The actual game content was hardly offensive and the rating organizations provided reasonable ratings. Attempts in the US (with lawyer Jack Thompson), UK and Belgium were made to ban the game or to prevents its release. This caused controversy, and it was only later revealed that the protagonist would take on the bullies himself.
Through Rockstar's "bad boy" marketing, the first announcement of the game, along with the title, hinted at gameplay where you would take on the role of a bully. There was an Xbox version planned, but cancelled for undisclosed reasons.
The PS2 version of Bully appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott. It is possible to find, buy, and wear different outfits, get jobs and earn money, and even date schoolmates and buy presents for them. Each class is built like a mini-game: for example, language lesson involves composing as many words as possible out of a few given letters within a time limit. Jimmy can simply attend classes and study. The missions include a variety of gameplay styles: chases, races, shooter-like sequences, escort missions, spying, random acts of vandalism, and many more.īully features a plethora of activities and mini-games that can be accessed outside of the missions. It is not possible to hijack cars, but Jimmy is able to steal and ride bicycles. The violence is still present: Jimmy can punch and kick anyone he encounters, as well as use a variety of (non-lethal) weapons such as slingshots, fire crackers, and even self-made guns. Naturally, much of the typical GTA-like content has been changed to fit the high school setting. As in GTA games, the player can choose to complete missions in different order, or simply roam the game world, interacting with the environment and the characters. It features a "sandbox" environment, which encompasses not only the vast high school grounds, but also the nearby town of Bullworth. Often described as " GTA in high school", the game indeed has many similarities with the famous car-hijacking series. With a help of a few friends, some wits and hard-as-a-rock fists, Jimmy has to survive through one year in Bullworth Academy. This is the place where future dictators, murderers, and mad scientists reside. His parents have a grand idea of sending him to Bullworth Academy which - despite its grand name - houses lots of other kids like Jimmy. Not an American user? Description Bully is a story of one Jimmy Hopkins, whose academic success hasn't been anything spectacular as he's been expelled from various schools.