Topic: What PS4 Games Are You Currently Playing?

@CaptD easily done 😁

Black Ops 6 & Fortnite.

The Division 2

Meant to have started Bully (or Canis Canem Edit here in Blighty) over the weekend but was busy but I finally got a chance this afternoon. I was worried that it would’ve aged so badly that I would’ve found it a chore… but I’ve been beaming like Cheshire Cat since booting it up. It’s oh I don’t get me wrong, it has aged in many ways. The control over Jimmy feels a little janky, the melee combat is very basic and the auto-aim projectiles feel archaic… but it just has some magic about it.

I remember absolutely loving the game back at its release, then growing to hate it as a mate of mine would just play it again and again… and again (honestly, he must’ve played it through 5 or 6 times while I was around… god knows how many in total)! It’s been a while though, don’t think I’ve even seen that guy in around 12 years… and his Bully infatuation was well before that. So I’ve had time to actually miss the game and fancy returning to it.

Mad how productive Rockstar were during the PS2… and every one of them a classic! When people moan about Naughty Dog’s lack of production this gen, or any other big AAA developer… remember that Rockstar made 5 games during the sixth gen, 4 during the seventh, 1 during the eighth… and we’re still waiting on one during the ninth. Yes, the behemoth that is GTA Online probably soaked up much of their time and resources… but It’s a clear indication of how dev time has been affected by the advancing tech.

@graymamba Would you recommend Bully to somebody who doesn't have any nostalgia for it? Like everybody else, I heard good things about it back in the day, but have never played it for myself (or watched anybody else play it, for that matter). Would booting it up totally cold be too jarring nowadays?

@Werehog that’s a difficult one Rog, as I’m only able to view it through that nostalgic lens. I like to think that you’d acclimate within an hour maybe and end up really enjoying it, as it is one of the later and therefore ‘modern’ ps2 games… but it still feels old no doubt.

One thing that might give you some kind of narrative context at least, is if you like the Harry Potter style of narrative ie each book tells one whole year with each season bookended by a festivity (Halloween, Christmas, Easter etc.), then you’d probably like this.

I had a full sesh on it today and had a ball fair play.

@graymamba @Werehog I remember playing Bully back in the day on PS2 and have fond memories of it. I’m not sure I ever finished it to be honest. If my recollection is correct, it was sort of a ‘GTA-lite’ in the boarding school setting. The open world gameplay felt quite novel at the time.

I recall that it released to a lot of controversy, during the time in the early oughts when games were supposedly poisoning the minds of our fragile youth. A game centered around adolescent bullying with a juvenile delinquent causing mayhem for his peers and teachers didn’t go over go well with some of ultra-conservatives. Honestly, I think the content is quite tame by today’s standards and GTA is orders of magnitude more edgy. Still, I wonder how a sequel would be received nowadays. I don’t think the public would bat an eye, but there still exists a group that might bristle at the core concepts - school violence, underage drinking, defiance of authority, and all the rest. Personally, I think I’d be more concerned about my teenager failing out of school as a result of addiction to Fortnite or Roblox rather than any influence from an open world game set in a school where he/she could play out some relevant scenarios and storylines. 😅

@Th3solution yeah there was definitely an outcry this side of the pond (hence the change of name to Canis Canem Edit) but as you say, it was all a bit of something about nothing imho. The game always had a good heart even back in 2008… and now seems positively heart-warming 😁. I always saw the protagonist as the ‘good’ guy dealing with the iniquities of the various established school cliques more than anything else.

In regards to the GTA-lite-ness of it all… certainly in certain terms, like the map size and campaign length etc. I do actually think it upped certain aspects in terms of their complexity though… most prominently the ability to enter and explore numerous buildings. Then secondly, the npc interactions seemed a step up too.

Something that I’d forgotten but have taken particular satisfaction from is the permanent skill-ups you acquire from completing the various classes etc. For example, now that I’ve completed the 5 Art classes, I get 2x health if I kiss a girl… or from Chemistry’s 5 classes, I now have unlimited use of my personal chemistry kit to make stink bombs and fire-crackers and the like. Cool little touches.

@Werehog @graymamba The Halloween mission might be the best mission in any video game ever.

I'm [partly] overexaggerating, of course, but it's my favourite R* game by far and I don't think even any of the GTA games come close. Some of the missions are absolutely brilliant and there's actually a lot of fun to be had in Bullworth with plenty of variety in terms of activities and the classes are like their own minigames, for example, in English class you need to unscramble the six given letters and make as many words as possible and you need to reach a certain percentage in order to pass the class.

I'm obviously blinded by the nostalgia but if you can handle some offensive humour and, well, some bullying, I think it's worth playing. The movement can't be a bit janky in certain moments but overall I think the game holds up okay.

OH and I forgot about the soundtrack! It's amazing also.

