Bully: Scholarship Edition (Xbox 360)

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A few more visual improvements wouldn't have gone amiss

Bully's reputation has come about because of what bullies are notorious for doing, and of course there's plenty of bullying in the game, but it really isn't as bad as it sounds. You can beat people up, humiliate people, throw things, shoot people with your slingshot, and generally do the kind of things that kids do. The combat system is remarkably simple, and projectile weapons can be auto-targeted or manually aimed without too much hassle. There are no guns, no machetes, no bombs (that do real damage anyway) and there's no killing. Sure, kicking a guy while he's on the ground isn't nice, but people who pick on you first deserve all they get - in a video game anyway.

Part of Bully's charm is how simple everything is. You might fail the odd mission, but most people should find working through the game a pleasure, and not a battle against cheating AI or cheap tactics. The gameplay world isn't huge by Rockstar standards, but it's more than big enough for a kid, and environments like the fairground are so wonderfully created that you'll want to go back again and again - whether you're on a date and trying to impress, or simply trying out the rides and mini-games. The map is equally great, with easy to understand markers, and because the game world isn't overly large it never takes too long to get from one location to another - and you can always catch a bus back to school.

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On the PlayStation 2 Bully looked pretty great, with the large environments and attention to detail going a long way to counter the lack of next-gen polish. Sadly this port to the Xbox 360 is essentially the same game, running at a higher resolution and with improved texture quality. The difference is clearly noticeable and a welcomed upgrade over the original, but Bully can't escape its PS2 roots. What hurts more than a slightly last-gen appearance is an occasionally slow frame rate and frequent loading screens. The loading in particular starts to grate after a while. We experienced one crash while playing the game, resulting in a small amount of lost play-time, so saving regularly is advised. This is something Rockstar is hoping to fix with a patch.

One area that holds up just as well as it did on the PS2 is the audio. There aren't any licensed tunes to listen to, which is somewhat of a surprise given Rockstar's history with the GTA series, but the dynamic soundtrack does an excellent job, and the voice acting really is superb, sounding incredibly natural. Although the in-game models don't quite synch perfectly to their voices, the feeling of being in a real school is one of the game's greatest achievements.

You're never short of something to do

Speaking of achievements, they're one of the new additions to the Xbox 360 game. While there's probably not enough new content to tempt gamers who have already seen all there is to see in the original release, eight new missions, four new classes to attend, new characters and a handful of two-player mini-games are solid additions to the core game - although most these mini-games are based on classes you take while at school. We'd have traded them all for a smoother frame rate and higher polygon models, but the new content can't be sniffed at.

Bully is a surprisingly simple and rather tame game by Rockstar's standards, but that's part of its charm. The sense of grandeur seen in the likes of San Andreas isn't here, but Bully has a sense of character that is unique. You'll care about sneaking back to your dorm after curfew, forgetting to buy flowers for the girl you quite fancy, or earning a few quid before school starts. It's a fun experience from start to finish (something that will take longer than you might think) and a welcome breath of fresh air - even if it is a port.

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