Fanboys Anonymous

Hello, my name is Drew White and I just recently joined Fanboys Anonymous. For my first post I wanted to do something that I actually like, so I'm starting a series called Games That Deserve a Sequel. In this series I will go over games that never got a sequel that probably deserved one. For the first game to kick things off, I am going to choose a game that was one of the few that can help describe my teenage years.... Bully.

For those that don't know what Bully is, it is a game developed by Rockstar Vancouver that I consider the high school version of Grand Theft Auto as it is an action-adventure open world game (but a bit toned down in the explicit content department in comparison). It was released in the United States on October 17, 2006. I didn't even hear of this game until around Christmas time of that year when my best friend brought it over to my house and I borrowed it. From that day it has always been on my desk of games I will continue to play for the rest of my life. Now let's talk about the game itself and what it is about.



This is the awesome cover to the game.

Bully takes place in the town of Bullworth where the main character, Jimmy Hopkins, is being dumped off at Bullworth Academy by his recently married mother and his fifth stepfather while they go on a year long cruise as a honeymoon. Jimmy has been kicked out of every school he has ever attended for various reasons and is a troublesome child. Upon arriving he picks a fight with the bullies at the school and becomes their enemies from the very beginning. You also befriend Gary Smith, a student who suffers from attention deficit disorder, and Pete Kowalski, a very shy and smaller than average student, to try and take down the bullies at the school. The main objective is to take over the five cliques at the school. These groups are the Bullies, Jocks, Preppies, Greasers, and the Nerds. The game has five chapters to complete, with a sixth one after you beat the main game. The game is set up in missions, so it's pretty much a GTA in high school. After completing the first chapter, you gain the ability to access a part of the town as you are locked in the school gates during the first chapter. Some activities you can perform around town include going to the carnival, getting a job as a paperboy, going to certain shops and obtain new clothes to for Jimmy to strut around in, and getting spray cans to perform some graffiti artwork on buildings.

Why does this game deserve a sequel? Well it does because it is almost as good, if not as good, as the GTA series. It has a very good plot and there is nothing wrong with the game mechanics except for a few glitches here and there. It is rated T for Teens, which means no murders or sex (though there is an errand that involves you escorting a girl to a rundown motel in the poorer part of town, so you can kinda get what they are hinting at). You can however beat the crap out of anyone in town, though I don't recommend beating up a girls, kids, teachers, or the police as they will instantly track you down and get you "busted" and have all of your weapons taken away. The weapons in Bully are ones that you could possibly find on a teenager. So for example fire crackers, stink bombs, itching powder, marbles, and a spud gun. There is a health bar that can be depleted through fights and if it goes completely empty, you pass out. To refill it you can drink soda, or do what is even better and make out with people! Yes you can be gay in the game as there is a male in each clique that you an make out with if you repeatedly talk to them. You can go to class and increase certain things to help you out in the game. Like on English if you pass a certain lesson you can learn to apologize for small crimes that you commit. The classes are set up like mini games, so in English you have to list as many words you can our of the so many letters they give you.

Will this game get a sequel? Maybe.... I say this because Rockstar Vancouver became defunct this past year. Which means that if another sequel was going to go down it would have to be done through another Rockstar studio. However there were a few rumors going around that Rockstar Vancouver was thinking about doing a sequel, so that spreads a little light on the situation if another Rockstar studio wants to start a sequel. If it does end up happening the I will be extremely satisfied as almost everything from Rockstar nowadays turns out good.

So that's it for this post. Thanks for reading and be on the lookout for another one of these to be coming in the near future.