Bully: Scholarship Edition

 PC
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 484 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 314 out of 484
  2. Mixed: 131 out of 484
  3. Negative: 39 out of 484
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  1. keefbaker
    Oct 17, 2013
    8
    I think of this as Grand Theft Auto meets Skool Daze. Given that both are great games it hardly surprising that mixing these two classics make another great game
  2. finED3
    Jun 5, 2014
    9
    This game has to be the most underrated games of all time after Just cause 2. The PC version might be a little bit badly ported but the game has that F#CK SCHOOL atmosphere and i just love it! The map is not Extremely big but it still has a lot of things to explore. if your interested in GTA you will love this game. Definitely try this one out.
  3. BaronMonaco
    Oct 22, 2015
    8
    Bully is quite unique, you play a teen (with some issues) arriving to his new boarding school, the game is a true satire of the school system, painting useless/abusive adults and a social tyranny amongst students (and it may not be too far from the reality). And so you'll have to earn the respect from every "gang" one by one thanks to a large variety of tasks, some of them pretty uselessBully is quite unique, you play a teen (with some issues) arriving to his new boarding school, the game is a true satire of the school system, painting useless/abusive adults and a social tyranny amongst students (and it may not be too far from the reality). And so you'll have to earn the respect from every "gang" one by one thanks to a large variety of tasks, some of them pretty useless (delivery jobs and so) could have been cut out of the game but some of them are also very imaginative and somehow epic. But overall the main story is very fun, thanks to excellent writing and cinematics providing original and memorable characters.

    As most of the Rockstar games, Bully is set in an open world, and even if it's quite small compared to their other games it offers quite a lot of side activities (mainly collectibles, but also optional tasks, shops, a funfair, etc.) and of course classes you can attend to and pass if you're successful during the minigames. The game will keep you occupy approximately 30 hours if you want it all (15, if you just wanna do the main story) which is very acceptable for this genre without being outstanding.

    Finally let's talk about the main issues of the game, all related to its porting to PC, the graphics didn't improved at all and makes the game look pretty bad for a 2008 release, but most of all the controls aren't user friendly at all and will take a few hours to master (even then it will not be natural). It's a shame.

    Despite this I still love the game, mainly for its originality I will cherish my memories of it and welcome with open-arms a sequel (College edition ?) and it's definitely a good game that will provide good entertainment.    … Expand
  4. TheStrange
    Apr 13, 2013
    10
    A great game, I enjoyed the story and the gameplay, the characters are fun, free roam are full of animation. A beautiful game.
  5. adyneghina
    Jan 3, 2014
    9
    One of the most underrated games It's got an great story awesome gameplay and a big world
    Only problem is PC optimization on newer systems which was chaotic until the patch
  6. KegOfGrog
    Apr 20, 2019
    8
    Canis Canem Edit nella versione europea, dove venne eliminato il titolo Bully per rendere meno esplicito il soggetto (anche se la locuzione latina usata come sottotitolo nella versione originale significa "Cane mangia cane" e descrive, quindi, a pennello l'atmosfera del gioco) è diventato ormai un classico.

    La Rockstar è stata furba perché si è mossa in un territorio a lei familiare,    Canis Canem Edit nella versione europea, dove venne eliminato il titolo Bully per rendere meno esplicito il soggetto (anche se la locuzione latina usata come sottotitolo nella versione originale significa "Cane mangia cane" e descrive, quindi, a pennello l'atmosfera del gioco) è diventato ormai un classico.

    La Rockstar è stata furba perché si è mossa in un territorio a lei familiare, quello già collaudato con la serie Grand Theft Auto, colonizzando una fetta di mercato un po' trascurata dalle altre software-house: quella della vita scolastica. Se avete giocato a Manhunt (se non lo avete fatto, dovreste!), il protagonista vi dirà qualcosa fin dal primo sguardo; sia esso il figlio di James Earl Cash, il suo fratellastro perduto, o una sua versione da giovane, il risultato non cambia: James "Jimmy" Hopkins è quasi un gemello perduto del protagonista dell'altro gioco.

