In recent memory, going back to as far as the beginning of the seventh generation of systems, there's few games that have commanded such attention for a sequel quite like Bully. The world would later learn through various info drips that a sequel was eventually canned. I initially missed out on this one and didn't quite understand its aura, eventually playing the Scholarship Edition, which includes improved visuals, extra missions, costumes, etc.. Just how unique was this game compared to anything else? Was it that much bigger than Grand Theft Auto?

In the 2000's, Rockstar established themselves as a dominant staple in video games, with GTA being woven into Americana. Bully was released originally in 2006 for the PlayStation 2 and the Scholarship Edition later in 2008 for the Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360. Around this time, I admittedly wasn't into most video games that weren't RPGs or fighters, I was kinda burned out. The thrill of open-world games was something that eluded me, even though I had some entertainment with Vice City (mostly because I'm a sucker for 80's music). Bully ended up being one of the first games I'd play on my brother's 360, and I found its concept fairly amusing. A lighter take on the GTA mold of playing as a delinquent on his last legs instead of a streetwise criminal caters more to my sense of camp. 

It's...pretty much Grand Theft Auto, in terms of mission structure, objectives, gameplay, and even the engine. It runs on an enhanced version of GTA: San Andreas' engine, and I had always speculated Rockstar was using this as a litmus test for how the next GTA would run on this generation's hardware. You take the role of Jimmy Hopkins being dropped off at Bullworth Academy, a snobby private school in seemingly a New England region headed by the greatest name for an antagonist in western gaming, principal Ralph Crabblesnitch.

Despite the game being called "Bully", and Rockstar's controversial reputation they had established by this point, you're mostly playing a reformed goon who begins using his influence in the school to dismantle the cliques and bring peace to Bullworth throughout the entire school year. It's quite a redemption story.

Not be repetitive, but if you've played a Grand Theft Auto game, you've played Bully. For better or worse. That doesn't make it bad, in fact, this game can be quite fun. The main narrative kept me playing longer than I thought, and before I realized it, I became truly invested in Jimmy's redemption arc.  

The gameplay also shows some improvements that I found rocky in the previous Rockstar titles, namely the combat. While far from a standard, Jimmy's punches don't feel like he's aiming for a poltergeist that's just to the left of the enemy you're trying to hit. There's still some issues when commandeering means of transportation. I didn't like the way the bikes handle, and revisiting it, it feels like trying to pedal a ten-speed with nothing but one hand on a handlebar stem that's too far away from the seat. Several objectives require riding a bike to keep up with your target, and the timing is tight. Some I had to redo a handful of times, just because the wonky physics cost me a turn.   

There's a decent amount of mini-games to pad the time, like dodgeball, go-kart races, and mowing the lawn, but I felt they got old after a while. In the world of high school, especially one with a dormitory, I found the world feeling fairly...small. Not that the world in Bully IS small, there is a lot to technically explore. I think it's because little of them had to do with the confines of the school itself, the high school ends feeling on the hollow side.

One of the things I like about Bully the most is how the atmosphere changes as the school year progresses. Students wear different uniforms depending on the semester. Some games were tinkering with immersive elements like changing seasons, but it wasn't quite becoming the norm yet. This was also in the middle of the high definition era, though character models were still fairly chunky; maybe it was just me, a lot of games just looked like Dead Rising. The funny thing about titles around this time, open world games weren't quite yet burgeoning with NPCs, so while impressive for time, by today's standards, the sidewalks come off feeling thin as hell. 

Could Bully have thrived as its own side franchises? Eh, possibly. I do have a theory as to why it's so beloved; Bully was released at a time where gaming was truly hitting the mainstream and introduced a brand new generation of fans. With the plot carrying the vibe of a 90's coming-of-age comedy movie about a misfit group of teenagers, while boasting the gameplay of one of the planet's most popular franchises from a studio/publisher that was on fire, Bully is one of those perfect storm games that ended up meaning a lot to those who grew up in the mid-aughts. It's not the best in the medium, but sums up some of the things Rockstar was best at doing around this outlandish time; going full ham with a whacky idea, yet having enough charming and earnest heart about it to make it memorable.