Images: 'Bully' in action

"Bully" is a video game scheduled for release Tuesday by Rockstar Games, part of Take-Two Interactive Software. It bears the rare distinction of having an antiviolent video game crusader try to block its release through a lawsuit in Florida--a suit filed before plaintiff Jack Thompson has even had a chance to view the game. Ironically, one reviewer has concluded that "it turns out the game doesn't glorify bullying at all."

"Bully," scheduled to be available for the PlayStation 2 but not the Xbox, plays up the unpleasant social interactions, frivolous cliques and bizarre teachers that can mar anyone's high-school experience. Nerds wear green, preppies wear dark blue, and jocks wear sports jackets. Of course.

Like other Take-Two games such as "Grand Theft Auto," "Bully" lets the player explore the fictional world, choose actions that help or hurt people, and experience the consequences. But early reviews suggest it's a relatively nonviolent game: there are slingshots but not guns, and punishment for skipping class is detention.