Good, but not great
posted by AgtAwesome (MICKLETON, NJ) Mar 11, 2008
Member since Nov 2005
Having missed this game's initial release on the PS2, I was glad to hear Bully was making it's way to the Xbox 360. Having played it since release, I can say that I definitely enjoy this game. However, the technical problems are enough to distract from the gameplay and keep this from being a totally polished experience that one would expect from Rockstar.
Although the game is similar to a GTA, there are enough new and original changes to keep it from feeling like just another clone. There is enough depth in the design of the school and its inhabitants to make Bullworth Academy feel like a real campus. Much of the voice acting and music is very well done. The graphics are definitely dated, but not enough to ruin the experience. It's the long load times when entering or leaving a building that really take you out of the game. The camera controls are sloppy and can sometimes get frustrating. Even though the school grounds and surrounding town are not that big, the amount of time you can spend exploring is limited by a clock that seems to move awfully fast. At times the frame rate slows down noticeably, and the audio occasionally stutters. I have encountered several complete lockups of the game, requiring me to reboot my Xbox. These seemingly random occurrences can cost you a lot of progress, depending on when you last saved your game. Hopefully an upcoming patch will eliminate this rather serious issue.
Despite some of the technical problems, the game is pretty entertaining and has plenty of interesting characters to interact with, places to explore, missions to go on, items to collect, and mini-games to play. I would definitely recommend at least renting Bully and giving it a try.
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