action

Another Batman game for the PS2. Can you tell I'm excited. That's because I'm not.

This is UBI Soft's second game based on the Batman animated series. The first, "Batman: Vengeance" had it's problems, but it had a great storyline, beautiful cut scenes, and some genuinely exciting levels. While "Vengeance" was a third-person adventure in the same vein as "Tomb Raider" or "Enter the Matrix" with its puzzle solving and switch hunting, this follow-up is a straight beat 'em up action brawler like "Final Fight". Players can choose to patrol the streets of Gotham as Batman or one of his "family" members: Robin, Batgirl, or Nightwing. It doesn't really matter who you pick though, because all the characters have the same moves. Variety is not this games strong point.

"Rise of Sin Tzu" loses it's fun value after about 5 minutes. After that, it's just level after level of fighting the same guys over and over and over and over again. A rewards system allows you to purchase new abilities, a la "The Lord of the Ring: The Two Towers". While you would think this would add more replay value, it doesn't because the special moves aren't that great and are the same for all 4 characters.

The cut scenes mostly consist of Batman talking to various Gotham characters through a two-way radio. The colors in the cinematics are much brighter than the ones from "Vengeance", making them seem much more cartoony. And then there's the plot. Anyone who's read Batman comic's "Hush" or "Knightfall" storylines won't be impressed with this game's story. A new villain uses members of Batman's rogue's gallery to tire out the Dark Knight before a major strike.

The new foe is Sin Tzu, a warfare, general, conqueror, genius type of guy. He was unenthusiastically created by Jim Lee. He has a Yin-Yang figure on his forehead and he's Asian. Real original. On a positive note, the game uses other villains such as The Scarecrow, Bane, and Clayface instead of such overused characters like The Joker or Mr. Freeze.

And back on the negative side, the dialogue in this game is horrible. The original cast from the Animated Series can be heard mumbling some of the worst lines in the franchise. At one point Batman proclaims that, "Bombs are for cowards!"

Overall, a boring waste of money. I rented this for only $5 and I'm disappointed. Don't make a mistake and pay a full $40 to own this dribble.

batman rise of sin szu succeeds in injecting some new life into the beat em up genre with some old school thug bashing cooperative play. in that regard this game rocks. even though the story lacks depth and can be overly simplistic, anyone who enjoyed the batman animated series will enjoy the adventure. i was also glad to see that all the original voice actors were invlolved and the game also has some decent bonus features which i think more games should do. all in all, anyone looking for a double dragon/turtles in time style melee action should give this game a try, double if your a batman fan. on a side note, this game isnt that great from a single player point of view, so if you dont have anyone to share the thug bashing with...rent first.

This game is A OK when you start playing the game .BUT........beware this game SUCKS!all you have to do is save civilians, defuse bombs and defeat a bunch of bad guys.Buy better games like "Lord of the rings : The return of the King OR WWE Samckdown Here comes the Pain"C, mon save your $19.99. And this game is also too short. I mean only 12 levels.But if u wanna buy this game fine , BUT IT,S YOUR BAD LUCK.