Friday 1 September 2006
There's not even a splash of the red stuff in the whole of Canis Canem Edit's boarding school adventure. But that hasn't stopped the 'ban that' pack slurring Rockstar as "irresponsible", or prematurely labelling Canis Canem Edit as a "Columbine simulator". So it's a good job that Canis - albeit with its new, not-so-contentious title - is set to tackle all the ridiculous fuss with a quirky, characterful and quality experience.
Canis is set in and around Bullworth Academy, the school-of-harder-knocks that teenage hero Jimmy Hopkins lands up in when his mum jets off on her fifth honeymoon. Nobody does the little atmospheric details better than Rockstar, and the schoolyard world instantly connects with that corner of your brain that never leaves the desks and corridors and screams of "Bundle!" behind, even if you have.
Jimmy immediately finds himself in trouble, ambushed by the bullies, one of the rival cliques in Bullworth's dog-eat-dog social whirlwind. But no blood doesn't mean Rockstar has pulled any punches. We got stuck in with Jimmy's fisticuffs - a similar set up to The Warriors - and bashed up the bullies with a series of held power punches and flowing knuckle-swinging combos.
