Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu

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

Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu
Developer(s)Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher(s)Ubisoft[lower-alpha 1]
Producer(s)Benoit Galarneau
Designer(s)Mario Maltezos
Artist(s)Daniel Marcoux
Composer(s)Mathieu Vanasse
EngineRenderWare (Xbox, PS2, GC)
Platform(s)Xbox, PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance, GameCube
ReleaseXbox[1] & PlayStation 2[2]
  • NA: October 16, 2003
  • EU: November 14, 2003 (Xbox)
  • EU: November 21, 2003 (PS2)
Game Boy Advance[3]
  • NA: October 27, 2003
GameCube[4]
  • NA: November 11, 2003
  • EU: December 5, 2003
Genre(s)Action, beat 'em up
Mode(s)Single-player, cooperative gameplay

Gameplay

As Batman (Kevin Conroy), Batgirl (Tara Strong), Robin (Scott Menville), or Nightwing (Loren Lester), the player has to fight groups of enemies. 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.[5] 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 time limit, and features co-operative play. It has four difficulty levels: 'Easy', 'Medium', 'Hard', and 'Dark Knight', with 'Dark Knight' as an unlockable bonus.

The GameCube version includes support with the Game Boy Advance cable.

Plot

On the anniversary of the murders of his parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne, Batman takes a visit to Crime Alley to pay his respects to them, when he spots several civilians being kidnapped. After saving them and defeating the kidnappers, Batman learns that massive prison breakouts have occurred at both Arkham Asylum and Stonegate Prison. Commissioner Gordon (Bob Hastings) contacts Batman to meet him at the courthouse, but is overwhelmed by Scarecrow (Jeffrey Combs)'s fear gas. Rushing over to the courthouse, Batman finds Gordon affected by the toxin and confronts Scarecrow, who taunts the Dark Knight, claiming that he will soon give in to fear, but Batman manages to overcome the fear gas and defeats Scarecrow. Gordon recovers from the effects of the fear toxin and agrees to keep watch on Scarecrow, while Batman leaves to find more escaped supervillains.

Gordon notifies Batman of Clayface (Ron Perlman) having taken over the Gotham Chemical Factory. After defusing several bombs that were planted across the rooftops of Gotham City, Batman confronts Clayface, who reveals his plan to turn everyone in the city into beings like himself, and then escapes. Batman follows him to the Chemical Factory, where Gordon informs him of a weapon of mass destruction that will soon arrive at the city docks. Batman then encounters Clayface again and battles him, but the villain merges with several other infected people to transform in a larger version of himself. Nevertheless, Batman weakens and defeats Clayface using electricity, leaving him unconscious in the process, and allowing the police to take him back to prison.

Shortly after, during a conversation with Gordon, Batman deduces that the person responsible for the prison breakouts is Sin Tzu (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), a renowned warlord from Asia that was captured and sent to Arkham Asylum for further study. Sin Tzu intercepts the transmission and declares that Gotham will become a new stronghold for his empire once Batman is defeated. Gordon then tells Batman to head to the harbor to disarm the doomsday weapon that has just arrived. At the harbor, Batman hijacks the cargo ship carrying the weapon and takes it to the Batcave, just as Sin Tzu predicted. Batman finds the doomsday weapon but is ambushed by Sin Tzu's men. After defeating them and preventing them from breaking into the Batcave, Batman attempts to disarm the weapon only to find that it is Bane (Hector Elizondo), another escaped supervillain. Batman and Bane fight in the Batcave until Batman defeats him.

Batman later discovers that Sin Tzu is hiding in Arkham Asylum and has Gordon and the GCPD surround the institution so that Sin Tzu will not escape. With all entries into Arkham locked, Batman decides to enter through the sewer system, during which Gordon reveals that Sin Tzu has mentally controlled Scarecrow, Clayface, and Bane all along, so he should be careful not to fall under his mind control as well. Entering Arkham, Batman sees that several other imprisoned villains, namely the Joker, Harley Quinn, Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy (all of them appearing as antagonists in the previous game), have been placed in suspended animation, before going into the lower levels of Arkham, where he finally confronts Sin Tzu in a chamber. The two engage in a lengthy battle and Batman emerges victorious, defeating Sin Tzu.

As dawn approaches, Gordon explains to Batman that he could not tell him about the imprisonment of Sin Tzu at Arkham for national security reasons, and he understands his decision. The Dark Knight then reminisces on the vows that have to be honored to the living and the dead (reminding himself of his parents' murder having a profound effect on his life), and the game ends with Batman looking over Gotham City.

Publicity

One of the main draws to the game was that it introduced a new character into the Batman universe, as Batman: The Animated Series did with Harley Quinn. This new character, Sin Tzu, was created by comic artist Jim Lee.[6] However, Sin Tzu did not gain popularity as a character and was not seen in any other media, with the exception of the game's novelization, for almost fifteen years before finally appearing in Suicide Squad Most Wanted: El Diablo and Killer Croc #3 (October 2016). 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. Despite the special editions, Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu did not earn Greatest Hits, Player's Choice or Platinum Hits on the PlayStation 2, GameCube or Xbox respectively.