@Kairuuu nice to see another Bullworth alumni around here 😉 yeah the Halloween mission was really well done… theres been a few times that I really appreciated one of its main missions (and how they use the various school buildings as a backdrop.

I’m a massive GTA fan, so it’s not ‘quite’ up there with those for me personally but I still hold it in very high esteem… and I would probably say that this is/was Rockstar at their most creative.

@graymamba Yeah, my memories of the specifics are fuzzy. I do remember the protagonist as being a relatively sympathetic character, starting out the game as more of a victim of the mean kids, and then over time working though the various school factions to exert more and more influence and manipulation. If I recall correctly, there’s a rudimentary morality system in play so you can try to be more of a good kid or take the path from ‘bullied’ to ‘bully’. I might be misremembering though. And like I say I think I might not have finished the game.

@Th3solution yeah, I don’t think that I ever actually finished it back on ps2, looking forward to seeing it through this time though. Spent most of my time so far getting annoying things out’ve the way like bike-jackings, flower picking, wedgie-pulling and the like… now I’ve done all them I can just plough on and see this thing through once and for all.

@graymamba Yeah, sorry for putting you on the spot yesterday, but I'm grateful for your answer 'cause it (and the wider discussion it led to) has been real helpful. Truth is, as much as I love revisiting older games, recently I've started to notice that if I lack any kind of nostalgic connection to them, I kinda zone out and struggle to complete them, and I'm not sure why. It's never an issue with janky controls or outdated graphics. Those I can even prefer sometimes!

Bully (apologies, I ain't calling it by its British name... such a dumb change) is clearly a beloved classic if you, @Th3solution and @Kairuuu are to be trusted (which you all absolutely are in my book) but I gotta admit, my own personal connection to it doesn't go much beyond reading about the controversy surrounding its release (exactly as Sol mentioned, although I also recall specific criticism aimed at the fact that the protagonist could choose to kiss a boy) and a couple friends saying it was pretty good. I worry that I'd fall off it pretty hard, but then I suppose I won't know until I try it for myself.

Grateful for the recommendations, folks. I'll put it on my PS Store wish list and if any leftover PSN credit ends up covering it, will add it to my library.

Oh, and I hope you enjoy finally getting to see its ending, Colonel!

@graymamba I always thought the Canis Canem Edit name was a particular edition of the game rather than a rename

Just rolled the credits as it goes. Has to be a top 10 ever PS2 game… and as you know, theres a lot of competition! It was a joy from my first day at school through to graduation. A little extra grind left for the plat but I’m not over the game yet, so it’ll be a pleasure to mop up.

Oh… and I’m kinda hoping you end up with a little left over credit tbh, as it would be real interesting to hear about your experience with it 🤞

@Thrillho 🤣 you’re probably not the only one mate. I remember following the game through magazine coverage during its development and it was always referred to as Bully. Then I turn up at my nearest Virgin Megastore (damn, a different time) and it was titled Canis Canem Edit! Threw me for a loop for a minute, not gonna lie.

It's stupid as well though because, while the original is indeed called Canis Canem Edit over here, the re-released version that came to Xbox 360 and PS3 was titled Bully: Scholarship Edition. I think people were arguing just for arguments sake.

Wow, high praise indeed! That's excellent to hear, real glad you had such a blast!

Alas, I just spent all my leftover credit in the Black Friday sale, but I'll certainly remember your ringing endorsement next time it's an option! Thanks!

@Werehog enjoy your latest purchases 🍻

So, I've started 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim on the side as it's an easy game to quickly play a chapter of when I have some time, and... I have no clue what's going on. Don't get me wrong. I'm absolutely enjoying it so far and find both the visual novel and RTS parts of them very enjoyable, but I'm roughly six hours in and none the wiser. I imagine it'll take a while before any of this starts making total sense to me. The way it lets you play it in your own order is fascinating though, and I wonder how much of my confusion would be allayed if I had simply played in different orders or prioritised specific people. Not that I'm trying to min-max this game as I think that effort would go in vain, so I'll just keep going as I am and assume that eventually everything will click into place.

It is very satisfying to get small answers here and there while playing through though, and I'm starting to have some theories of my own. I think most of them will be proven untrue however, as it just keeps introducing new story elements that leave me flabbergasted. Like... what do you mean Natsuno Minami is in the 1940s, the 1980s and and the 2100s? What is going on here? Not to mention my recent thought being that maybe Chihiro is Morimura, but I think I may have lost the plot with that one. I'm highly invested, so I have no doubt I'll get all answers in time. It might be a while though. I've committed to alternating battles/VN segments, and within the VN segments alternating between every character. I've now done two chapters of each bar three of them. Not sure if that just makes it all the more messy or if I'm going the right way about it in trying to see how everyone connects before diving in deeper into their personal stories!