[PS2] Canis Canem Edit hits shops, lots of people who've not played it complain.

Today sees the release (In the UK at any rate) of Canis Canem Edit. Previously known as Bully, the title is Latin for "Dog eat dog" and the game follows the school days of Jimmy Hopkins at Bullworth Academy and focuses on his run-ins with the many bullies there.

Made by Rockstar, a lot of people thought this game would be basically GTA:High School but if one reads some reviews (Rather than the sensationalist news stories) you'll see that it's quite different and rather than the Columbine-sim many said it would be, this is actually pretty light-hearted.

I don't doubt for a second that a lot of the negative news stories have been released by Rockstar themselves in an attempt to get some free publicity. They did it with all the GTAs and Manhunt and it worked for them then.

I reckon this looks like a decent game and if I didn't have such a huge backlogue of games to get through, I'd pick it up over the weekend. As it is, I've got about 8 games unstarted as it is so I'll hold off a bit and get a second hand copy at a later date.

Oh, according to Amazon.com it's still called Bully in the states (I suppose Latin would confuse too many Septics or something) and has been out since the 17th. So does anyone have it and is it any good?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

The (usually annoying) flash trailers I've seen for the game were quite amusing, and while the game has gone several re-edits, I'm still surprised to see it finally out.

Probably not going to try it myself, but the fact that you control someone being bullied rather than simply someone who bullies others should speak volumes about how wrong many of the complainers got it.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Yeah, I was surprised to see this on the shelves tonight, there was a massive spaz on the news a few weeks ago because apparently this game was responsible for some brawl at a school known for its mass amount of wankers. They were calling for it to be banned. Bit hard when the game wasn't even bloody out.

Gonna rent it when I get the chance, looks fun. Even with the main character looking like a young version of that guy from The Sketch Show and that'll probably freak me out the whole game.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I bought it on Saturday. It was £25 and had a shiney cover so it was a worthwhile purchase.

I've only played it for about 2 hours, but it's great so far. It doesn't take itself seriously and is very light hearted. I found myself grinning a few times being chased by the prefects and such.

Also, I love the amount of life the world has. It's ammusing to just walk around and watch the nerds get beaten up, people throwing marbles infront of other people, some slapping signs on others saying "kick me" and such. It really does a great job or making the place feel alive.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Shin

basically GTA:High School

I'd say that's what it boils down to. Don't get me wrong, I love the game, but I don't think it's anything revolutionary.

But the setting, writing and voice acting are great (and the music is nice too!), and although I'm not 100% sure and I didn't read anything about it, it seems like most of the people on campus are unique (as in, there's not two "greaser model #4"s walking around), and they all got stuff to do, people to bully, and so on--as someone said the school and town its in is very vibrant. I'd totally recommend the game. It seems a bit short compared to SA, but there's certainly more than enough to do to keep anyone satisfied.

As for the media hype, it's unjustified, but I hate defending Rockstar, so I won't go into it any further than that.

I was speaking idiomatically.

This just makes me sad that Rockstar thought that Americans were too stupid to understand a title like Canis Canem Edit, and renamed it to Bully.

Almost makes me want to import a copy just to have that title.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by JasonTerminator

This just makes me sad that Rockstar thought that Americans were too stupid to understand a title like Canis Canem Edit, and renamed it to Bully.

Almost makes me want to import a copy just to have that title.

Heh, they'd think "EDIT?" Does this mean it's a GTA maker for the PS2?

At any rate, I did read up some reviews for it, and it does seem to take the "free sandbox" play to a newer locale and focus more on the microeconomics of the student body, rather than the populace as a whole. I'm interested to find out how detailed it can get, especially how the 'classes' work out, as I've read in the reviews, that let your character learn new skills.

Also, the "European boarding school style" of schooling is somewhat refreshing to me, with uniforms and all.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by JasonTerminator

This just makes me sad that Rockstar thought that Americans were too stupid to understand a title like Canis Canem Edit, and renamed it to Bully.

Almost makes me want to import a copy just to have that title.

Well no, they renamed it to Canis Canem Edit since the game was called Bully from the start. However, they still felt Americans were too stupid for a latin title, so they kept the original name there. Small things~

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Heh, I thought it was originally called Bully, and was renamed Canis Canem Edit in Europe to ease off the protestors.

EDIT: D'oh, beat to it by Qwarky. Anyway, Canis Canem Edit is a ridiculous title, so I imported Bully instead.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I have been playing Bully for the past several days, and it's a very freshing title to play from Rockstar after having played GTA 3 and VC. A light hearted game like this proves that a game from them can still be fun without all the adult stuff that the GTA games have.

The game also does encourage going to school since Art class improves you health bonus when kissing girls, Gym class helps build up your sling shot aim as well as your moveset, Chemistry class lets you have your own personal lab set in your room for creating the very amusing prank "weapons" that the game uses, and more. It's been a lot of fun so far.

The game is incredibly easy however, so anyone looking for a big challenge here probably won't find much. Really the hardest thing about the game is balancing your time between going to (or skipping) classes, doing the story missions without getting busted if you're skipping class or it's past curfew, and avoiding whichever clique happens to have you on their hit list at the time. I still don't mind though as many of the missions have got a chuckle here and there out of me. I recommend this game to anyone looking for a much more humorous approach from Rockstar.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by surasshu

Canis Canem Edit is a ridiculous title, so I imported Bully instead.

Well if ever there was a reason.

I'm suprised it's only on Playstation2 though. Is there even an Xbox or PC version planned?

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

It was announced as a PS2 and Xbox title, but the Xbox version was canned along the way. However, we may see it in the future along with a PC release.

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I just recieved this in the mail about two days ago and have been playing it non-stop. So far it has been the most enjoyable game i've played this entire year.


Being the music nazi i am, i have to say that this game also boasts one of the best soundtracks i've ever heard in a videogame. Then again i'm much more inclined to music/soundtracks that bring in a minimilistic nostalgic vibe with there music then the whole symphonic shit that most games possess.

This is the first game in all the 20+ years of gaming, that i've actively searched for the soundtrack so i could buy it.

Rockstar is slowly but surely becoming my favorite VG company.

I was speaking idiomatically.