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Costanza · Mar 2, 2008

Bully: Scholarship Edition
Rated: T
Developer: Rockstar
Release Date: March 3rd, 2008 for the US, March 7th UK
Price: $49.99 USD
Platforms: 360, Wii

Boxart:

Info:

Product Description
Amazon.com
Retaining the wit and deep gameplay of the previously released PS2 Bully title, Bully: Scholarship Edition takes place in the fictional New England boarding school of Bullworth Academy and tells the story of 15-year-old Jimmy Hopkins as he experiences the highs and lows of adjusting to a new school. Capturing the hilarity and awkwardness of adolescence perfectly, Bully: Scholarship Edition pulls the player into its cinematic and engrossing world set in the most vile and sadistic setting yet in a Rockstar videogame: the schoolyard. Laugh and cringe as you stand up to bullies, get picked on by teachers, play pranks on malicious kids, win or lose the girl, and ultimately learn to navigate the obstacles of the fictitious Bullworth Academy.

Bully: Scholarship Edition comes to the Xbox 360, boasting new content, next generation graphics, and two player mini-games that make this title appealing to previous Bully players and a whole new audience.

New Content
8 new missions, 4 new classes, hilarious new characters, added two-player mode, new unlockables, new rewards and achievements.

Variety
With 82 missions, 45 lessons, loads of mini games and collectibles, Bully provides over 30 hours of entertainment.

Characters
Over 100 voiced characters to socially interact with among several social groups: jocks, nerds, preppies, greasers, teachers, townies, carnies and of course girls.

Choice
Youre in charge. Decide whether you have a positive or negative effect when interacting or accepting missions; you can say hello to fellow classmates or deliver mean wedgies.

Technological Upgrades:

* Use of next gen-graphical techniques including high resolution textures and dynamic lighting & shadow system.
* Faster frame speed makes the game smoother and more responsive.
* Recreated and updated over 3000 textures and character models by hand to bring up to next gen standards.
* Improved full screen effects, including dynamic glow FX, improved depth of field, and heat and fire FX.
* Textures uprezzed by 4x over the original Bully for PS2.
* More pedestrians and vehicles are able to load at once which improves the visual variety of the game.
* Mini-games, including classes are easily accessible through the menu system.

Reviews:

IGN:

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/856/856138p1.html 8.7 for 360

8.5 Presentation
A great story full of humor. There are a lot of load times, but it's always worth the wait.
7.0 Graphics
Some nice textures and nice character models, but the framerate struggles.
9.0 Sound
The voice acting is fantastic from top-to-bottom and the soundtrack, which doesn't rely on licensed music, is excellent.
8.5 Gameplay
There's a lot of fun to be had. Everything is fairly simple, but it works well as a whole.
8.5 Lasting Appeal
The average gamer can probably finish the story in under 20 hours, but there are plenty of things to do afterwards to suck up even more of your free time.
8.7
Great OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)

http://wii.ign.com/articles/855/855948p1.html 8.0 for Wii

8.0 Presentation
The cinematic feel is retained from PS2, and theres a huge slew of VO and scripted sequences. Streaming loads often cause momentary lag though, and AI is sketchy at times.
8.0 Graphics
Take the PS2 version, add some additional detail on models, and youve essentially got what Bully Wii has to offer. Animation pops and glitches weigh the experience down a bit.
8.5 Sound
One of the most diverse scores on the system, and a seemingly never-ending stack of VO. The script can be a bit corny at times, but it fits the world.
8.0 Gameplay
The new motion controls are pretty simplistic, but they feel great. Nunchuk doesnt always recognize during some mini-games (music class), but all in all its very rewarding.
8.0 Lasting Appeal
Theres a huge list of mini-games to explore, but the overall open world feel is a bit closed off compared to Bullys bigger brother, GTA. Still very impressive though.
8.0
Impressive OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average

Screens:

360:

Wii:

Johnkers · Mar 2, 2008

Is that Wii version 16:9?

bran · Mar 2, 2008

Is there a tight story line or just sandboxing?

Costanza · Mar 2, 2008

Johnkers said:
Is that Wii version 16:9?

http://wii.gamespy.com/wii/bully-scholarship-edition/845675p1.html Gamespy says yes:

On Wii, you can expect 480p and 16:9 widescreen support.

Costanza · Mar 2, 2008

bran said:
Is there a tight story line or just sandboxing?

The IGN review calls it "the funniest teen movie in a decade." and from what I played of the PS2 version I'd say it has a pretty good story.

masud · Mar 2, 2008

Anyone know if they reduced the loadtimes on the Wii version? They made the game almost unplayable for me on PS2.

ascii42 · Mar 2, 2008

Box art is pretty sweet, but I think I prefer the PS2 boxart.
I guess I'll wind up getting the 360 version, since I never got around to picking up the PS2 one.

_Alkaline_ · Mar 2, 2008

Wii version for me. The controls sound great (just like Godfather

).

