I’ve been looking forward to trying this one for a long time.  It’s true—this is the first time I’ve managed to get my hands on a copy of Bully: Scholarship Edition.

The biggest irony about this one is that it’s a next-gen update of a previous-gen release.  The first time I got my induction into the world of Bullworth Academy, it was back on the PS2.  But then, the tail end of 2008 comes along and, boom…Bully gets an update.  The Scholarship Edition comes packed with lots more new content, and frankly, is a whole new class by itself.

But just for a refresher course, in case you’ve already sampled this one back in the PS2 days, you play as Jimmy Hopkins, a young man with a lousy family life as his mother’s neck-deep in what seems to be a lifelong round of Wheel Of New Husbands.  Jimmy’s mom and newest hubby are about to head for a cruise ship for their year-long honeymoon, but something’s got to be done with Jimmy.  Jimmy’s new stepdad has just the concept—Bullworth Academy, a boarding school with plenty of problems.  Jimmy’s first meeting with one of the students is both opportune and problematic—he meets Gary, a kid with even more problems than Bullworth itself (he’s admitted to having ADD and being on medication that he’s recently stopped taking, and getting to know this scary bastard reveals that he’s got at least sociopathic tendencies.).  Gary’s given Jimmy an interesting idea, though—taking over the school.  But with four separate cliques in operation, and a whole town outside Bullworth Academy, such a feat won’t be easy for Jimmy.  And if Gary takes exception to Jimmy’s methods…well…Gary has the potential to make Jimmy’s life a living hell.

Who will win?  Who will lose?  And will Bullworth Academy be left standing?

This is about half of why I love Bully—the sheer epic of this storyline is fantastic by itself.  But when you add the OTHER half, couple in the spectacular variety of things to do in and around Bullworth, you get a game with all sorts of replay value.  I love how you gather new skills not by defeating enemies or collecting things, but by going to class.    Almost ironically, Jimmy is very much AGAINST bullying, and it’s his repeatedly stated goal throughout the course of the game to end it at Bullworth.  There’s a lot of unexpected fun in this game, and it’s especially worth mentioning as a result.

Sure, maybe the graphics look a little last-gen for a product developed so late in the season, and sometimes the game mechanics get a downright aggressively skewed in favor of screwing the player over—hypersensitive enemies, floods of enemies, you know what I mean—but none of this really gets in the way of a good time.  And that’s what Bully: Scholarship Edition will offer–a good time action game with an epic storyline and lots to do in between.

In no uncertain terms, this is a fun game.  I had literally hours of fun with it, and I gladly came back for more.  You may want to try the original first to appreciate the fullest extent of the additions and changes made, but it’s not strictly necessary.  The key take away?  You’ll have fun.  That’s what counts.

The word “pwn” is rapidly becoming a rapid part of our vocabulary, even if no one’s a hundred percent sure just how to pronounce it.  But for those of you who pronounce it “pauhnd”, then you’ll get the connection to recent Xbox Live community release Pwned.

Pwned, you see, is a chess game.  As such, there’s no real plot, and there’s also no real single player mode.  Pwned is made to be played with friends on Xbox Live Arcade.  As such, it has something of a limited appeal–you have to have a match in order to play–but for those who have friends or good online connections, then this won’t be a problem.

If you have friends and a desperate hankering for some…chess…then Pwned is the game for you.  Otherwise…well…okay, otherwise you’re going to have absolutely NO use for this game, but at the bargain price of four hundred Microsoft points, it costs less than some chess sets.  If you’re into chess, this is a good buy.

The wonderfully delightful and creepy first-person puncher Zeno Clash will get downloadable content and SDK post-release, according to designer Andres Bordeu.

"We’re planning on releasing DLC and releasing a compatible SDK so users can edit levels and other assets," he said. While no release date was given, he noted that it should not “take us very long”.

They are also working on a demo, as well as a patch to address “some gameplay mechanics, other tweaks, and general bug fixing.”

Having dealt a massive blow to my weak little heart with news of a delay last week, publisher Mezmer has finally sent over some flowers in the form of a definite release date for Stalin vs. Martians: April 29.

The bizarre WWII strategy game will be available through those pesky digital distribution platforms, so no physical boxes for you pansies. They are currently running a 20% off special, marking the game down to $16, which I believe is a steal for the craziness that is sure to be contained within the package.

"Fans of historically inaccurate World War II games everywhere will rejoice," Mezmer executive producer Tom Soderlund said.

The arcade-RTS features aliens that poop on the battlefield and a giant dancing Stalin. Among other things, of course.

Bring out your underwear because it’s time to put it over your pants and go out to rescue the day! Cryptic Studios’ superhero MMO Champions Online will be released on July 14 – this comes from a press event held by publisher Atari in the big, bright city of London.

The news isn’t supposed to be revealed until May 8, but with other sites reporting, who gives a damn, right?

The game for underwear perverts everywhere is set to come out on PC, though publisher Atari has noted that it would be coming to “consoles”, though no release date for it is known at the moment.

