Rockstar Games released Canis Canem Edit/Bully in 2006 and thus began my love affair with this game.
For some reason, this game seems to have flown under many people's radars, even Rockstar seems to have forgotten this game exists, with it becoming more and more of a cult classic as time goes on.
What makes this game so great? For starters, the atmosphere of the game is downright awesome. It's gloomy, nostalgic, atmospheric, spooky and light-hearted all at once. Wandering through the halls of Bullworth Academy while students and faculty go about their business, while Shawn Lee's melancholy instrumentals ring out in the background, you really do feel immersed in the small New England township. There is something almost uncanny about the game's world. I have some treasured memories of staying up late playing this game as a kid, exploring the town cemetery and cycling around the woodland trails surrounding Bullworth.
All alone, immersed in Silent Hill-esque mist at times you're filled with a real sense of wanting to explore and discover. There's a small section of the game's fanbase that like to search for things like ghosts and aliens alongside other creepy things in the town's spookier areas
A cold, foggy Bullworth day.
Many of the people browsing my site were probably teenagers when this game released. No-one can deny how cool it was to come home after school, fire up the ol' PlayStation 2 and explore a virtual, sandbox school, doing all kinds of things you couldn't dream of getting away with in real life. Spme of these include teaming up to take down the school's bullies, getting revenge on the school's snobby rich kids, throwing firecrackers down toilets, breaking windows and a plethora of other such wholesome activities. All of these features and story elements work in synergy to deliver an awesome, epic experience throughout the game's story.
A not so spooky day in Bullworth.
Speaking of the game's story, the game follows 15 year old Jimmy Hopkins on a mission to get revenge on another student, Gary, for turning the school against him, while taking on the academy's elitist cliques, humbling them along the way. I'll never forget the fun I had the first time I played through "The Big Game" mission. In which you conspire with the nerds to sabotage the Bullworth football team's big football game. This is accomplished by putting glue on the benches, spreading marbles on the field before the game, peeing in the cooler etc. making for a lot of fun. When you finally reach the end of the game and face Gary in an epic showdown, you're filled with a cathartic feeling after you knock gary out, sending him falling through the roof of the academy.
It's a shame that this game has never gotten the sequel or even the praise it deserves. Sure there were a couple of cancelled attempts at producing a sequel, I think Rockstar would now rather focus on GTA Online unfortunately. Maybe it's for the best, it'd be a shame to see a game like Bully 2 get milked to death by Rockstar like GTA Online
This game is a masterpiece and if you've never played it before then you should ASAP.