Back in 2006, Rockstar Games became the centre of much media attention because of the lack or morals displayed in their games - they responded by releasing Bully on the PS2. Bully has now been enhanced, and Bully: Scholarship Edition has now arrived for the XBox 360, PC and Wii.

Rockstar Games more than any other games development company have cashed in on the sadistic urges that lurk within us all with titles like the Grand Theft Auto series, brutal fighting titles The Warriors and Manhunt 2, and now the revival of the more light-hearted beat ‘em up slash adventure title, Bully. We are all twisted on the inside, and Rockstar know it and it is proven by the huge success of their titles which all seem to have one thing in common which stands out more than anything else - a totally immoral game experience throughout.

If you own, or have played the original Bully game from a couple of years ago then you will know largely what you can expect from Bully Scholarship Edition, as the foundation of the game remains much the same as before. You take the role of Jimmy Hopkins, who whether you like it or not will remind you of things you used to do at school yourself - all those years ago.

Needless to say though, Bully Scholarship Edition is much more than a simple port of the original version to today’s more modern consoles, and is by no means a simple graphically enhanced counterpart either. Enough new content has been added to the game to allow it to stand alone as a solo title, and it can rightly consider itself a follow up to the original Bully rather than a slightly updated replica.

Like in the original, the basic idea of the game is to earn the respect of those who run your school, which happens to be a school for problem kids that you have been packed off to attend. You gain their respect by completing various tasks which usually involve some kind of fighting, stealing or stitching other people up. One mission will see you breaking your alcoholic headmaster out of a local asylum, while another challenges you to steal panties from the girls locker room.

Though the majority of these tasks are ultimately pointless, they add to the care free attitude your character is based on, and at times you may feel like you are back at school causing trouble yourself rather than doing it virtually in the shoes of a short chubby kid. Before long you will be respected, but that is by no means the end of your fun - next it’s time to rise above the bullies that now respect you, and become the one calling the shots to them below you instead.

The world of Bully Scholarship Edition is quite remarkable for a game of this type, as the shear size of it will give you hours of gameplay for exploring it alone - and exploring it with no real purpose is actually fun. There is so much to see and do around the suburbs that surround your school that you will never tire of taking a wander. You are given a complete reign of freedom so you can beat up a few nerds, propel objects at jocks with a sling shot or just help yourself to the young girls hanging around the neighbourhood - all of which come with mixed results.

If you liked the original, you will love Bully Scholarship Edition. It is everything you enjoyed from the first game in the series with a hell of a lot more thrown in. It looks better, it plays better, and the fun factor lasts much longer because of the huge amount of variety thrown in this time around. Bully Scholarship Edition is thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish, and will keep you playing again even after that.

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