    Iniziamo dal principio, comunque, nel recensire questo titolo del 2006 nativo Play Station 2, del quale è stato fatto il porting per Xbox e Microsoft Windows nel 2008. La prima regola quando si parla di un gioco di una certa età è contestualizzarlo: non aspettatevi una grafica paragonabile a quella dei giochi più moderni, anche nella Scholarship Edition - rivisitazione che aggiunge una grafica in alta definizione, nuove missioni, lezioni, mini giochi, personaggi e oggetti - tuttavia, quello che pecca in estetica, o nel comprato audio (ripetitivo in quanto effetti e colonna sonora, mentre il doppiaggio originale è più che discreto), lo "guadagna" in termini di ambientazione e story-line e gameplay. Infatti, l'ambiente scolastico americano (così lontano da quello nostrano) è ripreso nella maniera più cruda, esasperata e realistica possibile.

    Jimmy Hopkins è un ragazzo di quindici anni in piena crisi adolescenziale, che sta a noi gestire in tutto e per tutto; possiamo scegliere il suo modo di comportarsi, di agire, di relazionarsi con gli altri e persino il suo look. Ci troviamo a controllare questo teenager problematico, espulso da ben sette scuole per motivi più o meno gravi (tra cui un incendio doloso), che viene abbandonato dalla madre fresca di quinte nozze e dal nuovo patrigno alla Bullworth Academy. È lampante la componente emotiva che spinge il ragazzo a comportarsi come un teppista, a trovare nella violenza la risposta ai suoi dilemmi morali - e non giustificata solo da ragioni di gameplay, quindi, cosa realmente apprezzabile perché' porta acqua al mulino del background del nostro personaggio - poiché' James soffre la mancanza totale delle figure genitoriali. L'unica vera casa del ragazzo sono i collegi dai quali viene continuamente espulso, mentre cerca in tutti i modi di restare a galla negli spietati degli istituti "correzionali" in cui viene spedito di volta in volta. La scuola privata del New England sarà un punto di svolta e tocca al giocatore scegliere in che modo: sarà l'eroe dei secchioni? L'ennesimo bullo violento? Il ribelle incompreso? Il fighetto capobranco?

    Le possibilità, come le fazioni, sono moltissime e questo contribuisce ad aumentare la longevità del titolo.

    Essendo un "tipico" quindicenne dovrete seguire le lezioni, che a seconda della materia vi daranno vari bonus (ad esempio: seguendo le lezioni di inglese imparerete a scusarvi con le autorità, mentre seguendo le lezioni di ginnastica imparerete nuove combo da usare contro i vostri avversari, oppure partecipando alle lezioni di chimica potrete costruire numerosi armi con l'attrezzatura chimica in camera vostra, o ancora seguendo le lezioni di arte acquisirete maggiori capacità nel trattare con il gentil sesso), preoccuparvi della vostra reputazione, compiere vari lavoretti per guadagnare denaro e uscire con i vostri coetanei (cosa utile per aumentare i bonus salute). Inoltre essendo un titolo di genere sandbox, ci offrire la possibilità di scegliere il nostro modo personale per arrivare alla fine di ogni missione e quando svolgerla.

    Questo gioco di avventura open world sembra quasi un simulatore di vita reale (proprio come il cugino GTA da cui ha ereditato le caratteristiche di free roaming), che ci consente di immergerci nel mondo delle high school americane, che siamo tanto abituati a vedere tramite le loro popolarissime serie tv.

    L'unica pecca significativa a mio modesto parere è stata la cattiva gestione del porting, che rende quasi obbligatorio possedere un joypad per sopperire alla scomodità dell'accoppiata mouse/tastiera; che, sfortunatamente, come la maggior parte dei computer-gamer preferisco. Se per Xbox il gameplay risultava forzato, per pc risulta macchinoso e complicato da gestire (fin da subito e' palese la mancanza di impegno nel trasporto dei comandi di gioco).

