Canis Canem Edit / Bully

Bully (Canis Canem Edit in the UK)

One of the games industries most controversial games companies Rockstar (the creators of the acclaimed Grand Theft Auto Franchise) have stepped back into the fray with a new game about bullying, The game launched in the US as “Bully” but after all the media attention it received over there, Rockstar decided to re label it for its European release as “Canis Canem Edit” or “Dog Eat Dog” to you or me.

I have only recently picked up this game, but because of its re-launched title I don’t think much of the normal gaming public were too aware of what it actually was, so I managed to get it cheap – REALLY cheap, which is a plus point for anyone in the know, but kind of sad because it will probably never get a sequel.

Canis Canem Edit, is from the start an amazing game, you play a young boy named Jimmy Hopkins, who is sent to Bullworth Academy (A Boarding school for troubled youngsters) by his mother and new husband, because of his expulsion from all his other schools, and from there the fun begins, at first you have to tow the line and get to your classes on time, where you have to perform mini games in order to unlock certain features, i.e. playing a game I know as Bally, to unlock romantic secrets enabling you to romance and kiss girls, or unscrambling words Countdown like in the English lessons to unlock better insults and to be able to apologise to the police for minor crimes. Once you have completed these Jimmy’s world really opens up with the standard missions and tasks to perform that GTA players have become attached to.

Canis has a very similar control system to the GTA series, and is quite easy to get used to if you have ever played those games, Jimmy acquires many weapons on his travels, but they are not Uzi’s and Molotov’s like the GTA games, but itching powder, slingshots and bags of marbles.

Canis Canem Edit is an amazing game, albeit a little on the short side, however that said if you actually do all the side games etc, and run the errands for people you will see just how in depth the game is, The graphics are in my opinion better than GTA, and strangely I would say that from the moment you put the disc in the PS2 its actually a stronger game than the most recent GTA, with a wealth of things to collect, find, win and beat – a truly excellent game!!
Rating: