Game Play: Bully

I didn't play much of Bully before putting it back into the GameFly envelope. It wasn't that it was bad - actually there would seem to be a decent amount of good in the title. The graphics are pretty decent for a PS2 title. There's this level of immersion to the school that kind of feels like Rockstar. The premise is handled well - a game about a horrific school that enforces the boundaries and restrictions of a school from class bells to truant officers.

No, it's not that Bully is a bad game - its just that it made me reminiscent about Grand Theft Auto a little too much. I didn't really want the boundaries of a school, I wanted the open roaming of a vast cityscape. That Bully rides ontop of GTA's engine is apparent in just about everything - from the UI to the fact that various gang will hunt you down for being on their turf. I know a lot of people defended Bully as "not another GTA" - but c'mon, it really was. And not being violent? Please. I beat the snot out of like five kids just trying to make it through the tutorial. Just because you don't get an AK doesn't mean it isn't violent.

I feel a little bad because I always thought Rockstar should expirement with the GTA framework for non-GTA titles. Instead of a gang story, put it into a sci fi, fantasy or western setting ( i.e. Gun ). Rockstar has done amazing work with the "sandbox" concept and they should spread their wings a little wider.

But kinda like that one novel from an author you fairly like, Bully was good but simply didn't grab me. I'd recommend it as a rental for sure - and definately for fans of GTA.