Reception
Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings61.68% (GC)[7]
61.62% (Xbox)[8]
59.44% (PS2)[9]
58.80% (GBA)[10]
Metacritic67/100 (Xbox)[11]
63/100 (GC)[12]
63/100 (PS2)[13]
63/100 (GBA)[14]
Review scores
PublicationScore
1Up.com7/10[15]
EGM5.5/10[16]
Game Informer7/10 (GBA)[17]
5/10[18][19][20]
GamePro[21]
GameSpot7.5/10[22][23]
GameSpy[24][25][26]
GameZone7.2/10 (PS2)[27]
7/10 (GC)[28]
6.9/10 (GBA)[29]
6.5/10 (Xbox)[30]
IGN6.5/10[31]
5.5/10 (GBA)[32]
Nintendo Power3.4/5[33][34]
OPM (US)[35]
OXM (US)6.1/10[36]

Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu was given a score of 59.44% for the PS2 version, 61.62% for the Xbox version, 58.80% for the Game Boy Advance version, and 61.68% for the GameCube version on GameRankings.[7][8][9][10] On Metacritic, it has a score of 67 out of 100 for the Xbox version,[11] and 63 out of 100 for the other console versions, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[12][13][14]

Game Informer gave the game a score of 5 out of 10 for PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube, while the same magazine gave the Game Boy Advance port a better score of 7 out of 10.

Other media

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, the 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.

Batman: Shadow of Sin Tzu was a year-long webcomic released bi-weekly on the DC Comics website, serving as a sequel to events depicted in Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu.

References
  1. "Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu Release Information for Xbox". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2013-05-11.
  2. "Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu Release Information for PlayStation 2". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2013-05-11.
  3. "Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu Release Information for Game Boy Advance". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2013-05-11.
  4. "Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu Release Information for GameCube". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2013-05-11.
  5. "Xbox - Batman: The Rise of Sin Tzu". Kidzworld. Archived from the original on 18 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
  6. D'Marcus Beatty (17 December 2003). "GameCube:Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu - Review". Gaming Target. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  7. "Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu for GameCube". GameRankings. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  8. "Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu for Xbox". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  9. "Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu for PlayStation 2". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  10. "Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu for Game Boy Advance". GameRankings. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  11. "Batman: Rise of Sin Tsu Critic Reviews for Xbox". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  12. "Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu Critic Reviews for GameCube". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  13. "Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu Critic Reviews for PlayStation 2". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  14. "Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu for Game Boy Advance". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  15. Orlando, Greg (December 2003 – January 2004). "Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu". Xbox Nation Magazine: 87. Archived from the original on 2012-08-01. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  16. "Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu". Electronic Gaming Monthly (173): 172. November 2003.
  17. Biessener, Adam (March 2004). "Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu (GBA)". Game Informer (132): 114. Archived from the original on 22 November 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  18. Reiner, Andrew (November 2003). "Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu (PS2)". Game Informer (127): 143. Archived from the original on 21 June 2007. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  19. Helgeson, Matt (November 2003). "Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu (Xbox)". Game Informer (127): 167. Archived from the original on 14 September 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  20. "Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu (GC)". Game Informer (128): 159. December 2003. Archived from the original on 30 January 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  21. Dr. Zombie (16 October 2003). "Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu Review for PS2 on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on 20 January 2005. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  22. Davis, Ryan (27 October 2003). "Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu Review (PS2, Xbox)". GameSpot. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  23. Davis, Ryan (18 November 2003). "Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu Review (GC)". GameSpot. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  24. Meston, Zach (7 November 2003). "GameSpy: Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu (PS2)". GameSpy. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  25. Meston, Zach (7 November 2003). "GameSpy: Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu (Xbox)". GameSpy. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  26. Meston, Zach (24 November 2003). "Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu (GBA)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 18 September 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  27. David, Mike (6 November 2003). "Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu Review - PlayStation 2". GameZone. Archived from the original on 17 February 2009. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  28. Hollingshead, Anise (8 December 2003). "Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu - GC - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on 6 July 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  29. Wrentmore, John (21 November 2003). "Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu - GBA - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on 7 September 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  30. Raymond, Justin (8 December 2003). "Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu Review - Xbox". GameZone. Archived from the original on 22 May 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  31. Irwin, Mary Jane (17 October 2003). "Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu (GC, PS2, Xbox)". IGN. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  32. Harris, Craig (13 November 2003). "Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu (GBA)". IGN. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  33. "Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu (GBA)". Nintendo Power. 175: 160. January 2004.
  34. "Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu (GC)". Nintendo Power. 175: 158. January 2004.
  35. "Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine: 130. November 2003.
  36. "Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu". Official Xbox Magazine: 154. December 2003.
  1. Released under the Ubi Soft brand
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