English is a whole other beast entirely. The mini game that I played was a word search of sorts where I was presented with a group of jumbled letters and tasked to create as many words as I could before time ran out. And once I succeeded in finding them all, Jimmy was granted the ability to sweet talk his way out of getting pummeled by bullies. So there are benefits to attending class on a regular basis, but you can also cut class if you want. However, the prefects (hall monitors to us public school kids) are a vicious bunch. If they catch you they'll give chase, and much like the cops in the GTA titles, they're relentless in their pursuit. You can give them the slip by sliding into an open locker or hopping into a trash can, but if they see you they'll either drag you to class, the principal's office, or to your room (there's an 11pm curfew). They're also on the lookout for trouble, so they'll make Jimmy's life difficult if they see him terrorizing someone or something.

As for the curfew, the game has a day/night cycle and things wind down when the sun disappears. You're still free to explore, but you'll have to be extra careful about arousing suspicion, especially after 11pm. But even if you manage to dodge the town police and the prefects, you won't be able to stay out too late because Jimmy needs to sleep. As the hours pass, the screen will become blurry, Jimmy's movements will slow, and eventually he'll just pass out. Rockstar mentioned to me that when this happens, he may wake up without a shoe or something else, but I didn't get a chance to see this happen in the demo.

What I did see impressed me quite a bit. The graphics are fantastic for a PS2 title, and the cut scenes are not only well animated, but also superbly acted. In fact, the story is the primary reason why I want to play Bully. The gameplay is fine, but Rockstar's really done an incredible job with the presentation. Not only is it covering Jimmy's conflict with his parents, but also with Bullworth's principal and his relationship with the game's five factions: the nerds, preps, jocks, greasers, and townies. Each group has its own "hang out" and Jimmy will interact with them all during the course of the school year, but they won't always pose a threat. If Jimmy earns a group's respect they'll assist him in fights and what not, but it's not the type of system by which getting on the nerds' good side means you and them will be friends forever. Jimmy's standing at Bullworth changes all of the time, so one moment the nerds might let him in on their pranks and the next they might shut him out depending on how he's been treating them.

As far as missions go, what I saw were the usual fetch quests peppered with bicycle races. It's sort of like any GTA, but less complex. In one mission I had to hop on a cafeteria lady's bike, go into town, and pick up various items before time ran out. In another, I helped a fat girl get her chocolates back by beating up the loser who stole them. And in the last one, one of my cohorts competed against some greasers in a good old fashioned bicycle race. Well, it wasn't exactly typical. In normal races, your opponent's friends aren't cutting down trees to block your path, but it seemed enjoyable nonetheless.

The town of Bullworth is completely independent of the academy. People go on about their lives and there are various shops to visit. Jimmy can purchase candy, change his clothes, get a haircut, or purchase things such as slingshots and baseball bats. He can also catch a ride at the bus stop, and doing this will take him right back to school, but that's not the only way to travel. If you don't feel like hopping aboard the bus (you don't actually take the ride, the screen fades to black) you can walk or ride your bike/skateboard. The bus just comes in handy when you're pushing curfew or in danger of failing a mission due to time constraints. When the clock's ticking down, it's a lot easier to just teleport back.

Being that things tend to get a little rowdy on and off campus, Jimmy's going to have to defend himself, and much to my surprise, the combat system is very easy to use. It's really just a one button pressure sensitive system, so all I had to do to kick some ass was rapidly press X, and if I wanted to deliver a more powerful maneuver I held the button for a little while longer and then released it. That stuff's cool, but what's really sweet are the humiliation moves. While fighting, each character has a ring under their feet that changes colors depending on how much damage he or she's taken. It goes from green to yellow to red, and once it's red you have the opportunity to humiliate your foes. In other games, you might rip off their arms or stab them in the heart, but in Bully's case, all you're going to do is give them a charley horse or Indian rope burn, among other maneuvers. Those will be enough to theoretically "take out" your opponents, and they'll crumple onto the ground and roll around for a few moments.

Bully's combat is mostly about simple punches, but Jimmy can learn some wrestling moves if he attends gym class. He can then use these holds while squaring off against the jocks. It's still possible to beat them using the game's simple moves, but it'll be a hell of a lot easier to take them down if he's got a Kurt Angle-like arsenal. See! That's just another reason why it pays to go to class!

Aside from all of this stuff, other points of interest include Jimmy's GTA-esque Trouble Meter that changes colors the more he pisses off prefects and other authority figures as well as the little touches that make this game unique, such as the original and lighthearted soundtrack and the ability to start random snowball fights. Developer Rockstar Vancouver has really put a lot of time and polish into this title and it shows, from the excellent visuals to the voice acting. The build I played wasn't 100% complete, but even at this stage (the game ships Oct 17), Bully is the epitome of what a blockbuster game should be; good, light-hearted fun. But it's definitely not the poster child for videogame violence. Do yourself a huge favor by not listening to the whackos in the press and pick up the game as soon as possible. Just don't cut class to get it!