And so it begins. He big titles are rolling in for the holidays, from standard console offerings, to big names on downloadable titles for Xbox Live Arcade, this is the season where your wallet will be tested. This week we have one of the biggest and most long awaited (and of course, unnecessarily controversial) games finally seeing release, as well as a downloadable game that potable fans have been enjoying for a while as well.

EVERY BULLY NEEDS SOME BULLY SOMETIME

Rockstar Games is well known for video game controversy. The makers of GRAND THEFT AUTO have been sued more than I care to recognize simply due to the fact that folks aren’t doing proper parenting. So when it was announced that their next big title for PS2 would take place in a school setting, the outraged outcry began without so much as a single detail of what the gameplay was going to like. Folks were threatening to ban the game from stores before its release, calling their upcoming title a “Columbine Simulator” and other such ridiculous terms. And why? Because it came from the House that GTA Built. Never mind the fact that they never revealed the gameplay, what the tasks would be, etc…they just automatically assumed the worst. Well, I’m here to say this: nyah nyah neener neener. BULLY is, simply, a story about a kid who attends BULLWORTH ACADAMY…it’s not so much about him being a bully as it is him stopping the bullies. No guns, no death, just kids going to class and dealing with the same crap cliques that kids always have to deal with.

And, I’ll admit, young Jimmy Hopkins’ methods of dealing are a bit more violent than most parents would like, but it’s not like he doesn’t get reprimanded for his actions. Start a fight, and the prefects come and try to stop you. Vandalizing, causing a disorder, or being truant from class gets you sent to the principal’s office after too many indiscretions, and finally, you must serve detention. And yes, detention means menial labor, from mowing the football field to shoveling snow. Yes, it’s a game, but these are the tasks in the game you want to avoid.

So what is a troublemaker to do? Well, watch his own back, for one. As soon as he steps foot on campus, Jimmy is harassed and bullied, so he must use his “unique influence” over the other kids in order to get them to respect him. Sure, that means beating up a couple of punks, but that also means protecting the weaker ones. The nerds seem to call Jimmy hero first, and as you progress through the game’s chapters, you earn the respect of the other cliques; the preps, the greasers, the jocks and the other bullies…all down to stopping on vindictive little boy named Gary from turning each group against you.

There’s also your class schedule to worry about. Each day you have two classes between 9 am and 1pm, each with their own “lessons” to help your skills progress in the game. From Chemistry where proper button presses earn you the ability to make smoke bombs and fire cracker in your dorm’s chem set, to English class word jumbles helping you to better exert yourself socially with your classmates such as apologizing to the bigger bullies and taunts for the socially inept. Dodge ball games strengthen your aim with projectile weapons such as your slingshot, and shop class helps you move around town with bikes. After passing five lessons, you unlock the best abilities, and no longer need to attend that class (but can do back for “extra credit”). This frees up your day time for you “extra curricular” activities; namely following the game’s story missions.

This is probably where the game will most resemble the GTA mold. Bullworth Academy is in the heart of the New England township of Bullworth, which includes Bullworth Vale, New Coventry and the surrounding areas. Most of the later missions in the game will have you leaving campus more and more to complete you tasks, as different cliques call different areas home. Jimmy has the freedom to roam these street at any time…but if he’s supposed to be in class, or it’s after curfew he’ll get nabbed by the cops. What’s worse is, since Jimmy’s only 15 he tends to get tired when it’s too late at night. If you’re not in bed by the time the clock strikes 2am, you pass out on the spot.

Missions range from the simple “escort the nerd” type to various ranges of fisticuffs in order to prove your dominant roll as the hot shot with the right hook. There are times when you’re called upon to help your fellow students, and times where the faculty may need your special brand of “reasoning”. The thing with Jimmy is, he’s not really that bad of a kid. Most of the other students think he’s pretty dumb, just a guy who can hold his own in a fight, but he’s pretty shrewd at organization and manipulation, doing tasks for others to get what he really wants: respect from everyone.

BULLY truly is a real world school simulation. From the trials of getting in with the right cliques, to trying to get that special someone to notice you (kissing girls actually increases your health…nice touch) this is just how high school is. Sure, this may be a bit more FUN than most schools, but that’s really the point isn’t it? BULLY takes everything you loved (and hated) about school, infuses it with realistic character archetypes and solid storytelling, and makes off with one of the best interactive experiences out today. Totally a passing grade.

One Gamer’s Opinion:

LUMINES LAME!

