Now Playing: Bully
I have to admit, I bought it because of the controversy surrounding the game since it was first announced a few years back.
I was expecting to hate this game because I know that no matter how you slice ‘n’ dice it, it’s still Grand Theft Auto set in a school environment (this is a Rockstar game, after all). And I hated Grand Theft Auto III; I didn’t even give GTA4 a second look (even with the “hot coffee” mod).
So what do I think of the game? After playing some 7 or 8 hours, I think it’s one great game. You might think I’m smoking crack, but this is easily one of the best-looking Playstation2 games out there…next to Metal Gear Solid and Shadow of the Colossus. Yes, the low-polygon-count models are evident all over the place even with the main character, but the “artistic look” of the game really make up for it. Motion capture is superb, cut-scenes are well-directed (kind of reminded me of MGS cut-scenes), and the physics engine is unbelievably good. The missions are varied enough that it doesn’t feel repetitive, and the controls and camera–while it takes getting used to–is very manageable.
There are a couple of things that kind of annoys me about this game: the loading time and skipping of cut-scenes. Both are forgivable (for the lack of a better term), in a sense. This game is HUGE; at first the environment is contained in the campus grounds…but eventually it expands to a couple of towns, so I guess the occasional pause for load times is tolerable. As for the cut-scenes, I just wish there’s a way to skip it instantly; the cut-scenes comes with additional loading times, and you have to press so many buttons before you can skip it. Again, I guess it makes sense because the cut-scenes may provide important information regarding and a mission, and if it was designed to be skipped by pressing a button (instead of a series of different buttons), you will miss that important information.
You’re probably asking if the game actually teaches the player to be one (a bully). The answer is “NO.” Actually, i’d go out on a limb and say that the game is actually teaching good values, like, standing up for yourself and the importance of friendship. It also shows you the consequences of picking up fights for no good reason and skipping classes; and rewards you for doing otherwise. That being said, this game is still inappropriate for children. There’s violence and other suggestive content.
In conclusion, Bully is a great game and I have a newfound respect for Rockstar (not that it should matter to them). I’ll be looking forward to their next game.
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Update: I have finished playing Bully. The only flaw I could see in this game is that the “boss” fights gets easier, including the last “boss.” That said, I still think this game is one of the best games I have played.
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