Video game:PlayStation 2 Bully

Originally released for the Playstation 2 in 2006, Bully is an action-adventure video game developed by Rockstar Vancouver, a subsidiary of Rockstar Games. Players control Jimmy Hopkins, a troubled youth who is abandoned by his mother and step-father at Bullworth Academy, a fictional New England boarding school.

As a sandbox game, players are free to explore the Bullworth Academy campus and the surrounding town. While on campus, players can attend classes, or mini-games, that provide the player new skills. There are six classes in total, each one offering five lessons. In 2008, Rockstar released Bully: Scholarship Edition for the Xbox 360 and PC. This version contained four additional classes, eight new missions, and exclusive items.

At the time of its release, Bully received criticism for its adult content. The controversy of Rockstar Games' previous titles-particularly Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas-had many fearing the game's schoolyard setting would glorify school violence. In the months before the game's release, anti-bullying advocacy groups protested outside of Rockstar Games' New York City headquarters to try to persuade the company against releasing the game.

However, unlike previous games from Rockstar, Bully doesn't feature graphic or exploitative violence. While Jimmy can get into fights with various NPCs, he cannot kill any of them. Weapons in the game are limited to childish items, such as slingshots and stink bombs. Players can opt to avoid confrontations altogether by apologizing or bribing bullies into leaving them alone.

Kissing is featured in the game as a way of boosting Jimmy's health. Upon passing Jimmy's first Art class, players unlock the ability to kiss other students. In addition to being able to kiss a number of girls in the game, there are six female students with whom Jimmy develops relationships with throughout the game's story. Jimmy is also able to kiss one boy from each of the game's cliques. At the time of release, Jimmy's bisexuality was the source of controversy for many who believed this content to be inappropriate given the T-for-Teen rating issued by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB).

Despite the controversy, Bully was well received by critics. In addition to ranking 43rd on IGN's Top 100 Playstation 2 games, Bully won the title of Editor's Choice from publications such as Gamespy.com, GamePro.com, and IGN.