    Questa piccola perla è un must nella collezione di ogni amante dei titoli Rockstar, un titolo innovativo (per i suoi tempi, ovviamente) e satirico che è in grado di regalare ore di divertimento.    … Expand
  7. KamilP.
    Nov 22, 2008
    9
    It is a wonderfull game from masters of GTA style games. It has bad controls but they are easy to redifine.
  8. AwesomeGamer
    Mar 6, 2012
    10
    MOST UNDERRATED GAME EVER!!!!!!

    I just dont get how can people dislike this game.. It AMAZING! The story is really, the characters are really likeable, and the game is FUN,, i recommend this game to EVERYONE!
  9. webbs
    Feb 9, 2014
    10
    Any rating under 8 is crap if you say it glitches then you sir or mistress have a crappy computer. Bully is amazing and i have to admit it is goes up there with JC2 and not too far below GTA IV or V
  10. RedolfoDias99
    Jul 9, 2015
    10
    I don't know why people dont like this game, 'cause honestly it's awesome, if you expect a GTA you will get kind of sad, but it is a great game still! in fact I enjoyed it more than GTA IV. It has an intersiting plot, a decent combat system, the main character is very nice, it has awesome main quests. I realy advise you to try this game, it is one of the most underrated of the Xbox/PS2 generation!
  11. LincolnClay
    Jan 10, 2017
    8
    gta+school+no guns=bully. godly amazing game with a great storyline,i first played it on ps2. it was easy in ps2 but pc..the controls..ughhhh,not so much but still it worked like a charm and rocked like a god. it's simply a phenomenal game made by rockstar studios,hope to see bully 2 come out soon as possible. every open world game fan should try out this.

    My rating for it would be 8.4/10
  12. tomasz009
    May 24, 2014
    8
    First off I want to say that I didn't experience any bugs in this game, except for one Townie mission where the audio just cut out and spluttered intermittently. Yeah, I played this with the controller though, so there may be problems on mouse and keyboard that I'm not aware of.

    Anyway, this game is great, and is up there in terms of Rockstar Games' quality. The setting is so creative -    First off I want to say that I didn't experience any bugs in this game, except for one Townie mission where the audio just cut out and spluttered intermittently. Yeah, I played this with the controller though, so there may be problems on mouse and keyboard that I'm not aware of.

    Anyway, this game is great, and is up there in terms of Rockstar Games' quality. The setting is so creative - it's not just GTA with a facelift and a young protagonist - you feel like you're part of the school. Going to class is actually fun (except Shop cos for some reason the game thinks I'm NOT turn LS counter-clockwise....arghh), and while I was truant a lot, it was never a chore to abandon missions to go to class.

    Characters - great, I liked the character of Jimmy, as well as the faction leaders; Johnny and Earnest mainly. Jimmy himself is a dick, but he knows it, and he doesn't ever act so maturely that his age doesn't make sense. Gary...well. you don't really see him much, but he is an interesting douchebag when you do.
    The missions were probably the highlight of the game: doing GTA-like things like drive-bys, punchups, and fetch quests with a kid-like twist. Gameplay was always solid, and I liked being able to bust out the skateboard to go somewhere instead of worrying about cars. Most of these missions have parts that are a nod to adults, especially Mr Burton's and that lunchlady's missions (people who have played it know what I mean).

    Finally, the environment of Bullworth and its surrounding towns was surprisingly rich. I found myself wondering if they scaled down the town because without a car, you wouldn't travel around it so fast. This is probably why they squeezed in more detail...and when I found myself on a moped, my suspicions were confirmed. Didn't really feel the urge to explore it outside of missions, though.

