October 29, 2006
The video game columnist for a major daily newspaper has weighed in on Bully in a positive way.In a piece that lies somewhere between a review and a thoughtful op-ed, Peter Hartlaub writes in the San Francisco Chronicle:
If you believe the hype, the new video game Bully is the most corrupting thing to happen to teenagers since Elvis Presley gyrated his hips on "The Ed Sullivan Show..." In reality, the well-designed PlayStation 2 title from Rockstar Games is closer to a video game version of the movie "My Bodyguard," with fewer killings (none) than the typical episode of "Murder, She Wrote."
...while the hand-to-hand combat and dark humor more than earn the game a Teen rating (the approximate equivalent of a PG-13 movie), there's an underlying morality that is pervasive throughout the game... there was less sex talk during the eight hours that I played than the typical 22-minute episode of "The Golden Girls."
The furor that surrounded Bully in recent months highlights the stupidity of trying to ban a game that no one has actually seen. Without ever having played Bully, activist lawyer Jack Thompson labeled it "the violent Columbine simulator video game..."
Even if you agree that video games are too violent, focusing energy on Bully is like trying to raid a crack house and accidentally smashing in the door of the doughnut franchise across the street...
Comments
Re: Sunday Editorial Roundup: Bully No Columbine Simulator,
Re: Sunday Editorial Roundup: Bully No Columbine Simulator,
I forgot all about this game i saw it used in some video on youtube about not bullying and how bullying is bad. Anyway pretty boring i think compared to GTA and other games. And comparing the latest versions to the first ones that came out they've come a long way with graphics. They even have london escorts in some that look as real as can be.
BTW, this sounds like a good game. Does anybody know if Rockstar has plans to port it to the PC or Xbox yet?
Read it.
Everytime I see something like this it reminds me of a line from the Butt-Out episode of South Park...."Sometimes it's okay to lie. Like when you know what's better for people more than they do."
So old women should love Bully ;)
Now if only more people had this guys acceptence to ideas. There would be a lot less Jack Thompsons.
(Oh God, The thought of Cloning Jack Thompson came into my mind)
No wonder powdered-sugered donuts are so good.
Wasn't the Catcher in the Rye also one of those "banned" books? Never actually read it in school but I ended up buying my own copy, I don't think I ever finished reading it.
You first have to stab a cop while said cop is arresting a hooker. Then you have sex with said hooker, stab her, get her money and steal the cop car. This activates your Super Uber Trick skill that allows you to launch your car off a ramp at impossible speeds. You then land on a special cloud with a short (yet powerful) kid with spikey hair who will be more than happy to take you to the Mystic Mountains, however, you first have to beat him in a cloud race. When you win the race and arrive at the Mystic Mountains you will fight a zombie dragon who drops a slingshot he was carrying. Eventually you'll be able to save up enough gil to have the school's blacksmith upgrade the level 1 Slingshot to a level 8 M-16 and then finally a level 16 Rocket Launcher.
At least, that's what I read at Game Faqs.
Yes "The Catcher in the Rye" Was banned. Twice i believe because of its content and the use of the word "fuck" Only used once at the end.
Its nice to see people y'know...using that thing between their ears.
But don't you need a GameShark to access that content anyway? :P
I'd so play that game. =D!!!
I thought the article was witty and had a lot to retort to on Jacko's "campaign" against evil.