Rockstar’s Bully: Scholarship Edition is an enhanced version of Bully that was released on the Playstation 2 in 2006. This enhanced version includes eight new missions, new unlockables and various other enhancements. Bully takes advantage of the Wii’s intuitive controls and makes this extended version more user interactive. Although the Scholarship Edition supposedly enhanced Bully's graphics, they are still only slightly better than the Playstation 2 version. This may deter some, but this should not turn you away from this great game.

Cut It Up

In Bully you assume the role of Jimmy, a young man who was dumped off at a New England boarding School. Jimmy finds himself struggling to fit into the many social groups present at Bullworth Academy. This eventually leads you to do things that will allow you to gain higher social standing within the school.

The various missions in Bully are extremely fun and intuitive. Players are given the chance to do everything from mowing lawns to wreaking havoc on the local town. However you must choose your missions wisely or you might upset a social group.

Missions also include classes that you can choose to attend. However, choosing not to attend may result in you being sent to the principal’s office. This, of course, will lead to you having to mow grass for detention. The classes offered in Bully are fun enough that you may actually find yourself going to class everyday.

The various classes available at Bullworth Academy are your typical high school classes. Biology, English, Math and Music are all included and each have their own tasks that you must perform while in class. My personal favorite class was Biology. Biology has the player dissect animals using the Wiimote in a cutting and grabbing manner. English has you taking a group of letters and creating a word out of it, which also proved to be a lot of fun. If you complete a class, you are given a special ability or item that will help you throughout the game. Of course, that is all dependent on whether or not you decide to actually go.

Jimmy is a very mischievous child and may decide to skip class to do missions in the local town, instead of attending class like a good boy. There are all kinds of shops in the town of Bullworth, where you can purchase various items or people to talk to that will give you various missions. One such mission involves a midget ticked off at the various garden gnomes in the town. Players can expect this kind of humor throughout the game.

Integration of the nunchuk and Wiimote into Bully provides a very enjoyable experience. Players will find themselves swinging frantically at the air, while Jimmy knocks out his opponent. The controls really help to make you think that you are cutting a frog up or slapping a person in the face. Rockstar made a great choice when they decided to port this game to the Wii.

Graphics

The graphics in Bully are good, but could have been better. The overall look and feel of the game is excellent. However, Rockstar could have produced a much better looking game on the Wii. As it looks now, Bully has Playstation 2 graphics with a slightly higher resolution. This may turn some gamers off to playing Bully, but it shouldn’t.

The graphics in Bully may not be on par with the Xbox 360 version or even look that much better than the Playstation 2 version. However, this does not detract from the excellent gameplay that Bully has to offer. This is one title where you may have to overlook the graphics and focus on what really matters, which is the gameplay.

Immersion

The sound in Bully is amazing. The in-game musical score is very satisfying and fits the overall feel of the game world. In addition to the music, gamers get to hear various people yell or call you names. There are times where you will find yourself laughing out loud at an alcoholic teacher slurring his words.

Open World Mayhem

Bully helps you to live the daydreams you had in high school of creating stink bombs in chemistry or giving a student in another social group a wedgie. The sandbox style of gameplay that is offered in Bully is fantastic and Rockstar has done an excellent job of providing you with a large area to play around with. Players can punch an old person or pick flowers to give to a girl. There is not much that you can imagine that you will not be able to do in Bully.

End of Session

Bully is an excellent game that will provide you with humorous and fun gameplay. The graphics may not be up to par with the standard of some gamers, but it does not detract from the overall experience and fun that you will have playing this game. All of the ambient sounds and music further pull you into the world and really helps to make you feel like you are punching a person or riding your bike around town. There is almost no limit to what you can do with Bully: Scholarship Edition that Rockstar has not already thought of. Bully is sure to please any Wii owner with hours of missions, mayhem and breaking down the social divide.