Rockstar's Bully Reports to Home Room
Think of it as Grand Theft Auto - without the cars, or (we presume) the guns, but with homework and puppy love. New screens.
The happy slapping debacle in the UK is proof that bullying is alive and well in the 21st century, but in Rockstar's new scholastic survival game, Bully, you'll be able to give teenaged ne'er-do-wells their just deserts.
Your first days at the fictional-yet-not Bullworth Academy, a reform school, are filled with the usual activities, such as finding out your class assignments, getting used to the bad food in the cafeteria, and being abused by pointy-headed teachers and dim-witted bullies alike.
Although the game is being developed by Rockstar Vancouver, Bully brings some of the freedom and open-ended gameplay parlayed so well by Grand Theft Auto creator Rockstar North, unfurling based on your actions in the game.
Not unexpectedly, this is hardly overly weighty fare, and the game puts an emphasis on humour, without dissecting away dramatic elements entirely. There is supposedly a love interest for young Jimmy Hopkins in the game as well. Ooh la la!
Unfortunately, that's about all that Rockstar is ready to talk about at the moment. No matter, Bully is scheduled for release on PlayStation 2 in October, so we won't have to wait too long to find out more.
John Prescott, your copy is on hold.
Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games
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