    Yeah, so, Bully's a great game if you want to feel nostalgic over your New England school days, as well as beat up some preppies and nerds, GTA-style. I'd give it 8.5/10.    … Expand
  13. johnathanhellbourne
    Aug 16, 2009
    8
    It's a GTA themed game except that the pistols are slingshots and the protaganist is having puberty but It feels better than the GTA series main reason is tha I don't have to spend half the time going to point A to B just for an stupid race ar an gunfight, this game has a small map that can reduce the freadom but because you can stray of the path and dying is sometimesIt's a GTA themed game except that the pistols are slingshots and the protaganist is having puberty but It feels better than the GTA series main reason is tha I don't have to spend half the time going to point A to B just for an stupid race ar an gunfight, this game has a small map that can reduce the freadom but because you can stray of the path and dying is sometimes impossible, and seriously if you complete art class you can kiss a girl and get health (or body armor) but still it has some probles most boss characters from the factions(bully, nerd, preps, greasers,etc) the camera angle is stucks and especially the nerd boss the camera angle is very horrible I died three times, and also the overall camera angle is sometimes anoying when you ride a bike the camera autolocks on the back, that restrains you to fire projectiles at enemys, and geography class it's really horrible and besides what does it unlock? I don't kno and I don't care and math class it's practically useless it just gives you clothes I expected better than that, an graphic textures is a bit low(for the PC) anyways the control may be sometimes a pain because of the combat that lacks depth, and an anoying camera it's still fun… Expand
  14. Ps3blaze22
    Mar 6, 2012
    10
    MOST UNDERRATED GAME EVER!!!!!!

