Following their previous GTA ports to mobile, Rockstar ports Bully: Anniversary Edition to the mobile scene. Bully was originally released on PlayStation 2 back in 2006 and was well received by the market with an 8.9/10 rating on IGN.
Much like the original version of the game, the new mobile version lets you freely roam through the academy anytime you want. Whether or not you want to attempt at a life as a good student or live a life of thrill and skip class is completely in your hands.
I have to admit, the controls were much better than I originally anticipated. Although, sharp movements are still quite a challenge, the ported controls are quite straightforward and easy to get used to. The game does come with external controller support, so if you do feel like the touch controls are too much, you can always connect external controllers for ease.
The change to the mobile platform has made many games more accessible, but for Bully I really can’t say the same. In many occasions, the stepping out of the game has caused it to crash and become unresponsive, which made it impossible to quickly reply messages when playing. But seeing as they aren’t game breaking bugs, so long as you carefully plan each duration of your game you can still experience a smooth gameplay the classic Bully provided.
If you’re looking for the more than just the original story of Bully, the new mobile version will also feature multiplayer arcade challenges which allows players to compete with friends via Rockstar Social Club. In my honest opinion though, getting the game purely for the single player elements is already worth the money, the multiplayer challenges are trivial when compared to what other games in the mobile gaming scene can offer.
So as a final verdict, for fans of the original game, Bully Anniversary Edition is a worthy purchase to relive fond memories of the title, just for the pure nostalgia factor players can spend hours after hours in game. For players with no experience with Bully, the game offers a good amount of hours with its unique ‘school GTA’ single player content, but if you’re looking for something heavy on PvP, Bully won’t be what you’re looking for.
Bully: Anniversary Edition is available on Google Play store at HK$53.00 and on Apple App Store at the same.