Previews// Canis Canem Edit (PS2)

We see the Principal giving Jimmy a right telling off, and confiscating all of his items (save for his slingshot and skateboard). This will happen the first couple of times you decide to step out of line. After that the lanky headmaster will give you punishments to do around the school. We’re told this changes based on season – Jimmy may be asked to dig the teacher’s cars out of the snow in winter and mow the football fields in summer. A glorified minigame these punishments may be, but there is a sordid price.

Continue to get caught when causing trouble (which is very easy to do) and you will find yourself doing the same minigame punishment again. And if you get caught again, you’ll be doing the punishment again. And again. And again. Rather than promote bullying – which mainstream press such as the Daily Mail are all too quick to assume – Canis Canem Edit pretty much does the exact opposite, giving players tedious minigames to complete every time they do something against the rules.

“It’s not in Jimmy’s character to be a bully. It’s an open game so we can’t stop people picking on kids at random if they really want to, but if you start playing this like GTA and causing trouble it will really hamper your progress…” Hugh’s words immediately explain the game’s nature and pretty much the sole reason why this is no ‘bullying simulator’. More than anything else it has strict guidelines that prevent you from doing nasty things constantly, and Jimmy’s character is tested throughout his entire stay at Bullworth.

With Gary as his partner you’ll be able to get away with doing fun things to humiliate each of the cliques – using the slingshot (which can be used in either a third person or close-up first-person style view) to knock out Jocks while the sports teacher tells them to ‘Stop being so lazy!’ is pleasure you can’t measure. Even friendships are tested, with a revelation between Jimmy and Gary evident at the end of the first chapter, which results in you having to fight big chunky bully Russell.

Characters have personalities and have conversations with one another (most evident during our espionage into the Preppies' dorm) and almost everyone can be interacted with – hold down L1 and you have the choice to be nice to whoever you’ve locked on to, or be nasty to them – with the ability to give kids wedgies when standing behind them. With the different missions you’ll get to see in each chapter, varying depending on season, and the sheer diversity of how you can play the game, we have no doubt that Canis Canem Edit is going to bring a nostalgic glint into even those who hated school throughout their childhood.

As we were being dragged out of Rockstar, SPOnG definitely felt that Canis Canem Edit’s strength was not just in its sandbox world that the developers are so well known for, but also in the humanity of the game world, the colourful and exaggerated view of school life. The game speaks directly to everyone’s desire to relive their past and do things they always wanted to do as kids, but never got the nerve or the opportunity – nabbing girls’ underwear speaks volumes to us, for certain.

Those of you eager to get your hands on the game only have a few months more to wait when it is released this Autumn. Which happens to be the start of the new school year. Funny, we only just thought of that.