Laboriously lengthily-titled action game Cyber Troopers Virtual On Oratorio Tangram will hit Xbox Live Arcade next Wednesday, April 29, according to publisher Sega.

The game is a port of the fast-paced arcade and Dreamcast mech fighter, offering enhanced graphics and online multiplayer. It is going to sell for $15 on the service.

Following up on word that it had secured the Formula One racing license, Codemasters wasted no time in disclosing its plans for multi-year racing domination, announcing F1 2009 and F1 2010.

Debuting on the Wii and PSP this fall will be F1 2009, followed by F1 2010 on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 sometime next year.

No other details were given except for a couple of screenshots.

Go back in time a bit and recall the age where PC games where the talk of the town. Classic games like Leisure Suit Larry, Police Quest, or even Space Quest were among the top games back then. Today, they remain in the memory of history since the shift towards better graphics games and harder plots have become common today. But if you want to rekindle that old game and see if you can jog up some precious memories and tactics, here is your chance for free.

Dutch website Sarien.net is hosting classic Sierra adventure games, playable online for free via an internet browser.

Leisure Suit Larry, Police Quest 1 and the first two Space Quest games are currently available on the site. The legality of the hosted games is, however, in question, with Activision Blizzard holding the copyright for each title.

“I sincerely hope that Activision Blizzard can appreciate this tribute to these game franchises – as their original creators such as Al Lowe do – and not ask me to close down the site due to copyright issues,” said Martin Kool, the website’s creator.

(Source) DigitalSpy

It’s hard to make a driving game fun.  Really it is—I mean, what do you do in a driving game besides jam your foot down on the accelerator and occasionally turn the wheel?  But Midnight Club: Los Angeles is going to try its level best to pull it off.

But will it succeed?

Midnight Club: Los Angeles really doesn’t have much in the way of plot—you’re a new street racing soul who’s just hit Los Angeles—a surprisingly realistic Los Angeles– looking to make the big scores.  And to that end, you’ll…well…jam your foot down on the accelerator and occasionally turn the wheel.  Repeatedly. Over and over and over again.

I know, it’s a graphic oversimplification, but at the root that’s exactly what you’ll be doing.  Of course, since what you’re doing is kinda sorta technically criminal…you’ll be doing this in the most underground, often criminal of fashions.  You’ll be introduced to the world of illegal Los Angeles street racing by a guy named Booke, who sets up your races via officially licensed T-Mobile Sidekick cell phone.  And you’ll eventually get hooked up with a few others, including Karol, who’ll offer you use of a garage as a safehouse; Annie, one of the best drivers in Los Angeles; and Andrew, a young man with a lot more enthusiasm than good sense.

Now, that’s not where this game ends, though—Midnight Club: Los Angeles will make up for its incredibly simplistic game play (like I said, foot, accelerator, wheel turns slightly) by offering you an INCREDIBLY vast array of options.  It’s downright unsettling just how many options there are.

First, you’ll be able to, eventually, choose from a whole lineup of cars.  Muscle cars, exotic cars (including a Ford, which surprised me…the Ford GT, specifically), something called a “tuner”, which strangely included a PONTIAC, and a motorcycle.  Now, once you’ve got your base ride finally settled on, you’ll then be able to launch into a series of options.  Everything from paint and body work down to the very floor mats will be available for your selection.  No, seriously—you can CUSTOMIZE THE FLOOR MATS.

But there’s a not inconsiderable down side to the whole affair.  While you’re given a whole wide field of options—probably too many options for the kind of game you’re playing—you’re going to have to grapple with an intense initial level of difficulty.  The car you’ll start with isn’t exactly the best car.  The car I wound up with handled like a brick with wings, and trying to win those early races was pretty tough, even at the easiest levels of racing.  Traffic got uncomfortably dense in a lot of places, and all I can think is, how am I supposed to win a race when I’ve got all these Sunday drivers and commuters out at Ridiculous O’Clock at night?  It doesn’t even make SENSE, seriously.

But still—if you can’t get enough of modifying your car or motorcycle, and are desperate to take it through the streets of a shockingly realistic simulation of Los Angeles, then Midnight Club: Los Angeles is going to be EXACTLY what you’re after.  Otherwise, try a rental or take a pass.

I have to admit, the Xbox Live community games are pretty solid in their own right.  Some of them are easily on par with current Xbox releases–for instance, when I tried Virus War, I had a pretty good experience, even if it was a bit familiar.

Essentially, in Virus War, you’re playing in a human bloodstream, out to exterminate a series of viruses that will descend on the system.  You’ll be able to power up your weapons and use various equipment to defeat the viral hordes, all of which have “distinctive behaviors”.

If you’re thinking that this is a giant ripoff of PowerUp Forever or Geometry Wars, then you’re right in a limited way.  Those are exactly how this game plays.  But at the same time, the fact that we can compare this one to professionally developed games that got the full Live Arcade presence, even in a derisive way, illustrates the skill that went into this one.  Virus War, being offered at a surprisingly bargain-priced four hundred Microsoft points, will prove to be a smooth and professional experience.