Having unlikable characters is potentially off-putting, but would it really be better if everyone was maximum extreme awesome right at the get-go? Where do you go from there?

Also, I'd hope that people don't really need to be the Aryan superman in every single game. Why not be a nerd... albeit a nerd that evolves, over the course of the game, into something else.

I think it's really bizarre that they're analyzing Bully's "failures" when it's (in my opinion) one of the best games ever made.

That said, I can understand how its somewhat idyllic setting, focus on pranks and social interactions, and complete lack of killing probably wouldn't appeal to the people who made The Suffering, a pair of games about eviscerating countless gory monsters who want to rape you to death in a filthy abandoned prison. (I say there's plenty of room in video games for both.)

I think it takes a lot of balls to pick apart one of Rockstar's "less good" games when Midway hasn't done a decent game since the arcade version of Killer Instinct...

ZING!

Wow, what a complete misfire. Bully is like a distilled GTA, privy to all the lessons learned but toned down to more approachable standards and more reachable goals. (IE, it's not as long, and not as violent)

"Having to go to classes" made perfect sense within the game, and ended after a couple in-game days of performing the mini-games. I knocked out my classes right away, got the corresponding power-ups, and then screwed around as much as I liked.

These guys do not get it.

Killer Instinct was good? that's not how I remember it...

Actually, Midway's best recent game is John Woo Presents: Stranglehold...

A big reason of why it was such a hit was that it likely resonated with gamers, many of whom aren't upwardly mobile game designers who want to mainly do escapist fantasy, sci-fi and so on. Like, hello!... a lot of your audience had/has to deal with the kind of shite that goes on in high school. So this is the perfect power fantasy to many of them. Proof again that it don't have to have plasma cannons and gibbing to be fun.

Eh, I did the same thing with Bully, and I'm really not sure how well it sold.

In any case, I can imagine how unsympathetic characters can make the game less sticky. They don't have to be awesome extreme cool, but certainly it helps if there's at least one character you'd like to see more of.

The other two criticisms seem less compelling: you can skip class at pretty much any time, and I don't buy that the setting itself has anything to do with it.

I did have some problems with the difficulty curve, so perhaps a gentler introduction (getting to school the week before classes start, for instance) would have made the game more appealing.

Bully is one of three games that I have ever traded in at a game store after finishing them. I would not want any of my friends to play it.

One of my primary complaints is the lack of really central gameplay. Let's face it: you spend most of the game running from mini-game to mini-game, mowing the yard or delivering papers or going to class or any number of activities. If you're not a mini-game kind of person, you may find Bully quite lacking.

I was also quite disappointed at how static the social situation was. I was initially under the impression that my acts of violence against and kindness towards members of various social groups would affect their perceptions of me. Instead, I found that the missions were the only thing that changed my ratings among the various tribes, meaning I had to be liked by the nerd camp only when Rockstar wanted me to by liked by the nerd camp. I could beat up jocks all day and suffer no ill effects in my rating with them -- one's social interactions are stupefyingly limited and controlled.

I have more complaints, but I won't take up too much space at once.

I loved Bully. I want the memories of it to be removed from my mind so I can play it again totally fresh. As stated before, it's liked distilled GTA, on a small scale. Well, not small scale, but zoomed in. But any complaint about Bully's basic gameplay can apply to GTA just as easily. The plot too follows the GTA mold -- accumulate power and wealth, fend off rival gangs, etc., etc. As for classes? They're knocked off easily in no time, the bonuses are useful, and then they're gone for good (as if that's realistic). Of course, if you don't like useful bonuses, it's not like truancy is a big deal.

Oh, and Bully has an AWESOME soundtrack. That's indisputable! :D

That was a very intriguing read. Thanks again!