Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu

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Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu

Developer(s)	Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft
Platform(s)	Game Boy Advance, GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox
Release date	October 16, 2003 (PS2, Xbox US) November 19, 2003 (PS2, Eur) November 12, 2003 (Xbox, Eur) November 11, 2003 (GCN, US) December 4, 2003 (GCN, Eur)
Genre(s)	Action, Beat 'em up
Mode(s)	Single player, Co-op (2 players)
Rating(s)	ESRB: Teen (T) PEGI: 3+

Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu is a beat 'em up video game that was released in 2003 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.

1 Storyline
2 Gameplay
3 Publicity
4 Criticism
5 Novel
6 Cast
7 See also
8 External links

[edit] Storyline

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.

[edit] 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. 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.

[edit] 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. In order to capitalize on this, 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.

[edit] Criticism

Despite the publicity placed on the game, many critics found the beat 'em up gameplay repetitive and without the depth of Ubisoft's previous Batman game, Batman: Vengeance.

[edit] 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 Batman, Batgirl, Robin and Alfred Pennyworth each providing the narrative at different points.