Rockstar Games, the noted producer of ""Grand Theft Auto,"" ""Manhunt"" and ""Max Payne,"" seems adamant in living the actual rock star lifestyle. Each release, like a trashed hotel room, brings in a wave of publicity, controversy and ultimately, increased sales.
It seemed like the company's latest, ""Bully,"" a game about the violent high school social pecking order, might garner some of its largest ever protests. Pre-release hype branded it as a ""Columbine simulator"" and demanded it be pulled from the shelves.
After all this publicity, the game turns out surprisingly tame. Unlike some of Rockstar's ""Mature"" rated games, ""Bully"" sports a ""Teen"" rating, and it shows. Gone are the drive-by shootings of ""San Andreas,"" no longer are there the brutal stranglings of ""Manhunt.""
However, violent themes remain intact, as the main character, Jimmy, uses kiddier weapons such as a slingshot or a portable spud cannon. The violence is still there, but the depravity associated with it in Rockstar's other offerings is noticably toned down.
Another departure from the ""Grand Theft Auto"" series is in the game's difficulty. Some parts of that series featured incredibly hard, picky missions where one slight error could prematurely end a 15-minute mission.
Occasionally, this could get annoying and it seemed like it artificially added to the difficulty level. In ""Bully,"" there are no missions like this. Every one of the main story missions is easily beatable on the first run through, with the only challenge coming from an occasionally finicky camera. It is less frustrating, but at the expense of challenge.
What really detracts from the game is many features of GTA are gone in ""Bully."" It makes sense narrative-wise that 15-year-old Jimmy would not drive along, so there's no driving element in the game. This eliminates many of the mission types that gave GTA depth. With no driving, flying or even boating missions, ""Bully"" feels limited in scope.
As a result of some of these shortcomings focus gets placed on the story, and it is an entertaining story of high school politics. As Jimmy, a new arrival at Bulworth Academy, the player is a social outcast, allowing him to play the social stereotypes against each other. Befriend the nerds to conquer the jocks, join up with the preppies to overtake the greasers. Each social clique gets its stereotypes made fun of and turned on their heads—for example, the preppies are inbred and the greasers are a parody of ""The Outsiders."" These moments of levity entertain as they briskly push the story along.
Were ""Bully"" an actual bully duking it out on the virtual school grounds, it would have moderate success. Some cliques would appreciate it for its open-ended style and use of humor. Some cliques would give it the respect it deserves and bow down to it. Other cliques, notably the older, cooler, more mature cliques such as ""Grand Theft Auto,"" would just laugh at ""Bully"" as it stuffed it in a locker.
