Bully (video game)

''Bully'' (released in the PAL region as ''Canis Canem Edit''; Latin for " dog eat dog") is a 2006 action-adventure video game developed by Rockstar Vancouver and published by Rockstar Games. Set in the fictional town of Bullworth, the single-player story follows juvenile delinquent student Jimmy Hopkins, who is involuntarily enrolled at Bullworth Academy boarding school for a year, and puts his efforts to rise through the ranks of the school system to stop bullying.

The game is played from a third-person perspective and its open world can be navigated on foot, skateboard, motor scooter, bicycle, or go-kart. Players control Jimmy as he attempts to become more popular among the school's various "cliques", in addition to attending classes and completing various side missions. The ''Scholarship Edition'' includes a two-player competitive multiplayer mode that lets two players compete for the highest score in different classes.

The game's expected violence and sexual content were initially controversial. It was released on 17 October 2006 for the PlayStation 2 to positive reviews, with praise directed at its missions, narrative, characters, and soundtrack, though its presentation and glitches received criticism. It sold over 1.5 million copies and received multiple year-end accolades. A remastered version, subtitled ''Scholarship Edition'', was developed by Mad Doc Software and released on 4 March 2008 for Xbox 360 and Wii, and on 21 October 2008 for Windows. ''Bully'' was re-released for PlayStation 4 available via PlayStation Network on 22 March 2016. An updated version of the ''Scholarship Edition'', titled ''Anniversary Edition'', was developed by War Drum Studios and released for Android and iOS on 8 December 2016.

Gameplay

''Bully'' is an action-adventure game set in an open world environment and played from a third-person perspective. The game's single-player mode has the player control a high school student—teenage rebel, James "Jimmy" Hopkins. Throughout the story, Jimmy progresses through 6 chapters and through the ranks of the school groups, archetypes include Bullies, Nerds, Preppies, Greasers, Jocks and Townies. Players complete missions—linear scenarios with set objectives—to progress through the story. Missions reward the player with cash, new items, and increase/decrease the respect of certain groups. If a group holds Jimmy in high regard, they will act friendly towards him (and have the option of being hired as "bodyguards" or "muscle"); if a group despises Jimmy, they will attack him on sight. Outside of missions, the player can freely roam the game's open world, consisting of the fictional town of Bullworth, and has the ability to complete optional side missions.

When not performing missions, the player can attend classes, presented as minigames. Each course has five classes, which increase in difficulty, and passing all five will result in the player passing the course. Classes reward the player with new clothing items or abilities: for example, English allows the player to apologize to authority figures after violating rules, Chemistry allows players to create their own throwable weapons, Geography highlights special collectibles on the game's minimap, and Gym unlocks new fighting moves. Not attending classes when they are available is considered a violation of rules, unless they have been completed, in which case they become optional.

The player can use melee attacks and weapons to fight enemies. The weapons available include slingshots, bags of marbles and itching powder, stink bombs, firecrackers (including bottle rockets), baseball bats, planks of wood, and spud guns. Jimmy can run, jump, swim, climb, or use vehicles to navigate the game's world. The vehicles featured in the game include a skateboard, scooters, bicycles, and go-karts. The player can also grab onto the back of a moving car while on a skateboard, but can't drive cars themselves. Bus stops located in various locations around the town allow the player to quickly travel back to Bullworth Academy. Should the player take damage, their health meter can be fully replenished using multiple methods, such as drinking sodas, which can be obtained from vending machines or dropped by enemies, and kissing certain NPCs after interacting with them. When the player's health is entirely depleted, gameplay stops and the player respawns at the nearest medical center.

If the player breaks rules while playing, the game's authority figures ( prefects, policemen and orderlies) may respond as indicated by a "trouble" meter in the head-up display (HUD). The levels displayed on the meter indicate the current level of severity. Authority figures will attempt to grab and subdue the player, who may fight back. The higher the severity level is, the harder will authority figures try to catch the player; at the maximum level, the player can no longer fight back, as they will be instantly "busted" should they be grabbed. If the player is busted, they respawn at the nearest police station or the school principal's office and all their weapons (excluding the slingshot, skateboard, and camera) are confiscated. If a class is in progress, the player will instead be taken to it and forced to attend (even if they have already completed it). Authority figures can subdue other students as well, should they cause trouble.

The game's multiplayer mode, exclusive to ''Scholarship Edition'' on Wii and Xbox 360 and ''Anniversary Edition'', has two players compete to gain the highest score in the same minigames used for classes. One player controls Jimmy, and the other Gary Smith.

Synopsis

Setting

''Bully'' takes place in the fictitious town of Bullworth, situated in the New England region of the United States. After being expelled from seven previous schools, the game's protagonist, 15-year-old James "Jimmy" Hopkins, is sent to the town's prominent private boarding school, Bullworth Academy, for a year while his mother and her new husband go on their honeymoon. The school campus is designed in a neo-Gothic style, similar to public schools and colleges in the United Kingdom and New England, such as Fettes College in Edinburgh. The school itself is the game's primary setting, while the rest of the town is gradually unlocked as the story progresses.

