Today marks the two-year anniversary that Bully was released on the PlayStation 2 amid a hailstorm of negative publicity, much of which occurred when Florida attorney Jack Thompson attempted to have the game banned from store shelves. Among the controversial content: general bullying, wedgies, stink bombs, all manner of pranks, and boy-on-boy kissing. Since that time, Thompson has been disbarred and Bully received generally glowing reviews. A special Scholarship Edition was also released on the Wii and Xbox 360. Now, finally, it has come to the PC and is just as fun as the original.
Bully: Scholarship Edition comes with the standard PC features, such as the ability to change resolution and antialiesing video settings, as well as customizable mouse/keyboard controls. Bad-boy Jimmy Hopkins handles just fine, although you may want to increase your mouse sensitivity from the default settings to increase the speed in which you race through Bullworth Academy on your skateboard. For those more familiar with console controls, BSE will also support an Xbox 360 wired controller, which handles swimmingly. And fear not, Rockstar appears to have cleaned up the bugs and crashing issues that blighted the 360 version of the Scholarship Edition.
Unlike the Wii and 360 versions, the PC will not include the local multiplayer minigames, though that’s not a surprise given the nature of the platform. In terms of single-player content, it appears to be identical to the 360 and Wii Scholarship Editions in that it includes four new classes (biology, music, geography, math), as well as some new missions. Classes are generally fun minigames, such as dissecting a frog in biology (a breeze with the keyboard and mouse) or playing the school song in what is basically a simplified Guitar Hero. Passing classes earns you new items and skills. For instance, you learn to grapple and execute a three-hit melee combo in gym class from the wrestling coach. The excellent soundtrack and voice acting remain stunning even two years after the original Bully.
This review is pretty terrible considering that the game only seems to work for a very small number of people. The bugs actually seem worse than the XBOX 360 version. The majority of people who purchased the game have found it to be filled with graphic glitches and hangs rendering it unplayable. As of now RockStar isn’t even responding. They don’t even list a PC version of Bully on their support site. They are giving their customers the silent treatment. Do not buy this game until the issues are resolved. It really is not the least bit playable for most people.