First Impression: Bully – Scholarship Edition (PC / Steam) ~ It’s a game at least.

Official website

My current studies, at the moment of writing this article, in college are to become a teacher. So, honestly, I was quite interested in this game. I was curious how they would address the problems of a bully. Knowing the developer, the first impression of this game is that this game actually gives bullying a “good vibe”. But let me explain in this article why I think the game is actually not even worth it. How they totally missed tons and tons of opportunities. If you follow me on my Twitter, you know that I tweeted out to Q that this game left me ‘meh’.  In other words, I’m not extremely interested in beating this game. There are just too many flaws in this game that it isn’t even funny. And it’s an extreme shame, Rockstar Games are known for amazing games, but they failed on various parts in this game. I kinda feel like a real teacher now, sometimes repeating this same information but in different ways. Hah! Food for thought. Something my colleague teachers will understand. Anyway, while I do realize that I can possibly get hate on this article, I honestly only care about people who can say their opinion with respect. And I invite you to post a comment with your own thoughts on this article and or the game. 

And I haven’t played yet.

When you have games like GTA under your belt, you expect quality things from the developer. But the download on Steam was just finished, and I noticed that the game was going to be a major let down.

I researched the problem, and I wasn’t the only one. The game has freezing issues at the start-up loading screen. I repeat, the start-up loading screen. Yeah, and I haven’t played the game yet. And we are off to a great start. And sorry Rockstar, you have no excuse! At the title screen it says “1,200”. Assuming this is your version number, this means most likely that you released 2 patches. Ignoring that issue is a shame.

Then the main menu, I seriously thought that I was going to pull my hair out. The main menu on the Steam version is terrible. It has an interesting design behind it, but it barely has any options you expect from the main menu. To configure most options, apart from video (If I recall correctly), have to be done when you loaded your save.

Sadly enough, the problems don’t stop there. The game can be played with an XBOX360 controller. And honestly, I recommend playing it with a controller. Why? Because the controls feel stiff and awkward. The controller’s controls are an improvement but not that much. And how can a big studio not program the recognition of the controller? I found this out in mid-game. So, I plugged in my controller and I have to reboot the game in order for it to work. And here is the fun part, when I unplugged it mid-game, the game didn’t react to keyboard input!

Nice try guys.

Graphically this game is pretty okay. It isn’t anything amazing but thankfully they used some detail. But then, the developer got GTA in their heads and the designing a school got a “GTA upgrade”.

You can buy new clothes to wear instead of the uniform. I facepalmed hard right there. If you missed why, look up the definition of a school uniform. You have to wear that uniform and nothing else. Okay, it’s to rebel, I understand. But you easily get in trouble in real life if you break rules.

Now, the animation. Do I truly have to? Well, here we go then. The animation of this game is just awful. Please tell me when I can come out of hiding after the hoard of angry fanboys went by.

The game is riddled with animation problems. From twitching characters to people falling upwards, they got it all. As if this game has been thrown on Steam just to have some more cash. This game is pretty bad at hiding its issues. In cutscenes, you can see the issues popping up. In the cutscenes! I mean, come on. If you know your engine has issues, use movies like in the old days as cut scenes.

More issues

I might start talking again about the design and the animation of this game in this article, but if I don’t, I’ll surely talk about it in my full review if I ever write one.

Another BIG issue I have to address is the sound. From the music to the sound effects. The music, honestly, is bland. I always listen to the game’s music when writing articles. It helps my brain to get into the mood and feel from the game. But the music is nothing special. I find it hard to even remember tunes from the game. While I can easily recognize many tracks of other games I played. But that might be because I didn’t hear everything yet.

And the sound effects, my lords. Are they bad! The sound of students stepping sounds like they clapped two coconut shells to each other. Or those old plastic pots with cords that you walked around with on the playing ground. It breaks the immersion quick.  I had it happen often.

And don’t get my started about the students. They are loud and thanks to that you can barely hear what’s said in some cutscenes and what your reply was of a student you praised or said bad things too. Also, they sometimes give you awkward replies or the same one over and over again.

Is this game junk? Well, no not completely. The gameplay is somewhat interesting. But please, anything but the classes. While they could have showed the fascinating part of teaching they replaced the courses by simple mini-games. And English class is such a pain for a not native speaker. Trying to make words with the letters given. I had to struggle a lot. My native language isn’t English, it’s Dutch. So, that’s a spot where they missed something they could have done gameplay wise.

Anyway, I think I’m going to leave it here. I might play this game a bit more to research it, but that’s my current opinion on it. If you want to try it, know it didn’t talk in depth about the graphics, design, gameplay and control. That’s something for you to discover. But I warn my readers, think this one through before you buy it. You might be let down by the sheer unpolished elements in this game.

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Android Games #2: Lovely tablets.

A while ago, I wrote an article about Android games you should try out. Also remember that I said I would write more? Well, here are few now games you can try on your Android device. I haven’t written one recently since I have been playing other games and I have been busy with my personal life. But now I had the time and no other real good idea to write about. So, for the ones new to this series of mine, I write articles here about games you should try. I try to pick games with no or few ads. But my main goal is that they need to be free. Also, I write a short review about the most recent version that was released on the moment this article has been written. Besides, these games don’t provide me with enough material to write about for a full review. So, that’s why I review them here. So, let’s get some new games for on your mobile or tablet and let’s get playing. 

Airport Scanner

This game took me by complete surprise. I never expected a game about this to be this much fun. The game has fun and melodic music that directly sets a great tone for the game.

Graphically the game looks pleasing to the eye. Nothing is too small or pixel-y.

The gameplay is where this game really shines. You have to look into the messy bags of the passengers and tap on illegal goods. But, you have to keep it moving since first class passengers want to be on the plain fast.

I adore the silly humor like the pause menu being “coffee break”. And when somebody is caught, they get literally kicked out. Great title to play.

Score: 5/5

Flow Free & Flow Free Bridges

There isn’t really a more simple Android game out there. Connect the dots without crossing lines.

This game is a classic. And I found it when I was looking for an Android version of Tron for on my tablet.

The fewer moves you use, the more points you’ll get. There is also a variant where you have to make a bridge. Or in other words, where you have to cross one line. (Or the amount of bridges displayed on the screen.)

The amount of levels is amazing, so you won’t get bored easily by this game. Yet, this game has one drawback. The ad at the bottom is way too big for my tastes. I wish they made is smaller.

But when you can pick your level freely and eventually buy more level packs, this game surely ain’t a steal of your time. The grids will get big though and challenge your mind. One of the biggest levels I have seen is one that is 14 by 14 squares. Well, let’s get filling.

Score: 4/5

Short?

Wait, no more games? Awn. Yeah, sorry guys, but I haven’t played much on my tablet lately, so I have not that many new games. But feel free to leave games I should try out here. Maybe one day I’ll feature a game you recommended me.

Also, it’s way too hot in here to write and concentrate. I sweat so much that my shirt is sticking to my body. So fellow gamers, keep safe and keep drinking. Preferably non-alcoholic drinks.

I want to thank you for the reading this article and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care.