Updated visuals aren't exactly a reason to purchase this for 360, since the game still looks like shite on 360 anyway.

m14 · Mar 2, 2008

Gamer TV gave it (both versions) 8/10.

AgentOtaku · Mar 2, 2008

Hey!

I was just thinking of making this thread...glad someone else beat me to it!

oh and I preordered the Wii version for the record

XShagrath · Mar 2, 2008

I picked the PS2 version up for my wife last Christmas and she really enjoyed it. As soon as she heard a 360 version was coming, she told me to dump the PS2 one in favor of any graphical upgrades and achievements. Looking forward to picking this one up, as the achievements look nice and the game seems like fun. It's a little disappointing that they didn't enhance the graphics too much, but it's not a huge deal. I might wait for a sub-$50 price before picking it up, but it'll most assuredly be added to the library.

Crusade · Mar 2, 2008

The carnival area got some big upgrades. Wish they'd brought this to PS3 :[

MrTroubleMaker · Mar 2, 2008

nice, going to get this

homez99 · Mar 2, 2008

Just pre-ordered the 360 version, only £25 here in the UK so I'm quite happy with that. Can we add more region release dates to the OP? It's coming out March 7th on both the Wii and 360 in the UK, I think it would be nice to cover as many regions as we know about in official threads. Anyways, I'm a sucker for Rockstar's games, and I see this as a good warm-up for GTA IV and a way to get back into the free-roaming, do anything mindset.

CrunchinJelly · Mar 2, 2008

Had this pre-ordered for a month or so. Really wanted to play it last-gen but never got round to it.

Can't believe IGN says the framerate in the 360 version struggles. I was certain we'd see 60fps. What a shame.

Deacan · Mar 2, 2008

I am looking foward to this, as I never played the PS2 version.

gimz · Mar 2, 2008

Graphics
360- 7
Wii- 8

Gameplay
360- 8.5
Wii- 8

:lol

Costanza · Mar 2, 2008

homez99 said:
Just pre-ordered the 360 version, only £25 here in the UK so I'm quite happy with that. Can we add more region release dates to the OP? It's coming out March 7th on both the Wii and 360 in the UK, I think it would be nice to cover as many regions as we know about in official threads. Anyways, I'm a sucker for Rockstar's games, and I see this as a good warm-up for GTA IV and a way to get back into the free-roaming, do anything mindset.

done...any other region dates?

RumFore · Mar 2, 2008

Cant wait.

armubaba · Mar 2, 2008

I never played the original. Is it long enough to warrant a purchase? Or will Gamefly-ing it suffice?

AgentOtaku · Mar 2, 2008

armubaba said:
I never played the original. Is it long enough to warrant a purchase? Or will Gamefly-ing it suffice?

buy the damn thing!

speculawyer · Mar 2, 2008

Thought it was gonna be a tough choice between 360 and Wii . . . but according to IGN, it looks like at easy choice of 360.

I'm in . . . I've held off buying the PS2 version because I wanted a next-gen version. The somewhat upgraded 360 port is what I get I guess.

AgentOtaku · Mar 2, 2008

speculawyer said:
Thought it was gonna be a tough choice between 360 and Wii . . . but according to IGN, it looks like at easy choice of 360.

I'm in . . . I've held off buying the PS2 version because I wanted a next-gen version. The somewhat upgraded 360 port is what I get I guess.

just outta curiousty...why doesn't the Wii version appeal to you?

Speevy · Mar 2, 2008

It's very cheap on the PS2. Are there any advantages to buying the Wii version?

Costanza · Mar 2, 2008

Speevy said:
It's very cheap on the PS2. Are there any advantages to buying the Wii version?

Wiimote controls.. plus

New Content
8 new missions, 4 new classes, hilarious new characters, added two-player mode, new unlockables, new rewards

AgentOtaku · Mar 2, 2008

Speevy said:
It's very cheap on the PS2. Are there any advantages to buying the Wii version?

what Constanza said and slightly improved visuals/framerate

speculawyer · Mar 2, 2008

Crusade said:
The carnival area got some big upgrades. Wish they'd brought this to PS3 :[

I guess the assumption is that the PS3 people can just buy the PS2 version and play it upscaled.

Doesn't work too well for the 40Gb PS3 but that didn't exist at the time the decisions were made.

speculawyer · Mar 2, 2008

AgentOtaku said:
just outta curiousty...why doesn't the Wii version appeal to you?

Well, IGN gave 8.7 to 360 version and 8.0 to Wii. Plus I do want the upgradeded HD graphics (Yeah, I know, not a total upgrade but they did upgrade it a bit.) And I don't really care about Wii controls.

AgentOtaku · Mar 2, 2008

speculawyer said:
Well, IGN gave 8.7 to 360 version and 8.0 to Wii. Plus I do want the upgradeded HD graphics (Yeah, I know, not a total upgrade but they did upgrade it a bit.) And I don't really care about Wii controls.

okay then

MechDX · Mar 2, 2008

While I want to play this game $50 seems a little steep.

