Even some problems can't stop a Bully
Bully arrived almost two years ago on Sony's PlayStation 2. At that moment we saw Rockstar could make a game that didn't have guns, car driving, or blood. Bully follows the story of Jimmy Hawkins, a teenage boy, left behind at Bullworth Academy as his mother and new step-father drive away for the Honeymoon, which will be a year long. You are now left alone at Bullworth, to make your own path, by fitting into new groups such as the nerds or greasers, go to class, or even get a girlfriend (kissing scenes included.
First off, the game's graphics have been toned up for the Xbox 360 version of Bully: Scholarship Edition. Character's faces appear to have more detail this time around. Even the school and surrounding community has been toned up for Jimmy's Scholarship edition. Note though that the graphics are not something truly amazing. This is not running of what GTA IV is going to run on or even anything impressive we have seen on the Xbox 360.
The story remains the same, but with some new mini games and a Christmas story that was added into this version of Bully. If you played the game before you are going to remember the story, so it could be boring if you play through again. Even so, the story is a good story that give you a chance to experiment with the different groups and pull pranks on all the other students at Bullworth. You have the chance to attend classes at school, such as Gym, Chemistry, Music, Art, Biology, etc. These classes are simple mini-games that you either pass or fail. Passing classes help you unlock new items and such. Classes are only optional, except when you are caught by a prefect during class hours, which you are then forced to attend class.
For being a game about a school you are allowed to leave the school and walk, ride a bike, or skate board around the surrounding community. Bully is a sand box game which give you more freedom. In the community around Bullworth you can get a haircut to customize Jimmy or buy items for your use. In school and around the community you may get side missions by students to escort them somewhere or put something in a locker for them. All these things could possibly get you into trouble with the authorities if caught,.
In Bully: Scholarship Edition one of the games new features is the ability to play with a friend. But not how you would want to play it. You can only play games with the friend, which is fun, but not something that would be fun for a long time. It would have been more interesting to see Rockstar allow co-op play for Bully this time around.
In closing, if you were disappointed to see Bully canceled for the Xbox and never got a PS2 to play it now is your chance, with some new content included. If you did play the PS2 version, buying it again probably isn't worth because the new content is not that great. Also, if you don't like bugs Bully: Scholarship Edition is full of them on the Xbox 360. These bugs can cause your game to freeze and even crash. These bugs can cause you to save a lot and when it happens to become frustrated when it does.
I do recommend Bully: Scholarship Edition, but a buyer beware.
Note: At the time I reviewed the bugs in the 360 version still had not been fixed.
