Bully hit the PS2 at the wrong time. When everyone’s eyes were focused on the next generation of consoles, Rockstar’s game came and went in October 2006 without much of an impression. Not even screenshots of boys kissing boys could inspire their usual level of controversy, and while the game did well, a whole lot of people missed out on it.
Well, let them wonder how good it was no more. Bully was announced for the Xbox 360 and Wii a few months ago, and some solid details (and logo-branded screenshots) have finally made their way online via IGN.
First up is a release date- March 4th. Europe gets it a couple of days later (as usual) on the 7th.
Along with all the content from the original game we’re going to have 8 new missions, 4 new classes (biology, music, math and geography), more unlockable items and clothing, and some two-player offline minigames. The 360 version will have Achievements, and the Wii version will feature remote-specific controls.
The new graphics aren’t earth-shattering, but this isn’t a game that relies on its visuals.
I’m pretty glad this game is getting a re-release, because it was a really engaging game with a ton of stuff to do… so much so that even though I beat it on a rental I’m considering picking it up again to try to 100% it. Don’t expect a GTA out of this, because while it does have some similarities to Rockstar’s biggest franchise, this is high school, and much more light-hearted. Still, it’s fun to give wedgies and stuff people in garbage cans, sneaking around the girl’s dorm to steal panties and riding your bike around town. The story is typical cliched high school hijinks for the most part (cherry bombs and pinching girl’s asses), but the voice actors are pretty great and the expected juvenile humor works better than it should. If they get this right (and really, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t) it will definitely be worth a purchase.