From article on
http://www.azcentral.com/ent/vgames/articles/0811bully0811.htmlBoarding school student Jimmy Hopkins is either a good kid with a penchant for bad behavior or a delinquent who sometimes does the right thing. It all depends on what you decide.
Hopkins, 15, is the central character in "Bully," a PlayStation 2 game from Rockstar Games, the company that created the ultra-violent, ultra-popular "Grand Theft Auto" titles.
"Bully," which is set for release in October, already has attracted criticism, sight unseen. Some have expressed fears that the game is "a Columbine simulator," a reference to the deadly 1999 shootings at a Colorado high school. advertisement
From a two-hour exclusive preview of "Bully," the "Columbine simulator" fear appears to be meritless. There are no guns in the game and no killing. Schoolyard fisticuffs are a central element, but there is no blood or black eyes, and nobody seems to get seriously hurt.
Missions in the game dictate a story, and Jimmy's goal is to make it through the school year. He can become a bully or a protector of the weaker kids, depending on choices made along the way.
Rockstar's Rodney Walker acknowledges that some parents will say the game is inappropriate for children because it explores unpleasant parts of childhood. "School is tough sometimes," he says. "School is not always straight A's."
If players break rules, by doing such things as starting fights or skipping class, Jimmy suffers consequences, resulting in punishments like mowing grass or shoveling snow."You need certain rules in a boarding school," Walker says. "We want you to feel like you're in school, that constant pressure of class."
Class can be fun, however. Chemistry helps Jimmy build firecrackers, and his English lessons are word-scramble games. The better the player does, the more "literate" Jimmy becomes. High literacy means he can talk himself out of trouble or woo a girl into giving him a kiss. (A smooch increases his strength.)"School is a social experience," Walker says. "The way Jimmy relates has different consequences."
Being too friendly with one group of students will alienate another. Pick on the "Nerds," for instance, and the "Bullies" will see you as one of their own but the Nerds will unite against you. They're weak, but they can make fireworks.These are unusual themes for a Rockstar game, whose GTA titles have amoral characters simply trying to advance lives of crime and violence.
Until the company presents the game to critics, none can make a formal assessment. But Andy Tomko, a self-described "recovering bully" who runs the Web site YouBigBully.com, says he is aware of the game and has mixed feelings about it.
After hearing a description, Tomko said that for violence alone, "I would be opposed to this game." But he added that Jimmy choosing whether to be good or a jerk could be a positive; it might make teenagers think about how they behave. "Sometimes kids are hard to reach when you just talk to them, so this might give them a more visceral connection."
The Bold stuff is about gameplayTo Summerise-your goal is to last a school year: either being a protector of the weak or a Bully[well I know which one I'm gonna be] Its up to you and the choices you make
-If you brake the rules: Fighting,skipping class...You will be punished with tasks- The school year has Season, with puishments being shoveling Snow and Grass
-Going to classes aids Jimmy. For example:Chemistry gives him Fire crackers and English helps him speak better, helping him sociely like talking himself out of trouble and chating up girls.-Kisses from girls gives Jimmy confidence and strengh
-Making friends with one group causes trouble with the next, Picking on nerds will win you the respect of Bullies but the nerds can fight back.To help you understand better Read it all
