[Slight Spoilers (mostly near the end)]
Well, here is the very first Bully-Board review, written by none other than MBP himself:
There has been so much hype for this game. I have beein waiting for this game since the issue of Tips and Tricks it appeared in about two years ago. People have said this game is possibly the best PS2 game to date.
Let me tell you all: It is.
The game plays very similar to a GTA style game, very free to do whatever you want and such. This is not new to anyone.
Classes are possibly the most important part at the beginning of the game (I'm near Chapter 3 now). You need to go to almost every class you can (I've found English to be one of the most useful) to beef Jimmy up for those situations you can't fight yourself out of. What's better than a suckerpunch to the face? A direct firecracker shot the groin.
Now, of course, everyone is yelling at the top of your lungs: "WHAT ABOUT THE FIGHTING!?" Well, there are a couple of styles to choose from. You have Jimmy's unique style, Boxing, Wrestling (which is really just improvised grappling), and of course the famous Hobo's style. It works like this: Square is your basic attack, Triangle lets you grapple, and Circle is the infamous "humiliation move". Later in the game, pressing X will let you calm down your opponent before the fight gets out of hand.
Now, here are the mission designs: You must initiate interaction, get the briefing, fulfill the mission, and (95% of the time), return to your objective giver for your just reward. Nearly EVERY mission in the game affects your standing with one of the cliques. For example, in Chapter 1, the final fight in the level is against Russell (the toughest Bully around). When you defeat him, you gain +100 points of Bully respect (for proving your toughness), and +5 points of Nerd respect (for beating their tormentor).
The game is very lighthearted and humorous despite all the bad rep it's been getting. Fortunately, it keeps Rockstar's infamous knack for including some kind of raunchiness in its games like pinching a girl's ass and what not, so you know what you're dealing with.
In conclusion, I've been very happy to meet you all here and discuss the game with you all. Before I retreat back to my cave to continue playing, I'd like to thank you all for reading this far if you did so.
A game that has gone through all the obstacles (bad media, protests, and of course our good friend J.T), and still managed to squeeze itself out into the daylight shows that Rockstar are the pros that we take them for.
Manbearpig's Final Verdict: Everything we've hoped for and more
Thank you and have a lovely day.
