Rockstar’s decade-old action-adventure game Bully is making the jump to mobile devices. Bully is set similarly in the kind of devil may care open-world game that Rockstar thrives on. Think Grand Theft Auto or Red Dead Redemption but in high school. We’ve traded guns for slingshots and organised crime for social groups and well bullying. Like most Rockstar Games Bully is a cult classic.
Welcome back to Bullworth Academy a prep school that seems to be prepping you more for the streets than for college. It’s here where 15-year-old Jimmy Hopkins is left by his Mum. He’s determined to make it as top dog of this establishment. Do what you need to do to survive in here? Punch, steal, prank, and don’t forget to attend a couple of classes.
The Setting
Just like GTA most of what you do is up to you. Choose to go to class, or don’t. Make friends with the jocks, bullies or beet up the nerds and other teachers. Bullworth Academy has a big campus to explore and plenty of sidequests to complete. Bully is a fun pseudo aggressive game that deserves a remake and if we’re being real here a sequel.
Originally for the console and now ported to mobile the controls are as intuitive as you’d expect. I actually prefer playing this on my iPad but I could just be kind of old. On the left of your screen, you have your standard touchscreen joystick. And on the right, you have your action and inventory buttons where you keep your weapons and other items.
Don’t worry too much about camera angles as it doesn’t become an issue due to the inherent flatness of the game. You won’t need to be looking up and down because that would just be a pain in the ass.
Gameplay
It wouldn’t be a Rockstar game without needless violence now, would it? Far from being just a beat ’em up action game, Bully is still relatively well balanced. There’s a story to complete as well as mini-games to play, classes to attend and just a whole lot of bullying to do. I gotta say it as well praise be for the auto-targeting system which is just so useful on mobile.
Compared to the previous iteration of the game Bully still holds up after more than 10 years. It wasn’t originally designed as a mobile game and for those of you that played it on the console may find it a little restrictive. But it’s not enough to spoil your enjoyment of the game.
If you’ve never played this gem from back in the day then the mobile version is a great place to start. Unlike certain ports *cough* *cough* Final Fantasy Tactics *cough* that feel rushed and incompatible, Bully plays very well. The mobile port, which was developed in conjunction with War Drum Studios. Bully is available from both the App Store and Google Play Store. The download clocks in at 2.4GB and it’ll cost you RM29.90 or USD 7.
