Video - Multiplayer minigames:
http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/682180/Exclusive_First_Look_Bully_Scholarship_Edition.htmlPreview:
http://www.gamer20.com/gamehub/bully-scholarship-edition-x360/previews/804/This week we found ourselves at Rockstar’s office in downtown Manhattan checking out one of the titles they have been working on lately; no, it’s not GTA IV. Instead, we were walked through a bit of both the Wii and Xbox 360 versions of Bully: Scholarship Edition, the next-gen translations of the popular PS2 title which has sold just under 2 million copies. Although we didn’t get to play the game ourselves, we got to see how things have come along thus far, and with two months before release, it’s pretty safe to say that it’s worth checking out if you’ve never played the game before.
For those who have never played the original, the game follows Jimmy Hopkins, a grade-A troublemaker who’s been sent to Bullworth Academy, a highly reputable boarding school, to get straightened out. In the walkthrough of the Wii version, we are introduced to Dr. Crabblesnith, the headmaster, who makes it clear that if you don’t keep your nose clean, he’ll “clean it for you.”
As we were told, the game isn’t so much about being a bully as it is “navigating the social strata” as it was put to us. Which is pretty much the case, as you are bullied right out of the gate as the new kid at school. The basic story premise is unchanged, short of the 8 new missions and 4 new classes (Biology, Music, Match, and Geography), but we’ll touch on that later.
The Wii version’s biggest change is obviously in the controls, which they said they didn’t want to make too exaggerated. “You shouldn’t have to be flailing your arms around,” which is an understandable concern for a 20-30 hour game. We saw a bit of combat, which was gesture based, with targeting duty assigned to the C-button, grabbing done with the Z-button, and the nunchuck and Wiimote acting as the left and right fists, respectively.
The controls for the Wii didn’t seem to be anything especially innovative, but considering how straightforward of a game Bully is, there isn’t much to innovate upon when it comes to controls. They merely get the job done. The graphics are pretty comparable to the PS2 version, and even though the game has a month before final internal submission, don’t expect the Wii version to blow you away, as expected given the hardware limitations.
What was interesting was one of the newly added offline multiplayer mini-games. The two Rockstar reps went head-to-head in a race to dissect a specimen in the new Biology class. Using the Wiimote to slice and dice open the subject seems to be a fun change of pace, and fondly reminds us of Trauma Center.
Though it looks as though it could become a tired game with time, after repeatedly using the scalpel to cut around the stomach, intestines, or what have you. It’s a lot of “cutting around,” and we’re not sure how long that could go on enjoyably.
The most lasting impression was left by the Xbox 360 version, which we saw afterwards. As soon as it was fired up, we saw that there was a vast improvement over the PS2 version made in terms of the graphical presentation, which was explained by the involvement of developer Mad Doc, who did the actual conversion.
The Xbox 360 version doesn’t run on Rockstar’s Rage Engine. Instead it runs on a proprietary Mad Doc engine, and the extra coat of next-gen polish is evident in the new trees, surface textures, and smoother character models. It almost appears as though it was originally developed for the Xbox 360, although it would be at the lower end of Xbox 360 titles visually. The graphics look that much better when compared to the PS2 and Wii versions.
There were a few glitches, like purple floors and serious clipping issues, but the game still has some time to get the kinks worked out, so it’s hard to make definitive knocks on an unfinished product.
We got see one of the new missions, “Rudy the Red Nosed Santa,” which features a whiskey breathed Santa, claiming to be the real St. Nick merely having fallen on hard times, tasking Jimmy with finding ornaments to spruce up his shack of a “workshop.” While out gathering ornaments scattered throughout the area, he was ambushed by elves sent by rival Santas in the neighborhood. After retrieving all the ornaments, you have to take pictures of children sitting on Santa’s lap, but they have to be smiling when you take it.
What’s amusing is that these kids are sitting on this drunken Santa’s lap in an alleyway in what appears to be a pretty shady part of town. One would have to ask, where the hell are these kids’ parents? There are 8 new missions, with a few of them taking place in the winter, a part of the game they thought was especially overlooked in the original.
The Rudy the Red Nosed Santa mission wasn’t especially memorable as far as the actual mission is concerned, and was perhaps a little too straightforward and seemingly too easy of a task. The Santa himself, however, was priceless, and made the mission wholly worth watching.
Rockstar claims that this next-gen release isn’t about the money, since the original saw favorable sales. Instead, they said that when the game originally came out, it was at the tail end of 2006, when many people who might have been interested had already made the jump to next-gen, and weren’t looking back on the PS2 any longer.
Above and beyond the additions already listed, there will be new unlockable items and clothing, additional 2-player offline mini-games, new music and ambient dialogue, and Xbox 360 achievements. Bully: Scholarship Edition will be on store shelves on March 4, but we should be back with some hands on time in a few weeks time, so stay tuned.
Screenshots:
Xbox 360:
Wii:
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