Canis Canem Edit

Canis Canem Edit (PS2) Bully: The lap of honor (X360, Wii, PS3, PC)
Studio	Rockstar Vancouver (PlayStation 2) Rockstar New England (Xbox 360, Windows) Rockstar Toronto (Wii) War Drum Studios (iOS, Android)
Publisher	Rockstar Games
Erstveröffent- lichung	PlayStation 2 October 26, 2006 Xbox 360, Wii March 7, 2008 Windows October 24, 2008 iOS, Android December 8, 2016
platform	Android , iOS , PlayStation 2 , PlayStation 3 , PlayStation 4 , Wii , Windows , Xbox 360 , Xbox One
Game engine	RenderWare Gamebryo (Bully: The lap of honor)
genre	Action adventure
Game mode	Single player
control	Gamepad , Wiimote , keyboard , mouse
system advantages preconditions	Pentium4 3 GHz or AMD Athlon 3000+, 1 GB RAM, 128 MB graphics card (from Nvidia 6800), 4.7 GB free storage space, Shader-Model 3.0, DirectX 9.0c, Windows XP / Vista / 7
medium	DVD-ROM , download
language	German English
Current version	1.2
Age rating	USK PEGI

Canis Canem Edit ( Latin for "dog eats dog") is the name of a video game by the Canadian developer Rockstar Vancouver for the PlayStation 2 . Later editions for other systems bear the title Bully: The lap of honor . On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the initial release, the game was released on December 8, 2016 as Bully: Anniversary Edition for iOS and Android.

action

In Canis Canem Edit , the player slips into the role of the 15-year-old teenager Jimmy Hopkins, who has to complete a school year at the "Bullworth Academy". As in the related games in the GTA series, there are a number of missions to complete.

First the player has to follow the instructions of his first friend Gary. He intends to conquer the school with Jimmy, but after a certain time he is betrayed by him by setting the thug Russell on him. As soon as the player has defeated Russell and at the same time made him a friend, there is also the opportunity to make friends with other students. In between, however, there is enough time to explore the very detailed surroundings of the campus and a few small towns where various additional tasks await ( e.g. go-karting as well as bicycle races or running errands for certain people, which are marked by a blue cross on the map ).

Jimmy has to defeat the following four gangs at the "Bullworth Academy":

• Preps (children of wealthy parents; led by Derby)
• Greaser (hanging around the workshop; led by Johnny)
• Nerd (have a fortress on school grounds; led by Earnest)
• Jocks (Bullworth Academy athlete; led by Tad)

Also later outside of school:

• City dwellers (partly former students; led by Edgar)

School lessons are held twice a day (9 a.m. and 1 p.m.), the positive outcome of which increases the protagonist's skills. It is possible to skip this lesson, but Jimmy should not be caught (after completing the 5th level of a subject, going to class is no longer compulsory and is not followed by “skipping”). It is forbidden to stay in the school building after 7 p.m., as well as not to keep the curfew after 11 p.m. If Jimmy renounces his nightly sleep, he collapses unconscious at two in the morning and when he wakes up parts of his inventory may have been stolen.

Game principle and technology

The figure is controlled from the third-person perspective . In addition to the usual actions for the genre such as running, hopping, swimming, skateboarding and cycling, throwing objects and shooting with a sling, special actions such as flirting, making peace, etc. are possible in certain situations.

Two displays indicate Jimmy's health and his “kerbholz” level: the former is supplemented by eating and drinking as well as kissing, while kissing supplements the health display with an additional bar that is placed over the first bar; if the latter increases too much, the student will be increasingly followed by supervisors, prefects, teachers or police officers. He can evade this by hiding or fleeing; resistance to being caught is possible, but not always successful. If you have successfully completed the English lesson, you can apologize for minor offenses to the prefect or police officer, but this is only possible to a limited extent, depending on the level of the "Kerbholz" level and the offense that the player has committed.

Production notes

In North America , the original version for PlayStation 2 is also called Bully , which means something like "thug" or "bully" in English. This title was probably changed for publications outside the North American countries, because it either sounds more harmless or should additionally provoke. Official explanations of the name change on the part of the publisher were missing, as was the renaming in the course of the publication of the revised version Bully: Die Ehrenrunde .

An announced version for the Xbox was not released, which is why the game was only released for the PlayStation 2 in Germany on October 26, 2006. On July 19, 2007 the revised Bully: The lap of honor for Nintendo's Wii and Microsoft's Xbox 360 was announced, which was released on March 7, 2008. A Windows version was also released on October 24, 2008. The lap of honor offers some innovations (e.g. additional school subjects, mini-games, optimized controls for the Wii), as well as improved graphics . In March 2016, the game was released digitally for the PlayStation 4 and expanded with some functions such as higher resolution, share play and trophies . In 2016, versions for mobile devices with the Android and iOS operating systems were also released .

In the summer of 2008, actor and director Michael "Bully" Herbig sued the game in front of the Munich regional court, without success . Due to his nickname "Bully", Herbig feared that he "could be associated with a violent game" and called for a sales stop and a fine. It was ignored, however, that the term is primarily an ordinary English word. The court ruled on October 28, 2008 that the game did not violate Herbig's personal rights. The US attorney Jack Thompson , who has already gone to court against games like The Sims or the GTA series , tried to get the game banned.

reception

The lack of political correctness of the game was already criticized during the development . Everyday life at the virtual school is characterized by pranks and meanness among the students and also towards persons of authority up to gross violations such as bodily harm, theft or entering the girls' dormitory.

Shortly after its release, the game came under fire again in the US after it became known that the character can flirt with male classmates and even kiss them.

Critify.de rating (average of all German magazines): 78 (PC), 84 (Xbox 360, Wii, PS2)

Web links

• Bully on rockstargames.com (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Bully: Anniversary Edition is now available for iOS and Android. In: Rockstar Games Blog. December 8, 2016, accessed February 18, 2018 . 
2. ↑ Gameswelt .de: Bully - name change , September 1, 2006
3. ↑ Take 2 press release: Rockstar Games announces Bully: Scholarship Edition for the Xbox 360 and Wii , July 19, 2007
4. ↑ Gameswelt .de: Bully: The lap of honor - general information
5. ↑ https://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Michael-Bully-Herbig-scheitert-mit-Klage-gegen-Bully-Spiel-214030.html
6. ↑ http://www.gamona.de/games/canis-canem-edit,usa-esrb-haelt-trotz-schwuler-liebesszene-an-t-einstufu:news,173854.html