edna: Kathy Rossetter
  The highly hygienically-challenged lunch lady. Perpetually filthy and prone to laughing maniacally, she harbors feelings for Dr. Watts.

Controversy

Bully has caused controversy among parents, and educators. Criticisms are due to the adult nature of previous Rockstar games, in particular, the Hot Coffee mod in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Groups such as Bullying Online and Peaceaholics have criticized the game for glorifying or trivializing school bullying. Most of these criticisms, however, were voiced before the contents of the game were actually available to the public. In 2006, the United States-based Entertainment Software Rating Board officially gave Bully a rating of "T" (suitable for ages 13 and up).[2]

Sexuality

Bully creators have allowed characters to have a range of sexual orientations, such as bisexual, gay or straight. Jimmy Hopkins can kiss and otherwise explore with (certain) boys in the game, as the characters engage in natural dialogue that does not appear to have issues when it comes to sexuality[3]&[4]. Bully is rated T for Teen by the ESRB (See below) and the box clearly states that there are some "sexual themes." Gamers can also go through Bully without ever kissing a boy if they don't want to. The simple exchange of a bouquet of flowers can help the characters explore, be they male or female.

ESRB

Prior to both the ESRB's rating and the release of Bully, Jack Thompson, a Miami lawyer and video game critic, filed a lawsuit attempting to have the game blocked from store shelves in Florida. Thompson declared the game a "nuisance" and "Columbine simulator" (in response, many of his detractors have mockingly referred to it as nothing more than a "Dennis the Menace simulator"). Also, the protagonist of the game, Jimmy, is not a bully towards the nerds and misfits, but more of a bully towards bullies. He also argued this point on Attack of the Show along with Adam Sessler (with him on the opposite end) on the show's "The Loop." [5] Thompson's petition, filed with the 11th Judicial Circuit Court, asked for Wal-Mart and Take-Two to furnish him with an advance copy of Bully so he could have "an independent third party" play the game and determine if it would constitute a public nuisance in the state of Florida (in which case it could be banned). On 2006-10-11 Judge Ronald Friedman ordered Take-Two and Rockstar to provide him a copy of the game within 24 hours. On 2006-10-13 Friedman subsequently ruled in favor of shipping the game, noting that there was no content in the game that was not already on late night TV. Thompson responded to the ruling with fiery speech directed at the judge. [6]

Similar attempts to have the game banned have also been made by Labour Party M.P Keith Vaz in the UK

In Belgium, a petition was started by 3 teachers to ban the game from the shelves. After the petition was closed with 32,000+ signatures, another petition was started in favor of the game.

When given preview build, however, the mainstream media took a generally positive opinion of the game. Press coverage has described the game as free-form, focusing on building a social network and learning new skills from classes, with strictly enforced punishments for serious misbehaviour (for example, having to clear snow away as punishment for hitting a girl).

Currys and PC World, both owned by DSG International plc said that they wish to not sell the game in the UK because it is "not appropriate for Currys' family-friendly image". The official statement lists what Currys believes is "the explicit link between violence and children" as the reason behind the ban, and continues: "We haven't taken this decision lightly, particularly considering the excellent relationship we have with Rockstar." However despite this decision other high street retailers including Game, HMV and Woolworths have all announced an intention to stock the game. Interestingly, DSG stores still stock other Rockstar games including the GTA series, and other violent games like Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter, Saints Row etc.

Reception

The initial response to Bully has been generally very positive.[7]

• IGN gave Bully an overall score of 8.9 out of 10, and especially praised its story elements, while pointing to backtracking as its most serious weakness.[8]
• Games Radar gave the game a score of 9 out of 10. GR found the game rewarding and the story captivating, but mentioned frustrating stealth missions and found some of Jimmy's speech cheesy.[9]
• 1UP.com's Robert Ashley gave Bully a perfect 10.0 score, praising above all "its reimagining of the open-world genre". However, he does admit the game has its shortcomings, such as the unwieldy camera and "stupid-simple" stealth missions.[10]
• GameSpot gave Bully an 8.7/10 rating saying "Bully's unique setting and quality gameplay make for an exciting and memorable action adventure game." [11]

References

External links

• Official Bully Homepage
• Official Canis Canem Edit Homepage
• Bully Reviews at Metacritic.com
• MyCheats Walkthrough
• IGN: PS2 Collectors Edition Xbox
• Press Release by Take Two Interactive
• BBC News article about the controversy
• Attack of the Show: Bully Debate