Bullworth consists of four main districts: Bullworth Town, the town's commercial borough; Old Bullworth Vale, a suburb area where the town's mansions, beach, and funfair are located; New Coventry, a run-down, urban-poor borough, consisting mainly of tenement housing; and Blue Skies Industrial Park, an industrial borough consisting of factories, industrial buildings, the town docks, and a trailer park. There is also the Happy Volts Asylum, a psychiatric institute located between the Blue Skies Industrial Park and the Bullworth Academy.

Because the game's story spans an entire school year, Bullworth's appearance and color changes as the seasons change between chapters, most notably during the third chapter, which takes place around the Christmas season.

Plot

After being dropped off at Bullworth Academy, Jimmy Hopkins ( Gerry Rosenthal) meets the school's principal, Dr. Ralph Crabblesnitch (Ralph Gunderman), who urges him to "keep his nose clean". He soon befriends senior Gary Smith ( Peter Vack) and freshman Peter "Petey" Kowalski ( Matt Bush) and begins working with them to try and assert their dominance over Bullworth's various "cliques": the Bullies, Nerds, Preppies, Greasers, and Jocks. However, an increasingly paranoid Gary eventually betrays Jimmy and pits him against Russell Northrop (Cody Melton), the Bullies' leader, in an underground fight. Jimmy defeats Russell and forces him to stop picking on his fellow students, earning the Bullies' respect.

Over the following months, Jimmy works with Petey to take over the other cliques in an attempt to restore peace to Bullworth. He begins with the Preppies, but just as he begins to win them over, Gary manipulates them into turning against him. In response, Jimmy enters a boxing tournament hosted by the Preppies' leader, Derby Harrington ( John Lavelle). Despite his victory, the Preppies refuse to accept Jimmy's dominance and fight him together, but are defeated. Turning his attention to the Greasers, Jimmy agrees to help their leader, Johnny Vincent (Rocco Rosanio), expose an affair between his girlfriend Lola Lombardi ( Phoebe Strole) and Preppy member Gord Vendome ( Drew Gehling). However, the Greasers turn on Jimmy after he is forced to make amends with the Preppies by vandalizing the Greasers' territory. After Gary tips Johnny off on Jimmy's growing closeness with Lola, he lures Jimmy into an ambush but is ultimately defeated and surrenders Greaser leadership to him.

To take over the Jocks, regarded as the most powerful clique, Jimmy seeks the assistance of their main rivals, the Nerds. When they refuse to help, Jimmy defeats their leader, Earnest Jones (Jesse Tendler), and earns his and the Nerds' respect by guaranteeing they will never be picked on again. To ruin the Jocks' reputation, Earnest has Jimmy take inappropriate pictures of the school's head cheerleader, Mandy Wiles (Elena Franklin), which are then spread across town. However, Jimmy later removes the pictures out of pity for Mandy, earning her affection. Eventually, the Jocks are humiliated after Jimmy sabotages their big football game and subsequently defeats their leader Ted Thompson (Alexander Cendese) in a fight in front of the entire school.

Having united all the cliques under his rule and restored peace to Bullworth, Jimmy basks in his newfound glory and respect, unaware that Gary is plotting to overthrow him. Gary convinces the clique leaders to pressure Jimmy into vandalizing Bullworth's town hall. He also recruits the " Townies," a group of former Bullworth students who seek revenge against the school, to play a series of dangerous pranks on the cliques so that they would blame Jimmy's poor leadership and turn on him. After informing Crabblesnitch of Jimmy vandalizing the town hall, Gary earns his respect and is appointed head boy, while Jimmy is expelled.

Although Jimmy initially accepts his defeat, Petey encourages him to seek revenge on Gary. To convince the Townies to turn on him, Jimmy seeks the assistance of one of their members, Zoe Taylor (Molly Fox), who was expelled from Bullworth after accusing the school's predatory sports teacher and team coach, Mr. Burton (Michael Boyle), of sexual harassment. After helping Zoe exact revenge on Burton, Jimmy storms the Townies' hangout with her and Russell's help, and confronts their leader, Edgar Munsen (Jan Milewicz). After defeating Edgar, Jimmy explains to him how Gary manipulated and used both of them to his own ends, earning the Townies' respect.

Meanwhile, Gary and his followers take Crabblesnitch hostage, sparking a full-blown war between the cliques. The Townies and Russell help Jimmy neutralize the clique leaders, allowing him to confront Gary in the main school building. Jimmy chases Gary to the rooftop, where they have a fight that ends with both of them falling off the roof and into Crabblesnitch's office. Once freed, Crabblesnitch expels Gary, fires Burton for predatory acts, appoints Petey as head boy, and reconciles with Jimmy by allowing him and Zoe to return to Bullworth. Outside, while his friends, teachers, and allies cheer on, he shares a kiss with Zoe.

Development

Rockstar announced ''Bully'' in May 2005 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox with an original expected release date of October 2005. 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

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