    One of the BEST games ever.. Simply AMAZING! The story is really, the characters are really likeable, and the game is FUN,, i recommend this game to EVERYONE!
  15. ThatGamerGuy
    Mar 13, 2014
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I love Bully its fun and a gta game for kids. Its the the first rockstar game i played and still my fav game to date. The twist in the 1st chapter where garry betrays you AMAZING. But its opinion and i accept that. The soundtrack is stupendous with perfect music by Shaun Lee… Expand
  16. filipdimkovski
    Mar 9, 2015
    10
    This is the worst PC port i have ever played. No menu mouse support and incredibly long loading screen. Don't buy this on PC.
    p.s.
    the animation is also terrible.
  17. NormalGuy1996
    Feb 22, 2011
    8
    Grand Theft Auto, but with kids. Sure, the classes are a pain in the ass, and I'm still stuck on English 4, but the missions are funny, and there's a bunch of things you can do besides go to school. The graphics are dated, but keep in mind that this is an old game. All in all, this is a must buy for any Rockstar fan.
  18. mtroni
    Jun 26, 2016
    9
    Not sure why the fellow critics are so tough on this game. These days you can often find it on sale for a mere 3 or 5 dollars and it really is worth the few bucks, if you are not one of the mainstream ADD shoot and explosion type gamers. Fun, different and at times a bit nostalgic (you play a kid in highschool, after all)- check it out!
  19. Gerp
    Mar 23, 2012
    10
    It's rare that a developer goes from make a adult game about crime with very adult themes. To making a game about a high school kid who moves to a school for child delinquents and socially challenged kids, but in a lot of ways Bully is like a GTA. For example Bully is a giant open world with stuff to collect, bike races to do, arcade games to play, and much more to just kind of find.TheIt's rare that a developer goes from make a adult game about crime with very adult themes. To making a game about a high school kid who moves to a school for child delinquents and socially challenged kids, but in a lot of ways Bully is like a GTA. For example Bully is a giant open world with stuff to collect, bike races to do, arcade games to play, and much more to just kind of find.The mission structure is very similar to GTA, you do a bunch of work for one of the factions;like the jocks or the nerds, and the more the more you do work for one faction it can effect your standing with others. Which in turn can effect the way some of the people treat you at school. The combat is very similar but instead of machine guns and rocket launches. Your playing with slingshots and stink bombs. There are also a lot of things that are different about Bully that really makes it feel like your in high school it feel very structured, but that's not a bad thing at all. Like you have classes two times a day everyday until you pass the highest level of that class, and of you don't go the prefects or any adult of authority. All the classes have there own perks like one of the classes shows you where all the collectibles, and unlike the protagonists in GTA jimmy is 15 and needs his sleep so if your out past 2 you just pass out on the spot which can make some night missions feel a little too time restrictive.
    The story starts you out in a car ride with you and your mom and what seems to be your new stepdad. They then drop you off in the front of Bullyworth academy where you meet the principle and some of the teacher, but the fun starts to come in when you go to your dorm room and meet your new friend Gary, who is a sociopath, i don't know how else to put it.You soon start to become manipulated by him, and you two soon go your separate ways and you start to see less and less of him. You then start to do work for the other factions of the school. Playing Bully it kind of puts you back and makes you think about your time in high school, I know the archetypes aren't as plain and simple as they are in Bully but it does a great job of boiling a lot of the high school experience down to a 20 hour game.
    Then there are a few technical issues with bully I didn't really have too many other then the game crash on me a couple of times, and that just sucks after that happened for the first time a started saving much more frequently. I can't really say definitely how the game will turn out for you, but it didn't seem to bad. From my experience with it. Over all the game is well made but parts of it just seem kind of repetitive and broken;overall though I think it's a great game.    … Expand
  20. peterf28
    Oct 31, 2014
    10
    Rockstar games are just unbelievable cool !!! This is such a great game and it took me 5 years to find it, i did not know about this game before. Truly great !!! ROCKSTAR RULES !!!
  21. Longshots
    Jun 15, 2014
    10
    one of the best open world games and should even cost more.
  22. Karlsefniy
    Jul 7, 2022
    9
    Bully was one of my favourite videogames when I was a kid. To this day, I can still play and have fun playing it.
  23. Izoeros
    Jun 24, 2022
    8
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  24. Nicoskov
    Jul 3, 2013
    9
    This was easily one of my favorite games on my Ps2, and i really enjoyed playing it on the PC as well.
    The Scholarship Edition adds a few new missions (Nothing major), some new school classes and improved graphics (As compared to the Ps2 version). I found the story enjoyable, and i loved the atmosphere surrounding the game. The game is best played with an Xbox 360 controller, but the    This was easily one of my favorite games on my Ps2, and i really enjoyed playing it on the PC as well.
    The Scholarship Edition adds a few new missions (Nothing major), some new school classes and improved graphics (As compared to the Ps2 version). I found the story enjoyable, and i loved the atmosphere surrounding the game. The game is best played with an Xbox 360 controller, but the Keyboard controls are fine as well.    … Expand
  25. BoltzmannBaby
    Mar 9, 2012
    9
    Bully is not GTA in a school campus just like RDR is not GTA in the old wild west. Bully is it's own game, and it's story plays out remarkably well. There is only one bad thing about this port: the control scheme. It is one of the first, if not the first game where Rockstar implements the XBox360 controller alongside keyboard controls, and it shows when trying to play with the keyboard.Bully is not GTA in a school campus just like RDR is not GTA in the old wild west. Bully is it's own game, and it's story plays out remarkably well. There is only one bad thing about this port: the control scheme. It is one of the first, if not the first game where Rockstar implements the XBox360 controller alongside keyboard controls, and it shows when trying to play with the keyboard. But apart from that, is a gaming experience not to be missed. The world doesn't feel as big and complex as it's contemporary GTA games (San Andreas), but there's a lot to do in it, even with the lackluster number of vehicles (a few types of pedal-bikes, a kart and wheelboard). The weapons in other games here became improvised "tools" like marbles, rotten eggs, fire-crackers and spud-guns, and the campus is just part of the game, with a (small) city waiting for Jimmy to evade into.… Expand
  26. Shuff264
    May 16, 2012
    10
    One of the best games I have ever played, fulfilling to play it for hours on end and has a great story arc. Characters are fantastic and hilarious! Really underrated game!
  27. Enerla
    May 21, 2012
    9
    Porting issues. A well known term of our age. But with this game we had no real performance or stability issues. The key is: Reviewers who played the game on another platform remember the controls, how natural it feels to control the game. But when you see a PC port, everything is different. You have to aim, you have new controls and more. It isn't bad. Except for some mouse gesture likePorting issues. A well known term of our age. But with this game we had no real performance or stability issues. The key is: Reviewers who played the game on another platform remember the controls, how natural it feels to control the game. But when you see a PC port, everything is different. You have to aim, you have new controls and more. It isn't bad. Except for some mouse gesture like controls (lockpicking) the controls can feel natural for a PC Gamer. The story, the mood is nice, but sadly something is missing. While you have classes, you don't have radio. And while it is easy to play music in backgrund, you won't have talk shows, commercials, etc. and in a GTA like game we just love commercials. We recognize how American companies advertise, we hear a similar add and laugh. This is how we feel the world of GTA as our World. Bully isn't only smaller, but it isn't as detailed as most GTA titles, and this feels. It is a more than decent game. The issues aren't serious. But from Rockstar you would expect a bit more.… Expand
  28. drakenseng
    Feb 12, 2013
    8
    a twist to the GTA themed games, it invovles a highschool boy and how his school like turns out is up to you. I wouldn't say this is better than GTA but it is a nice change. you will have to go to classes and play mini games which is interesting a bit. although if you fail to go to class you have to do chores...which gets boring fast. lots of the missions are kinda repetitive and only aa twist to the GTA themed games, it invovles a highschool boy and how his school like turns out is up to you. I wouldn't say this is better than GTA but it is a nice change. you will have to go to classes and play mini games which is interesting a bit. although if you fail to go to class you have to do chores...which gets boring fast. lots of the missions are kinda repetitive and only a few are fun to play. no guns and stealing cars, so you have to use more of your wit and basic weapons like slingshots and stealing bikes...overall story is decent, you go and change the school basically.… Expand
  29. RSL
    Apr 17, 2013
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. What can i say about this game that has not already been said? Not to much, this game is a hands down classic in every sense of the word, and still will be.
    Story:7/10
    The reason I'm giving the story a seven, is because there is not to much detail about Jimmy, and why he is going to bullworth, all we have is that he has a mean step dad and he is a trouble maker, we don't know WHAT he did

