Clive Thompson on Bully

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Clive Thompson gets a rare hands-on first lookat Rockstar Games' upcoming schoolyard sandbox game Bully. He's convinced that, rather than simply create a toned-down high-school-based version of Grand Theft Auto, Rockstar has crafted a finely crafted piece of political satire:

What the Bully controversy proves is that politicians have never really appreciated the satirical edge of Rockstar's games. Peel back the hood on the ludic violence, and Rockstar's games have a surprisingly consistent moral view: Those with power will inevitably abuse it. It is a conclusion that would not displease Thomas Hobbes, or even Thomas Jefferson.