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Jimmy Hopkins is back and he’s got some new moves courtesy of the Nintendo Wii.  Bully: Scholarship Edition is a Wii Enhanced port of Rockstar’s excellent and controversial PS2 game about life in a New England boarding school.  Like the original, this version will likely spawn all kinds of baseless protests and accusations over the objectionable content.  That’s too bad because Bully remains a smartly written, thoughtful game that approaches the subject matter in just the right way.  While most of the characterizations in the game are painted with a very broad brush, Jimmy, the player-character, shows a certain nuanced depth in the way he handles every injustice that’s thrown his way.  He’s a fun character to play.

Class is in Session

So, yeah, it’s still a great game despite the passage of time.  The Wii version sports several enhancements that serve to make the game even more enjoyable this time around.  Your school curriculum has been expanded to include 4 new classes and they are all a welcome addition as they help keep part of the player focus on doing well in school (arguably an important part of the experience).  The new classes include a Trauma Center-esque biology class, a rhythm game for music class, as well as instruction in math and geography.  Controls for the new and existing classes have been adapted to the Wii Remote where applicable.

Several new missions have also been sprinkled throughout the game giving players even more to do as they progress through the storyline.

Rude Gestures

Nearly all of the controls in the game now take advantage of the Wii Remote.  Fighting and bullying is accomplished using the appropriate gestures, and aiming your ranged weapons is done with the pointer.  These enhancements make the gameplay much more engaging, but there were some dunderheaded ideas implemented.   In order to quick select / deselect your skateboard, you need to push the – and + button at the same time which is physically impossible to do with one hand.

The only gameplay enhancement that’s a true burst is the multiplayer which lets two people compete in different mini-games which are mostly inspired by the classroom game.  Since Bully is so clearly a single-player experience, the multiplayer stuff feels like uninteresting filler.

Visually, the Wii version of Bully doesn’t look that much better than the PS2 version.  The graphics are a little sharper (especially noticeable once you start exploring the town), the draw distances are a little longer, and the frame rate is thankfully rock solid.  However, the load times are still a bit too long.

An Apple for the Teacher

If you’ve never played Bully before, understand that the Wii version is a genuine improvement over the PS2 one.  The extra content is solid, the controls are good, and the game itself holds up really well.  Here’s to another couple of semesters at Bullworth Academy.

Review by: Greg Bemis