Customer Reviews
Takes me back 
2008-08-11
I graduated from The Pennington School in Pennington NJ in the mid 80s and this game took me right back. I got into lots of fights and every one started with someone hitting me or my friends first. This game has so much of the prep school BS in it that my school had. Playing it made me feel a lot less alone in my school experience and I raise a glass to those guys at Rockstar for this fine addition to my library.
Fun and captivating 2008-07-21
While I definitely won't let my five-year-old play this game for another ten years or so, I'm hooked. Being able to "live" the life of a character and control what he does is right down my alley, and the kind of game I really enjoy. I would prefer it without the physical violence, but it's not enough to keep me from playing this game after the kids have gone to bed.
Is Bully Worth the Money? 
2008-07-18
Yes! I purchased this game (I'm an adult female of 24 years old) and I have yet to put it down. Here's some pros and cons for the readers of this review...
Pros:
#1. This game is one of the few that really make you think. I was a fan of Grand Theft Auto IV as well but while this could be a long distance relative to that game, Bully has a bit more than your regular shooting and killing game. As Jimmy, you have to go to the classes in order to graduate the school. Now, I've been out of school for a couple of years now and some of them really make you ponder. English and Math were the hardest ones and I still haven't beaten the final Biology class.
#2. This game has a "T for Teen" rating but I wouldn't have given it that. The only thing that might make parents a little wary is the fact that once you reach level 3 you have the ability (ability meaning "you can but don't have to") kiss other boys. Other than that fun little tidbit, the weapons are child based. Sling shots, stink bombs, itching powder, potato launcher, etc. etc. In fact, when you shoot another kid with your slingshot (if you shoot a child or girl, you are immediately "punished" by the man)they are knocked out instead of killed like in other games. I would be completely comfortable letting my 10 year old nephew play this game without any worries.
#3. The tasks are relatively easy. Even though the game doesn't offer an "easy, medium, hard" choice, the missions are somewhat easy to figure out. Again, another plus for small kids (or adult women whose last game she played was Donkey Kong on the Super Nintendo).
Cons:
#1. Loading Time. The loading time on this game is a big buzz kill. I'm not a fan of loading times at all but Bully seems to overdo it by alot. Everytime you enter into a building it loads? That's quite alot when you are on a mission and you have to enter four or five different buildings and everytime you walk through a door you have to sit through a 30 second to a minute worth of loading time.
#2. Glitches. There are quite a few of them in this game. Little things where your school clock doesn't show up and then you get busted for violating curfew. Another one is where you swing at an offender and for some reason or another you don't connect. That one usually shows up in missions and you either have to start the mission over or turn your game off all together. Maybe it's me but that does seem to irritate me.
#3. Some of the classes are too hard. I know in my pro section I said that the classes teach you and that it is good for you but come on people? 2 and a half minutes to disect a pig into seven pieces?? I still can't beat that biology class. Arggh!
All in all? I give Bully an A-. Easily one of the best games I have seen but there are a few minor issues that cause some irritation.
Not Quite What It Seems to Be 2008-07-07
The problem with creating titles for a game is that often the game itself gets pigeon-holed simply from its titled. Take Bully. Now, reading the title, you'd automatically think that the game is about beating up people.
Wrong.
Yes, you definitely beat up people, but often you are doing so on behalf of other people. You're plunked down into this school of natural-born hellions and are supposed to fend for yourself. Instead, as Jimmy you often end up fending for the less-liked people.
Like real boarding school you have classes to attend (and can skip as long as the prefects can't find you), curfew, and lights-out. Unlike real school you can put "kick me" signs on someones back, throw eggs at the preppies dorm, and can kiss tons of girls (which brings your health up - see, girls ARE good!).
I'm a 28 year old woman who has spent hours of her evening time playing, and thoroughly enjoying this game. It is a wonderful stress reliever and definitely is a game that you can be easily sucked into.
Fun game! 2008-07-01
This game has me laughing out loud and having a blast. It loses a half a star, however, for the game control. It's not easy to turn yourself around like it is with Scarface. I disagree with the other person who has moral issues with this game. Personally I love violent games because they mellow me out and make me non-violent and peaceful in real life, since I've gotten out my aggression with the game.
Fills the GTA void on the Wii. 2008-06-23
You're a mischievous schoolboy at Bullworth Academy, and you stand up to bullies, get picked on by teachers, play pranks, and win or lose the girl. You are15-year-old Jimmy Hopkins, a teenager who's been expelled from every school he's ever attended. After your mother abandoned you at the New England boarding school to go on her fifth honeymoon, you have a whole year at Bullworth ahead of you. You have to work your way up the social ladder of this demented institution of supposed learning, stand up for what you think is right and take on the liars, cheats and snobs who are the most popular members of the student body and faculty. If you can survive the school year and outsmart you rivals, you could rule the school.
