Bully: Scholarship Edition
Moderate overall intensityWhat's in it
Slapstick melee brawling against fellow students and townsfolk using fists, slingshots, baseball bats, stink bombs, and firecrackers; non-lethal with no blood or gore.
Alcohol and tobacco appear in the world, with older students drinking and cigarettes present as pickups.
Central themes of bullying, humiliation, peer cruelty and corrupt adult authority within the school hierarchy.
The player vandalizes property, trespasses, steals bikes, and brawls as part of pranks and story missions.
Comedic sexual innuendo, a lecherous gym coach, and optional kiss interactions with both boys and girls that restore health; no depicted sex.
Moderate insults and mild profanity used for comedic effect in schoolyard dialogue.
Some female characters appear in revealing outfits or underwear in a few gags; no explicit nudity.
Who can reach your kid
What it is
Bully: Scholarship Edition is an open-world action-adventure game in which you play Jimmy Hopkins, a 15-year-old troublemaker sent to a rundown New England boarding school. You roam the town and campus on foot, skateboard, bike or scooter, attend class minigames, and complete missions to climb the school's social pecking order among cliques of jocks, nerds, preppies and greasers. The core activity is non-lethal melee fighting with fists and joke weapons like slingshots, stink bombs, firecrackers and baseball bats, with no blood or death. Content includes schoolyard bullying and pranks, petty crime and vandalism that police and prefects chase down, moderate profanity, crude sexual humor and innuendo, a kiss-for-health mechanic that lets Jimmy kiss girls or boys, revealing outfits in a few gags, and background alcohol and tobacco use. It is a single-player game with no online play, chat, or purchases.
How it's framed
The game frames Jimmy as a mischievous underdog who fights bullies and corrupt authority, presenting its brawling, pranks and rule-breaking through a comedic, satirical lens rather than as glorified serious violence; consequences like being caught by prefects and police are built into the systems, and the same-gender and opposite-gender kissing are treated identically as neutral affection.
Details
- Developer
- Rockstar New England
- Publisher
- Rockstar Games
- Released
- Oct 21, 2008
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