Okay, just like every puzzle game nut out there, I loved LUMINES when it came to the PSP as a launch title, and I’ve been eagerly awaiting the Xbox Live Arcade version…until I saw the price and learned the details of the download. It seems that LUMINES LIVE! on Xbox Live Arcade has a few downfalls. Firstly, the price is 1,200 Microsoft points (which works out to be $15 US). Sure, for a recent game that offers a great deal of puzzle action, this may not be such a bad thing. But what they don’t tell you when you pay this and download the game is that you still aren’t getting the whole shebang, despite paying the large amount. See, the 1,200 points just get you the “Base” mode for standard arcade gameplay. If you want to play more than the first few levels of Challenge mode, you’ll have to pay another 600 Microsoft points ($8). Want more skins and music? Another 600 points. Want to play more than the first 5 levels of the Time Trials or Puzzle modes? Guess what, you’ll have to pay more. Needless to say, this has severely cheesed off a few gamers (including my boss at my day job, who ranted for a good 45 minutes on the subject). To top it all off, the trial version of the game is virtually the same exact thing as the version you pay $15 for, save for the lack of multiplayer. Why then is the version you pay for called the “full” version if there are multiple downloads (with multiple dollar amounts) needed to get the entire gaming experience? That’s like spending $60 on Madden, and only being able to play two quarters of a game, only to have them say “to finish this game, give us ten more bucks”.

Sadly, it seems that’s the way these downloadable content issues are going too. While LUMINES LIVE! is the extreme, games like MADDEN and TIGER WOODS 07 are offering gamers the “opportunity” to buy extra content for their game that really should be offered for free, such as new jerseys for their teams. Wait a sec, 200 points for a single different colored shirt that doesn’t affect gameplay at all? I seriously hope no one is actually buying a new set of shoes for their baller in NBA LIVE 07. And for TIGER WOODS, they’re actually charging for content that CAN BE UNLOCKED BY THE GAMER FOR FREE. You want those extra courses and golfers, but don’t feel like taking the time to actually, oh, I don’t know, play the game and earn them? Well, why not spend 5 or 10 bucks and download them? I’ll tell you why: because it’s fucking ridiculous, that’s why. Content like that (such as the extra costumes for DEAD RISING) should be free, or perhaps be offered in a pack, like the SAINTS ROW clothing pack…69 pieces for 100 points isn’t a hardship at all. But no, there’s crap like a download for the GODFATHER game to give your character more money! That’s right, spending real money to use as game money…I think EA may be in bed with those gold farmers from WORLD OF WARCRAFT.

Bottom line, Marketplace downloads are starting to get to be less for the consumer and more for the consumerism. Hopefully not many of you were burned by these tactics. While LUMINES LIVE! admittedly is a good game, you’ll end up paying far more for the whole game itself than you originally intended. Hopefully you have a PSP, because it’s only $20 on that system…

One Gamer’s Opinion:

CRAPTACULAR GAME OF THE WEEK

As I’ve said many times before, I am not a car guy. If it gets me from point A to point B without breaking down, I’m a happy guy. Still, there are a smattering of race titles out there that I do enjoy, just so long as there isn’t TOO much of the gearhead mentality needed to go along with them. Sadly, this is not the case with IMPORT TUNER CHALLENGE, out for the Xbox 360. Another chapter in the TOKYO XTREME RACER series, this title pits you as a racer on the streets of Japan, tuning cars and winning races in the most basic and boring of ways. There is no free roaming city, and no real need to try to learn maps either since there really aren’t any. Most take place along the same circling highway, just on the outer or inner loops. Races are done much in the same way as STREET SUPREMACY on PSP: racers have a “Spirit Point” (or health) bar that depletes depending on how much of a lead the y have/lose or how much they run into shit, making some races quite short, and hence, boring. The tuning aspects are also fairly basic so that non-greasers like me can fiddle with parts enough to get good speed and handling, but don’t really offer much to recommend the title, let alone call it a “challenge”. The graphics are only ok, but definitely not worthy of the “next gen” console it’s on. Sadly, this is just a passable game that doesn’t really do anything special unless you must have every racing title on the market, or are REALLY into the TOKYO XTREME style of games.

One Gamer’s Opinion:

Sure, not as many titles as I wanted to get to this week, but BULLY sort of took all my time this time around. Next week, I’ll have that SPLINTER CELL review, as well as something I’m sure you’re all (well, the RPG fans are anyway) waiting for… FINAL FANTASY XII. See you next time.

THE GAME ON! RATING SYSTEM

Kick-Ass, Right On, Okay, Eh, and Stinker (or Craptacular)

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