Faster frame speed makes the game smoother and more responsive Recreated and updated over 3000 textures and character models by hand Improved full screen effects, including dynamic glow FX, improved depth of field, and heat and fire FX Textures uprezzed by 2x or more on Wii with a wider spectrum of colors and detail More pedestrians and vehicles are able to load at once which improves the visual variety of the game Wii controls provide a more interactive way of playing the missions and classes Mini-games, including classes are easily accessible through the menu system
Rent first before you buy 
2008-05-20
After reading all the reviews for this game I finally broke down a bought it. I must say I was greatly disappointed. I don't care about how great the graphics, environment and freedom of play are (which I must say it has good design and layout). I played it for a single hour before I packed it up and traded it for Zelda.
The reason I did not like this game at all was mostly because you really had no choice in being a bully or not. At least at first, but I wasn't keen to find out. You started the game AS a bully and were forced to befriend the top bully at the beginning. Your first 'proprietary' missions were to break in a locker and steal money, then take a slingshot and go knock out all the football players on the field. Another big complaint is that you can't preview the missions before choosing to accept, therefore you have no clue whether the mission condones being a bully or helping someone out(sometimes by being a bully).
While I did not find these negative behaviors intolerable, seeing as it was acting as a beginners' tutorial for your range of abilities, what I could not stand was the dialog and interactions. Each person I greeted would make nasty remarks to me, and in just walking by someone they would shout "Your Evil!" or "Stupid!". I will say, however, those same kids did say "hey" the next day in passing(a faint glimmer of hope). I also detested the videos of Gary (the bully-friend you make at the first) bullying other kids around and kicking the dudes 'where it hurts'. There is enough of that out in the real world, the last thing I want to do is be a part of it in a video game.
I can't base my criticism on the entire game. Like I said, I only played it for a little while (two in-game days) so it may get better and a bit more positive as you progress. I strongley reccommened renting this game or buying it used (stores that sell used usually have a good return policy.) That way you can be sure you like it enough to buy/keep it.
Buy this game 2008-05-09
This is soo much fun, like microeconomy version of GTA. small in scope than GTA but much more detialed, funny, bitting social comentary, very well done combat and the classroom mini games are challanging. A must buy for anyone looking to vent some anger but kicking the crap out of some nerds, or jocks if you like, or just smashing windows out and running from the "law", get it.
The good outweighs the bad 2008-04-14
When this game first came out for PS2 I was curious, but never got around to playing it. Now that it's out for Wii, I finally caved in to my curiosity and picked it up. Overall, I'm very impressed.
I actually find this game more enjoyable than the Grand Theft Auto series (although GTA IV looks pretty amazing), because the universe is so much more quirky and unique. There are loads of bizarre characters to interact with, and based on your actions they'll either befriend you or try to pound you whenever you walk past. The environments look great, and the whole town has an almost 1950s vibe to it (although it takes place in present day). If you have any sense of imagination whatsoever, you'll be able to find countless things to do. Even without doing missions, it's fun experimenting and seeing just what the game will let you get away with (answer: quite a lot). From giving wedgies and stuffing kids in trashcans to riding your bike across moving cars downtown, the developers pretty much thought of everything.
When I heard the controls had been optimized for the Wii, I cringed a little bit. The Wii-mote can be great, but it seems most developers use it as a gimmick. Some sort of command is mapped to an awkward shake of the Wii-mote as an afterthought, and the gameplay just gets frustrating. Here, though, the controls are brilliant. To throw a left or right handed punch, you (surprise!) simply punch the air with your right or left hand. It's intuitive and satisfying at the same time. Once you start unlocking new moves (from your P.E. class and your homeless friend) the fighting gets pretty comical/over the top.
I do have a couple issues with the game, however. For one, there does seem to be a bit of lag when you're moving quickly through some of the more complex areas of the game (the carnival, downtown, etc.). This is pretty minimal, though, and doesn't really impede gameplay. I've noticed a couple bugs (characters flickering in and out of existence for a second), but these are pretty minimal as well, and don't really interfere with gameplay. You would think they would've fixed this, though... Beyond that, my only complaint is that the characters and events at times can be painfully cliche. Nerds are your textbook nerds, preps are by-the-numbers preps, homeless characters only ever talk about alcohol/drugs, the "war", and transistor radio parts, etc. I would have appreciated a little more creativity here, since there is so much potential for storytelling. However, the ridiculously fun gameplay and decent overall story (much better than most videogame stories, even if it's not quite as good as a movie) more than make up for this.
All in all, worth the buy [...]. Hope they make a sequel, and I hope they don't skip the Wii like they did with GTA IV.