    Characters:10/10
    Why am i giving this a high rating you ask? Because all the characters are unique in their own way. Lets take Russel for example, he is a thug [Spoilers ahead] who in the end, turns out to be a loving person.

    Missions:9/10
    The reason i am giving this a nine is only because of the seasons. I never did like the idea of seasons in video games, but i absolutely HATED the winter season. From the tagging mission to the drunk Santa, the missions are also qwerky and replayabe

    Graphics:10/10
    [Nothing to say here]

    Ending:8/10
    In the end, you confront the bully Garry, who insults you as you chase him,
    Garry has a plan to take over bullworth, while Jimmy thinks other,
    Russel helps you, and a expelled student comes back.
    Garry gets expelled, and the principle is no longer on jimmy tail about anything.    … Expand
  30. Gapi
    Apr 29, 2013
    9
    I really enjoyed this game. It has good characters, cool missions, a nice story and funny dialogues. Also, they did a very good job with the soundtrack. A must-buy for GTA fans.
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Awards & Rankings

72
#72 Best PC Game of 2008
21
#21 Most Discussed PC Game of 2008
20
#20 Most Shared PC Game of 2008

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 11
  3. Negative: 1 out of 11
  1. 1UP
    42
    Bully's biggest problem is that it's a shoddy port job, rife with technical missteps that wouldn't warrant comment if they weren't so profoundly damaging to the game.
    Read full review
  2. IGN
    78
    Uninspired classroom minigames and PC-specific porting and performance problems continue to frustrate our experience with the game, but never so much that we weren't willing to load it back up again to uncover the next chapter of the story.
    Read full review
  3. GameStar
    84
    Welcome to Bullworth Academy, a melting pot of high school stereotypes. Outsiders are making plans to rule the world, teachers terrorize their pupils, sports aces and rock 'n rollers try to impress the girls while the posh students wrinkle their nose. While the GTA-style game itself is well done, the technical conversion to the PC is a bit sloppy. Should you ever be asked why video games are a cultural asset, show them Bully.
    Read full review
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