August 9th, 2006
Rockstar ready to release Bully
Schools and parents have been worried about "Bully," the new game from "Grand Theft Auto" makers Rockstar. Back in March, for example, the Miami Dade schoolboard passed a feel-good resolution against the new game.
Now Rockstar says the game will come out in October.
The game’s main character is 15-year-old Jimmy Hopkins, who must defend himself against school bullies at a fictional U.S. boarding school called Bullworth Academy, while dealing with characters ranging from nerds and jocks to authoritarian prefects. Weapons included baseball bats that break after several blows, stink bombs and bags of marbles that when strategically thrown will lay flat most pursuers.
Rockstar is unrepentant about the game. "Finally ‘Bully’ can speak for itself. People can look at the game and see what it is and what it’s not," company spokesman Rodney Walker said.
"We think the school environment is a universal experience that so many people relate to," said Walker, who added that criticism of "Bully" is unique in that it had preceded the release of the game, which has been kept under tight wraps.
