The tasks in Bully are dumbed down compared to Grand Theft Auto. Can kids really get a hold of guns or steal cars? I think not. The worst damage Jimmy can do is sling-shot a rock into a kid’s face or deliver a mean uppercut. Also, you can humiliate other students by rubbing loogies into their faces or calling them names looted with cuss words. Although most fights will make you cringe, there is nothing like pulling out a machine gun and annihilating your enemies. Sadly, we won’t find that satisfaction here.
Finding tasks are easy to do, just look for a star on the map. Each lead to a particular task. The majority of tasks involve running around finding things or escorting/defending students. Defend a nerd, get five dollars. Get a pre-pubescent acne-infested girl’s chocolate back, get a make-out session. It disturbs me that Jimmy would sink this low.
Helping and defending your peers gains you respect from them. Scaring and beating up your peers gains you respect from the bullies. Pick your side, but stay with it. There is no way to be on the fence, you’re either on one side or the other. Of course it doesn’t help that tasks tend to switch off – assist a fellow delinquent, save the girl. One, and then the other. How is Jimmy supposed to pick a side!?
Unfortunately, many of these tasks take place inside of the school, and there is usually only two hours between classes. Each class takes three hours to complete, and there are two classes a day. This leaves time for tasks only between or after class. Another time issue is that the school closes at 7pm, and any time spent after 7pm inside the school is considered trespassing. There’s just no way to win here.
Usually a task cannot be completed before or in-between class, leaving the few short hours afterwards for tasks. This causes Jimmy to skip a lot of class, and you can just pray there are no prefects around on the look-out for truant students. Also, the game makes it essential that Jimmy be in bed by 8pm each night, otherwise he will be low on energy the next day. Averaging one task a day can be frusterating.
You may wonder “with all of this beating people up business, what do you do for health?” The answer is: nothing! The simple formula is: target the enemy, throw something at them, and repeat. Firecrackers, smoke bombs, soccer balls, bricks, hub caps, ect. are available for use. Jimmy can buy a can of soda to replenish his health, but the chance of dying is next to zero. Unless a crowd of bullies gangs up on Jimmy during a fist fight, he usually leaves the fight unscathed. His enemies are usually not so lucky….
