Doodlestar
CAG Veteran
EDIT: Wow, I talk too much. Sorry about the wall of text.
This is the first review I've ever written, so bear with me here. I'm also writing this as if the game was a full game, and not just an enhanced port. (mostly, anyway)
Well, Bully: Scholarship Edition, or Bully SE as I'll refer to it here, is, obviously enough, a remake of the old PS2 game "Bully", by Rockstar. In which, you play as hardened troublemaker Jimmy Hopkins, and go through an often hilarious story as you simply try to get through the school year, but ultimately get pulled into all sorts of hell.
The gameplay is something like Grand Theft Auto, only T rated and without real weapons. Most of the fighting is melee combat, which is actually done fairly well with motion controls. You do pick up, and eventually make or earn at your various hangouts, weapons, however. Most of these are things a schoolkid might actually obtain, ranging from eggs to firecrackers to a gun that fires potatoes. (okay, maybe a schoolkid wouldn't obtain that) It all works pretty well, although aiming with the wii remote is a bit hard, as it keeps telling you to re-center with the sensor bar, making it a pain to aim sometimes.
You can't jack cars or anything of the sort, your only vehicles are various forms of bikes, a moped, and a go-kart, the latter of two requiring being unlocked. I was a bit disappointed with the low number of vehicles, even if it would have been out of place to drive automobiles. There aren't any added in the expansion, either.
Okay, enough about the gameplay, on to the graphics and sound.
Well, the game certainly doesn't look as good as it's Xbox 360 counterpart, but it looks good enough. The graphics are overall somewhat more detailed than the PS2 game, but it's not a big improvement.
Overall, they fulfill their purpose, but they don't really look all that nice doing it, with the games' PS2 roots being rather apparent.
The sound is quite nice, actually. While only the "Russell in the hole" tune from the soundtrack is really memorable, all the music fits, except maybe that bizarre music when you get some wheels.
The voice acting is quite nice, all of them fit perfectly, although a lot of the characters are rather (intentionally and often humorously) stereotyped. I have no complaints about it.
Also, this world is quite alive, all the characters, even the adults in town in most cases, have a unique personality, to some extent. It's limited, but everyone has their own voice and little conversations, which is pretty cool, and it's pulled off pretty well, with the huge character roster.
You do spend time going to classes as well, you can skip them (although the prefects will chase you for truancy) but they often, with the exception of some of the new classes, which just offer clothes, give significant benefits, science lets you craft items in your dorm room, geography shows you where collectibles are located, and so on.
As for new content, this game disappoints somewhat. Outside of slightly enhanced graphics, the only new content is 4 new classes (these are fun, but give little reward), 8 (I think) new missions, which are amusing, but don't add much, 4 new characters, 2 player minigames, and that's about it.
Oh, and motion controls. These work well, in every case but the aiming. Combat actually feels much more streamlined because of it.
Well, that's all I have to say. Thanks for reading through this, if you did. I'd like feedback on this, seeing as it's my first review and I know it's somewhat poor.
Overall:
For those who never played the original: 8.7
For those who played it and are looking for new content: 6.5
This really isn't worth buying if you already have the PS2 version, all it is is a port with a few new features, really.
This is the first review I've ever written, so bear with me here. I'm also writing this as if the game was a full game, and not just an enhanced port. (mostly, anyway)
Well, Bully: Scholarship Edition, or Bully SE as I'll refer to it here, is, obviously enough, a remake of the old PS2 game "Bully", by Rockstar. In which, you play as hardened troublemaker Jimmy Hopkins, and go through an often hilarious story as you simply try to get through the school year, but ultimately get pulled into all sorts of hell.
The gameplay is something like Grand Theft Auto, only T rated and without real weapons. Most of the fighting is melee combat, which is actually done fairly well with motion controls. You do pick up, and eventually make or earn at your various hangouts, weapons, however. Most of these are things a schoolkid might actually obtain, ranging from eggs to firecrackers to a gun that fires potatoes. (okay, maybe a schoolkid wouldn't obtain that) It all works pretty well, although aiming with the wii remote is a bit hard, as it keeps telling you to re-center with the sensor bar, making it a pain to aim sometimes.
You can't jack cars or anything of the sort, your only vehicles are various forms of bikes, a moped, and a go-kart, the latter of two requiring being unlocked. I was a bit disappointed with the low number of vehicles, even if it would have been out of place to drive automobiles. There aren't any added in the expansion, either.
Okay, enough about the gameplay, on to the graphics and sound.
Well, the game certainly doesn't look as good as it's Xbox 360 counterpart, but it looks good enough. The graphics are overall somewhat more detailed than the PS2 game, but it's not a big improvement.
Overall, they fulfill their purpose, but they don't really look all that nice doing it, with the games' PS2 roots being rather apparent.
The sound is quite nice, actually. While only the "Russell in the hole" tune from the soundtrack is really memorable, all the music fits, except maybe that bizarre music when you get some wheels.
The voice acting is quite nice, all of them fit perfectly, although a lot of the characters are rather (intentionally and often humorously) stereotyped. I have no complaints about it.
Also, this world is quite alive, all the characters, even the adults in town in most cases, have a unique personality, to some extent. It's limited, but everyone has their own voice and little conversations, which is pretty cool, and it's pulled off pretty well, with the huge character roster.
You do spend time going to classes as well, you can skip them (although the prefects will chase you for truancy) but they often, with the exception of some of the new classes, which just offer clothes, give significant benefits, science lets you craft items in your dorm room, geography shows you where collectibles are located, and so on.
As for new content, this game disappoints somewhat. Outside of slightly enhanced graphics, the only new content is 4 new classes (these are fun, but give little reward), 8 (I think) new missions, which are amusing, but don't add much, 4 new characters, 2 player minigames, and that's about it.
Oh, and motion controls. These work well, in every case but the aiming. Combat actually feels much more streamlined because of it.
Well, that's all I have to say. Thanks for reading through this, if you did. I'd like feedback on this, seeing as it's my first review and I know it's somewhat poor.
Overall:
For those who never played the original: 8.7
For those who played it and are looking for new content: 6.5
This really isn't worth buying if you already have the PS2 version, all it is is a port with a few new features, really.