Revisiting Canis Canem Edit (PS2, 2006)

Rockstar certainly aren’t strangers to a little controversy, with the media uproar over the criminal shenanigans of the GTA series and the twisted murders of Manhunt being familiar to most. But there is one game in their unparalleled back catalogue that was undue all that negative press: open world school-em-up, Canis Canem Edit.

If that title doesn’t ring any bells, it’s probably because you know it as Bully. Labelled a “nuisance” and the slightly more inflammatory “Columbine simulator” by activist Jack Thompson, the game was renamed in PAL regions as Canis Canem Edit (latin for “Dog Eat Dog”) As it happened, the scaremongering spouted by politicians claiming the game glorified violence towards minors was hardly warranted. Canis turned out to be a wonderfully enjoyable caricature of boarding school life, featuring violence and bad behaviour no more threatening than the average Beano cartoon.

The game charts the story of troubled fifteen year old Jimmy Hopkins as he is dropped off at exclusive boarding school, Bullworth Academy. Expelled from several other schools, Jimmy is sent to Bullworth so that his mother can abscond for a year long honeymoon with her fourth husband. Charming. Unlike other open world games, which try and bowl us over with mile upon mile of empty wilderness, Canis opts for a more intimate approach. The sandbox is small and detailed, feeling more like a real place. Cleverly, the first chapter of the game confines you to the school grounds, making your eventual move into the surrounding town feel all the more exciting. The interiors brim with detail, from the graffiti in the toilets to the bookshelves in the library. In a nice touch, decorations change with the seasons, so expect to see Jack O Lanterns and Christmas trees. It’s a place with a great sense of identity that you eventually becomes more familiar with than your own home town.

Alone in a new environment, Jimmy must do what every teenager does: try to make friends. The student body is divided up, in classic Hollywood high school style, into several cliques. The sneaky Nerds, The moronic Jocks, The snobby Preps, the slimy Greasers, and (ironically) the thuggish Bullies. Jimmy finds himself lumped with the outcasts, kids with no real allegiance, and is forced to confront the cliques chapter by chapter. To topple their leaders and win their respect, you’ll use the solid combat system, which combines punches, grapples and juvenile finishers (like spit-handshakes and wedgies) to great effect. A special mention must go out to one of the most bizarre levelling up methods in any game to date. By swapping radio parts with a homeless war veteran (who somehow manages to live hidden behind the school), he’ll teach you classified army combat moves like uppercuts and roundhouse kicks. Seriously. Alongside your cartoony arsenal of stink bombs and slingshot, Canis certainly is a violent game, but nowhere near the level of classroom based carnage the media predicted. 

In another stroke of Rockstar genius, every NPC in the game, whether they are enemy or friend, is unique. Each has their own name, appearance and voice. You’ll get to know each one well through association, even if they aren’t featured in a cutscene or mission. This familiarity with every student really creates the feel school microcosm, where everyone knows everyone else, rather than the faceless throng populating a metropolis. But the world truly comes to life when you see the systemic social system in action. The unique NPCs constantly interact with each other, pulling pranks, kissing girls, getting into fights and running to class. The rules that bind the player apply to the NPCs too. A pupil who punches a girl is rightly pounced on by prefects and hurled into detention.  It’s a great piece of open world design that paints Jimmy as just another pupil at the academy, rather than the centre of a stage set designed purely for him to mess around in.

However, you’ll find you won’t have much time to mess around. Bullworth Academy runs like clockwork. Another neat twist on the day/night cycle sees your school day run by a tight schedule. An analogue clock is a constant presence in the top left hand corner of the screen, and you’ll have to work hard to stay on time. Jimmy’s days are divided into time slots, each with their own complications:

• Wake up at 8:00am
• 1st Period from 9:00 am till 11:00am (don’t be a truant)
• 2nd Period from 1:00 am till 4:00pm.(don’t be a truant again)
• Curfew from 7pm
• Get to bed by 2:00am (or you pass out on the spot)
• Repeat

It’s a neat system that adds another level to the game. Like a normal student, you can even choose to ignore the slowly ticking time. Be careful though, as even the story missions change in difficulty depending on the time of day. Being out after curfew turns each nighttime jaunt into a tense stealth sequence, as police with flashlights patrol in the dark, looking for truants.

You shouldn’t get too down hearted about being forced back to your homework: mini games in Canis are simple, fun, and offer enough rewards to alleviate boredom (apart from the tedious lawn mowing detention tasks). As well as the standard subjects of Chemistry, English and Gym (amongst others) offering you new weapon and character upgrades, the town holds an abundance of fun things to do. You can race BMX’s, undertake errands, or earn prizes at the fairground. If you so wish, you can even go on a GTA style crime spree, jacking bikes and throwing eggs at cars, but the prefects are persistent and the punishment stiff (yet more lawn mowing) Each activity fleshes out the town of Bullworth and its inhabitants, making it a great place to spend time in.

I first played Canis Canem Edit in 2007, aged 14, and since then, have seen the journey of Jimmy Hopkins come to an end time and time again. Now ten years on from its original release, Canis is still a unique and perfectly paced game that caricatures the challenges of school life. Its focus on character building and social mechanics set it apart from not only other Rockstar titles, but also other open world games. Now is a great time to head back to Bullworth on PS4, and begin Jimmy’s school year all over again.