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10 of 11 found the following review helpful:
 Batman returns with the gang Nov 17, 2003
By Brian Reaves
The premise was so promising: Play not only as Batman, but as Robin, Batgirl, and (finally!) Nightwing! Put them doing some amazing moves, and throw in a villian created by Jim Lee (of the "Hush" storyline earlier this year). How could you lose? Well, they somehow found a way. Fighting is cool at first, and as you "buy" the more impressive moves, it looks better at each turn. Unfortunately, the game's levels are identical. You either rescue the civilians or diffuse the bombs before they go off. After doing that for an eternity, you are rewarded with a boss battle, then it's back to the timed events. Unfortunately, the cooler moves you purchase take a few seconds to execute, and when you're timed, you can't afford to use those precious moments to look good. If they'd removed the timer, it would have been ok. If they'd scored on style and finesse, it would be ok. If they'd just give you a little free movement here and there rather than "go down this hall, now turn right", it would be ok. Instead, we are given the same basic level a hundred times and are penalized for doing fancy stuff with it. If they'll keep the premise and redo the game completely, they'll have a winner on their hands. As it is, it's a rental that you'll bore of long before it's due back.
10 of 13 found the following review helpful:
 Good old-school "Beat 'em up" featuring ALL the Bat-Gang Sep 29, 2003
A throwback to those "beat the heck out of everyone" games that were all the rage back through the mid 90's. The newest Batman game finally does something that no other game based on the Dark Knight has done: Allow you to play as Nightwing, Robin, Batgirl, or the big man himself in two-player, side-by-side action! Each character comes with their own fighting style and moves. It's about darned time! The gameplay is very nice and intuitive. You'll get a good feel for the attack system within the first minute or two; Punch, kick, jump, grapple... It has more finesse than the old punch-fest-games, which allows for more repeat gameplay and less repetitiveness. You can use combinations to perform special moves, time your hits for special attacks and assist the other player in combat to get bonus points and perform kicka$$ stunts.
Of course, what would a Batman game be without the gadgets, and this one has 'em; grapple guns, smoke bombs, batarangs, and a grip more stuff I've forgotten at this time... The character of Sin Tzu was created for the game specially by comic book writer Jim Lee. The developers are hoping that the game will be enough of a success and that the fans will like the character enough that they can incorporate him into the Batman comic universe like they did with Harley Quinn from the Batman: Animated cartoon. I dunno about that, but I DO know that I'm looking forward to wasting many hours in front of my T.V. with a buddy when this one hits the streets for all the game systems the end of October!
5 of 6 found the following review helpful:
 Batman of the Rings Jul 26, 2004
By Mark Hills
"Nobody gets me, I'm the wind, baby!"
Batman of the Rings.
This has got to stop. Given the sheer quality of the Batman animated series, it blows me away that the games can be so sub-par. The games appear to be made for six year olds while the series itself often deals with concepts and ideas that are beyond them. How many other animated series have people dragged into drug rehab centers to see what drugs do to their kids or the level of sexual tension between Batman and Catwoman? There is no reason that I can see that a Batman or Superman game cannot approach the level of quality in game play that can be achieved by such titles as the Legacy of Kain series, Spider-Man or even SOCOM.
In playing through Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu, it dawned on me that I was probably going to wear out my Xbox controller given the sheer number of times I had to mash the buttons just to beat up wave after wave of bad guys. Quite literally, you are a one man (or woman) army against a never ending parade of thugs- Batman never beat up this many guys in an entire season of the cartoon! And it's always the same- work your way through some goons before you can move to the next area, (you cannot progress down a hallway thanks to invisible force fields that fade once you whack the previous area's bad guys), and pray you do it fast enough before the civilian dies or the bomb explodes. I hate artificial limitations in games- it smacks of bad design. I expect obstacles, but not overly obvious time wasters.
Either this game uses the Lord of the Rings game engine, or its an incredibly accurate copy. The game play is the same- earn XP to buy combat moves and special abilities or coins to unlock trophies to view. I wouldn't mind that so much, but the game play never changes- rush into an area, follow-the-path, and pound bad guys- that's it, that's all. In all honesty, it should have been more like the Spider-Man games- more three-dimensional movement and the ability to gain ground from opponents and search out health power ups if you get too low. Graphically, it is one big piece of eye candy as areas are beautifully detailed and effects are lively while the colors are vibrant, just like the animated series. All the voice actors are there as well, making pithy one-liners as they punch out the villains. The music is superb all around, and Carey Tagawa does an awesome job voicing Sin Tzu.
The combat system is neat, but too limited by its design and game premise. Earning more powerful attacks and combos is a great idea, but you are hampered by your environment, even though you're meant to use it against your foes, as they will against you. You can't explore- it's all combat. No ability to jump on to objects or climb, no real use of what Batman is known for- he's a detective! He solves crimes, but in this case his methodology involves beating up every scumbag in Gotham until he gets the right ones. The cut scenes are all Batman-based, so it's a little disconcerting when you defeat Clayface as Batgirl only to swap to Batman for the movie.
This game loses so many points for its annoying features- artificial impediments, being a fighting game masquerading as an adventure game, stupid mission goals that only vary between protect the civilian, protect the door, and disarm the bombs. And don't give me one way and only one way to beat the end-level boss, let me devise my own or pick from a list of possibilities. Make me think, let me solve puzzles, not just bash things, it gets old very fast. So mega points for the look and sound of the game, but minus loads of kudos for everything else. Let me jump, swing, climb, swim, explore, drive, and fly, not just follow the game designer's whims and the path they have laid out for me. I expect more for my money and so should you.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
One of the best Batman video games Apr 30, 2004
I have to give this game a thumbs-up. It's an action/fighting game, and a follow-up to Batman: Vengeance. Now that it's available at a reduced price, I would urge any Batfan to buy it. At full price or reduced price, Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu is fun and kept me interested in the storyline. Sin Tzu is a new mastermind, similar in scope to other international Batvillains Ra's al Ghul and Dr. Tzin-Tzin. You can play as either Batman or another member of the Gotham Guardians: Robin, Nigthwing, or Batgirl. You'll battle endless henchmen, as well as The Scarecrow, Clayface, and Bane. The controls are good, and the overall presentation immerses you into a three-dimensional version of the recent Batman cartoons. Overall, it's worth the purchase and playtime.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 Batman, Nightwing, Batgirl and Boy Wonder fighting crime. Jan 28, 2004
By Jerry
I bought this game for my 6 year old son because Batman Dark Tomorrow for PS2 now has no release date (it was Jan. 28, 2004) I played and didn't get very far but when we played 2-players we got through many levels. I read reviews that said the game was hard, the controls were hard, but when I saw that it was $19.99 what could I lose? This game has been fun and now I ask my son to play it with me. The key to winning is two-players (team work) The moves are cool the gadets are fun to use. Graphics are exciting. Go get it. It is well worth it, especially for $19.99!
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based on 28 reviews
