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How Metascores Are Calculated
47
Alone in the Dark
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games. |
(Known as "Canis Canem Edit" in the UK/EU) Bully, the brutally funny debut title from Rockstar Vancouver, takes the Rockstar tradition of groundbreaking, innovative, original gameplay and humorous tongue-in-cheek storytelling to an entirely new setting: the schoolyard. As a troublesome schoolboy, you'll laugh and cringe as you stand up to bullies, get picked on by teachers, play pranks on malicious kids, win or lose the girl, and ultimately learn to navigate the obstacles of the fictitious reform school, Bullworth Academy. [Rockstar Games]
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more... 100
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100
96
94
94
94
93
PSM3 Magazine UK
Immaculately designed and an absolute joy to play through. The best game of the year so far. [Dec 2006, p.22]
93
92
92
90
90
GamePro
90
GameSpy
One of the year's best, because it diverts from "GTA's" hyper-violent barrage of social satire and genital jokes to be something more subtle, but equally meaningful. Young people might not appreciate it as much because they're still living it. For that reason, don't buy Bully for your younger relatives. Buy it for yourself.
90
90
90
90
90
Games Master UK
Characters are brilliant parodies of people we all know from school - the fat kid who smells of wee, the flirty art teacher, geeks who greet you with the word "salutations." The attention to detail and the jokes are what makes it so good, along with its "GTA"-like gameplay. [Dec 2006, p.80]
90
90
90
90
90
90
DarkStation
For those that are hoping for just a massive and bloody brawl, you're not going to find it in Bully. It's a game that almost everyone can identify with, and getting your character through school is a complex yet simple experience, made fun by the pacing and the sheer amount of things that you can do.
90
Official Playstation 2 Magazine UK
While we definitely don't remember school being this much fun, this is a brilliant return to a more innocent time. One of the year's best games. [Dec 2006, p.102]
90
Official U.S. Playstation Magazine
It takes that same GTA structure but gives it a fresh setting and story that's focused to a much more manageable size. [Dec. 2006, p.120]
90
90
90
90
89
GamerNode
Coming off of a long session of playing Bully, you could easily feel like that time was spent with a GTA title. But whereas the countless knockoffs have simply tried to recreate that experience, Bully has taken the genre and used it in a completely different mold; it's this extremely fresh take on things that makes it so much fun.
89
89
89
88
88
88
88
Electronic Gaming Monthly
It's amazing how well Bully nails a huge assortment of activities. Everything, from midway games to English class, is fun. [Dec. 2006, p.146]
87
87
Play UK
A damn enjoyable game. The characters grow on you after a while and it's not long before you feel as though you're starting to fit in at Bullworth Academy. [Issue # 146, p.72]
87
Pelit (Finland)
Shows that the GTA concept is not suited only for the world of crime. School world has been sadly neglected in games and because of that Canis Canem Edit feels fresh. The Rockstar sense of humour and fun is all here. [Dec 2006]
87
86
85
PSX Extreme
I never felt like it was particularly new or fresh in terms of gameplay mechanics, but it does tackle a setting and issues that rarely come up in the world of video games, because the industry, media, and (sadly) many gamers are too caught up in getting all googly-eyed over empty violence to appreciate when a game tries to rise above such shallow meanderings.
85
Game Informer
85
85
PSM Magazine
Don't let any of this--or the controversy surrounding it--deter you, though; Bully is a remarkable game. [Holiday 2006, p.72]
84
83
81
81
80
80
80
80
80
Edge Magazine
It’s utterly relentless in its provision of new activities and distractions to the point that it’s hard not to become absorbed, a feeling backed up by the fact that most plot missions introduce a new location or interior environment to revisit and explore. [Dec 2006, p.80]
80
80
80
80
games(TM)
Rockstar’s gift for salty humour and broad characterisation is ideally suited to the playground. Not only is this its finest game outside GTA, it’s arguably the best open-world game since too. [Dec 2006, p.128]
75
70
70
67
Apocalypse B. gave it a9: Akram A. gave it a10: Walter C. gave it a9: Gaby G. gave it a9: Brian K. gave it a10: Alex O. gave it a10: Kevin R. gave it an8: |
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