Games I'm playing.....Part 1

Bully: Scholarship Edition
I started playing Bully this weekend after speculating for three weeks whether to make the purchase or not. This game has received some flak from reviewers and players alike, mostly about annoying bugs that seem to pop up every now and again. There have been reported audio drop-offs and frequent freezes however a patch has been released which seems for the most part to have sorted things out. With new games hitting shelves at R600 a pop these days, I'm in no mood to speculate so I, like most, pay close attention to my fellow gamers feedback. Be that as it may, I paid the $$$ and loaded this bad boy up. A cut scene introduces the protagonist, Jimmy, being driven to school by his very annoying mother and his new step-father. There is no love lost between Jimmy and his step-father, and a fair amount of back-chat ensues, in between a lot of chastising by his mom. In any event, Jimmy is being dropped off at Bullworth Academy and his newly married parents are off on honeymoon.

The game starts with you being taken to the head masters office by his somewhat strange secretary. The game is a sandbox game and tutorials on the move explain your health meter, bully meter and the location of your next objective. From then on you are free to roam and can take on the next objective at your leisure. Oh, there are actually classes at Bullworth but going to them is up to you, obviously to advance in the game you will have to do some school work! The classes are fun in my opinion and consist of mini-games based on the subject of your class. If you do decide to bunk, and are caught by the prefects, you will be taken straight to class.
Bullworth Academy plays host to a mix bag of students which mirror the groups we all came to love and hate during our education careers. There are the nerds, the jocks, the greasers (or grease monkeys as we like to call them), the Preppies (read snobs) and the prefects. All these kids want to do is fight, or so it seems. Which is good because fighting is really fun in this game. And you do it alot. In fact my most fun activity is giving a 'wedgy'. Other than that you kick, box, sling-shot and baseball bat your way around the campus.

The objectives are fun too. From defending friends to stink-bombing some girls locker to breaking into other kids' lockers they are mostly about causing trouble. Jimmy is also quite a hit with the ladies when he has the right gift and you get to see a little animation of Jimmy frenching his bird of the moment - with sloppy kiss sound effects too.
So far it's really a fun way to spend a couple of hours and is definitely wetting my apatite for GTA IV. Caveats: luckily no bugs to report but there is frequent loading, short, but frequent enough to be a little annoying.