Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu

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Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu
North American PlayStation 2 cover art
Developer(s)	Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft
Platform(s)	Game Boy Advance, Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox
Release date(s)	PlayStation 2 NA October 16, 2003 PAL November 21, 2003 Xbox NA October 16, 2003 PAL November 14, 2003 Game Boy Advance NA October 27, 2003 GameCube NA November 11, 2003 PAL December 5, 2003
Genre(s)	Action, beat 'em up
Mode(s)	Singl-player, cooperative gameplay
Rating(s)	ESRB: T OFLC: G8+ PEGI: 3+

Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu is a 2003 beat 'em up video game released for the PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and Xbox consoles. It was developed and published by Ubisoft in conjunction with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Comics. It is based on DC Comics' character Batman and the television series The New Batman Adventures.

Gameplay

The bulk of the game has the player battling groups of enemies in the style of games like Battletoads and Double Dragon.

The story mode, which forms the bulk of the game, can be played either alone or co-operatively, and rewards players for completing levels not only by continuing the story, but also with an upgrades system. This allows players to purchase new moves for their character and other game bonuses.^[1] There is also a challenge mode in which players (either cooperatively or competitively) take on groups of thugs without a storyline.

The game is played under a very strict time limit, which can be too difficult for first time players even under the 'normal' difficulty setting. The action is fairly hectic, and even when playing cooperatively, players are usually outnumbered by the number of enemies on screen.

Plot

Batman faces a new enemy unlike any he has faced before. This mysterious foe plunges Gotham City into chaos on the night of the anniversary of Bruce Wayne's parents murder. Apart from Sin Tzu, other Batman villains featured in the game are The Scarecrow, Clayface, and Bane. Batman is aided in his quest to save Gotham by Robin, Batgirl, and Nightwing.

Characters

Playable

• Batman- The strongest of the four heroes, although he is rather on the slow side in combat.
• Batgirl- The most agile and well-seasoned combatant of the four heroes, but lacks in strength.
• Robin- Along with Batgirl, Robin strikes quickly, but induces less damage than Batman or Nightwing.
• Nightwing- The more balanced member of the four, he packs great strength and reflexes in the battlefield, even so far as to exceed Batman's by his sheer will of determination and purpose.

Non-playable

• Comissioner Gordon
• Mr. Freeze (cameo)
• Poison Ivy (cameo)
• Harley Quinn (cameo)
• The Joker (cameo)

Villains

• Scarecrow
• Clayface
• Bane
• Sin Tzu

Publicity

One of the main draws to the game was that it introduced a new character into the Batman universe, as the cartoon did with Harley Quinn. This new character, Sin Tzu, was created by comics legend Jim Lee. However, Sin Tzu did not gain popularity as a character and was never to be seen again in any media, with the exception of the game's novelization. The game shipped in regular versions with just the game, and boxed special editions that came with action figures for the Xbox and PS2 versions, and a lithograph with the GameCube version.

Reception

Despite the publicity placed on the game, many critics found the beat 'em up gameplay repetitive and found the entire game to be without the depth of story, gameplay, and mood found in Ubisoft's previous game adaptation of The New Batman Adventures, the popular Batman Vengeance.

Game Informer reviewed this game and gave it a 5 out of 10.

Novel

To help raise even more publicity, a novel based on the game with the same name was released around the same time of the games release date. The novel, written by Devin Grayson and Flint Dille (who wrote the game's script) was told in the first person, with Clayface, Scarecrow, a Stonegate inmate named Freddie Galan, Bane, a Hispanic thug named Ramon Domingo, Sin Tzu, Batman, Batgirl, Robin, Nightwing, and Alfred each providing the narrative at different points.

See also

• Batman: Gotham City Racer
• Batman Vengeance

References

External links

• Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu at MobyGames
• DC Universe