During each console generation, thousands of games are released: some great, some good and some utterly forgettable. While a select few will go on to spawn a sequel, or a blossoming franchise, most games aren't so lucky.
Such is the case with Bully, a critically-acclaimed open-world game from the creators of Grand Theft Auto about becoming the top dog at a fictional boarding school. This is one title that needs a reboot. Or a sequel. Just let us have a new game.
What Is It?
Imagine Grand Theft Auto, where you play as a kid trying to rise through the ranks of his boarding school instead of the criminal underworld. Bully's influences are obvious -- like GTA, players can freely navigate an open world, in this case the town of Bullworth and the neighboring areas, on foot, bicycle or skateboard. Since you are a high school kid, you still have to attend classes, but successfully completing your course work results in some tangible benefits outside the classroom. Pass English class, for example, and you can use your newfound proficiency of the language to talk your way out of trouble with teachers and other authority figures.
The game originally released on the PlayStation 2 in 2006 to positive reviews, and made enough money for Rockstar to remake the game in the form of Bully: Scholarship Edition for the Wii and Xbox 360 in 2008.
What Makes It Great?
A number of things. For starters, the gameplay continually reinforces the idea that you are once again a kid in high school. Players have become accustomed in open world games like GTA to jacking cars and zipping around town whenever they felt like it, but without a driver's license what is a kid to do? Being limited to a bike, skateboard and bus stops went a long way towards immersing players in the role of a high school teen, as does the need to show up for class on time or risk the penalties.
Also of note is the game's surprising narrative, which covers sensitive topics like bullying and sexual harassment in schools with a deft hand. Despite the game's name, player character James "Jimmy" Hopkins isn't all that bad of a kid. Okay, so he routinely beats up other students and pulls pranks, but he often does it to the bullies themselves, or on behalf of the victims of bullying. Framed by his onetime friend, Jimmy must negotiate and conquer the school's various cliques to become the head boy. Like I said, it's GTA, but replace various criminal gangs with the "Preppies," the "Greasers" and the "Jocks." Jimmy eventually falls in love with a girl expelled from the school after she accused a male teacher of sexually harassing her.
Why Does It Need A Reboot?
It was a breath of fresh air. It proved than an open world game didn't have to include guns, sex and copious amounts of profanity to still be fun, and the game's narrative and gameplay systems worked wonders to immerse players in the relatively small world of an average high schooler. It's a damn shame the game never received a sequel, but this current console generation is the perfect time to right that wrong.
We've seen the kind of power Rockstar can pull out of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 with the remastered edition of GTA V. Use that to bring an even more detailed Bullworth, or a brand new town, to life. The sequel doesn't need to include Jimmy or Bullworth Academy. Just like GTA , Bully could move to a new school in a new location, filled with new people and new problems. Add in a persistent online multiplayer mode as seen in GTA V, where players are all required to attend classes and can battle it out with other students to become the most popular kid in school and Rockstar would have a certified hit on its hands. There have been talks as recently as 2013 that a Bully 2 could still happen. Let's hope we can all enroll in Bullworth again soon.