$30 and I will bite.

alr1ght · Mar 2, 2008

Loved it on the PS2. Sad to hear that the framerate problems still exist on the 360 (wtf!). Hopefully they allow for an inverted camera control, unlike in the PS2 version.

Shin Johnpv · Mar 2, 2008

This should be 25 - 30 bucks not 50.

Costanza · Mar 2, 2008

Shin Johnpv said:
This should be 25 - 30 bucks not 50.

I'm honestly surprised they didn't price the 360 version at 59.

stewacide · Mar 2, 2008

Considering what the PS2 version can be had for, I don't think I'll be buying this at full price.

Lobster · Mar 3, 2008

gimz said:
Graphics
360- 7
Wii- 8

Gameplay
360- 8.5
Wii- 8

:lol

Well the updated graphics do look alright for Wii since well..its basically a souped up last gen console.

The gameplay score is weird because all I've heard is how much more awesome the Wii controls are..

They're both good and thats what really matters. I'll see if I can pick this up.

MaizeRage25 · Mar 3, 2008

I will be using my last Christmas gift card to get this game from Best Buy on Tuesday. Pretty pumped since I never played it on PS2.

Reilly · Mar 3, 2008

Not to sound troll-like, but how many last-gen ports are on the Wii?

Revengeance · Mar 3, 2008

Yay! It comes out on my birthday!! Day one!

(I think it's fate)

Acid08 · Mar 3, 2008

The PS2 one was really good. If I owned a 360 I would definently pick it up again. One very overlooked game last gen.

Phife Dawg · Mar 3, 2008

With WiiFreeloader coming soon I'll probably buy this once it gets cheap in the US - shouldn't take all that long I guess. Godfather like controls sound good.

gimz said:
Graphics
360- 7
Wii- 8

Gameplay
360- 8.5
Wii- 8

:lol

Different channels. Remember 360.ign are the ones who gave Jade Empire a 9.9.

They even have different channels for UK and Australia, all with their own reviews (which can differ from the "main" reviews).

Struct09 · Mar 3, 2008

Never played Bully on the PS2, but will hopefully be getting it this week (360 version) via Gamefly

Mr Spliff · Mar 3, 2008

Just got it at Game Centre in Toronto. Off to have fun! I'll try and come on later and post some impressions if anyone cares but don't wait for anyone's opinion to buy it. The industry needs some support for games that aren't all about "head-shots"

.

Darkpen · Mar 3, 2008

Acid08 said:
The PS2 one was really good. If I owned a 360 I would definently pick it up again. One very overlooked game last gen.

QFT. One of the best games of the last generation. Witty writing and dialogue, great story, excellent music, and fun gameplay. Definitely want to pick this up once I gat a 360, along with Tomb Raider Anniversary.

CrunchinJelly · Mar 3, 2008

Mr Spliff said:
Just got it at Game Centre in Toronto. Off to have fun! I'll try and come on later and post some impressions if anyone cares but don't wait for anyone's opinion to buy it. The industry needs some support for games that aren't all about "head-shots".

Which version?

Let us know how the framerate is if it's the 360 ver.

LizardKing · Mar 3, 2008

does anybody have this yet? called some gamestops and they said tomorrow...

poppabk · Mar 3, 2008

speculawyer said:
Well, IGN gave 8.7 to 360 version and 8.0 to Wii. Plus I do want the upgradeded HD graphics (Yeah, I know, not a total upgrade but they did upgrade it a bit.) And I don't really care about Wii controls.

I understand making the decision based on wanting HD, but you really sound like you are just comparing the two scores and assuming that IGN think the 360 version is better because one score is higher than the other.

Mr Spliff · Mar 3, 2008

cjelly said:
Which version?

Let us know how the framerate is if it's the 360 ver.

I got the 360 version and so far it is a little choppy. Howver, I haven't played too long cause my wife came home early with the kids :-(. Will pl;ay more tonight and have a better impression of how it plays technically. So far though, I'm sold on the context and main character and the music is pretty good.

RedCrake · Mar 3, 2008

Bozon who reviewed it for IGN basically said in the video review and podcast that he rated it lower because he thought Godfather and Scarface were better sandbox games on Wii. Don't know that comparing Wii and 360 scores is such a good idea if IGN is the site you're basing it on.

Costanza · Mar 4, 2008

Mr Spliff said:
I got the 360 version and so far it is a little choppy. Howver, I haven't played too long cause my wife came home early with the kids :-(. Will pl;ay more tonight and have a better impression of how it plays technically. So far though, I'm sold on the context and main character and the music is pretty good.

You get a chance to play some more?

AgentOtaku · Mar 4, 2008

RedCrake said:
Bozon who reviewed it for IGN basically said in the video review and podcast that he rated it lower because he thought Godfather and Scarface were better sandbox games on Wii. Don't know that comparing Wii and 360 scores is such a good idea if IGN is the site you're basing it on.

not to mention her compared it to Godfather and Scarface...which is kinda silly imo

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