Is Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu underrated?
Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu is a beat-‘em-up developed by Ubi-soft and released on all
three sixth generation game consoles in 2003.
Now, I've previously looked at beat-em-ups of the 2D variety, with the Streets of Rage
series, Batman Returns, and Double Dragon being among my favorites.
But I'm fairly certain Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu is my first real 3D beat-‘em-up.
Needless to say, my assessment of the game will be shaped by these older titles.
Anyway, the game shares the same universe as The New Batman Adventures cartoon series,
and is a sequel to Batman: Vengeance, which released the year prior.
The game was met with mixed reviews.
GameSpot gave a positive review score of 7.5/10, stating: "If you do enjoy straightforward,
no-nonsense action, Rise of Sin Tzu delivers it in an appealing package and is one of the
best 3D beat-'em-up action games you'll find."
Electronic Gaming Monthly was less impressed, scoring the game a 5.5, noting: "An unforgiving
difficulty level and harsh time limits severely undercut the fun."
Finally, Game Informer magazine came to a similar conclusion giving the game a 5/10,
declaring: "It's too bad none of this care and effort went into the actual combat engine,
which is a simplistic throwback to 8-bit brawlers like "Double Dragon", minus the old-school
charm."
So, is Is Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu really this mediocre?
Let's dive in.
From the title screen you can select one of 4 heroes from the show.
Batman and Nightwing represent more powerful characters, while Robin and Batgirl are weaker,
but move quicker.
After this we see some terrific FMV with an art style reminiscent of the cartoon.
A new villain was created for this game, Sin Tzu, and as expected he wants to take over
Gotham City.
He accomplishes this by freeing Batman's adversaries from prisons and the Arkham Asylum.
While Sin Tzu is cool enough, he never ended up being used again in the DC universe.
The gameplay is about what I expected from a 3D beat-'em-up, having a limited arsenal
of moves, and the game requiring you to defeat hordes of enemies before moving on to the
next area.
What I wasn't expecting was a timer.
You have to reach a specific objective before time runs out.
In the beginning this is usually a hostage.
Simply attack the designating bad guy and the timer resets.
If you fail to reach the objective in time, you lose a life and 15 seconds are added to
the timer.
When you run out of lives, it's game over.
You do have unlimited continues though.
A little quirk however, is that that once you reach an objective, time isn't added to
the timer, rather it resets to a predefined limit.
Therefore, you're best bet is to keep fighting bad guys until the timer is about to run out.
Failure to do this means you're fighting more bad guys than necessary on the next timer.
Next, I should talk about the combat.
As one would expect from a brawler, there are four main actions: punch, kick, grab,
and jump.
By themselves, each of these moves is practically useless.
Instead, the combat is combo based.
At first, this is simple, with the most effective attacks being punch, punch, punch or kick,
kick, kick.
The more complex the combo, the more your combo meter at the top of the screen fills
up.
Once full, you can unleash some extremely powerful attacks.
So, with all that in mind, the way the game plays out is like this.
Perform the most complex combos you can achieve to take out bad guys and fill the combo meter.
After reaching a checkpoint, clear as many of the remaining bad guys as possible while
you still have time left.
Finally, when needed, activate your combo meter and dispatch the final bad guy.
He usually has a rather large life bar, so using your special moves while the combo meter
is activated is the most efficient way to take him down without wasting the precious
time needed for the next checkpoint.
The timer actually really annoyed me at first, and I kept running out.
However, once I got into a rhythm, things really started clicking and it became a non-issue.
After clearing the first set of levels, you'll have the opportunity to purchase some new
attacks using a point system as currency.
You are graded in how well you fought through the previous level.
The better you do, the more points you earn.
This feels somewhat arbitrary at first, but seems to reward you for using combos, taking
advantage of stage hazards, in addition to being efficient and not getting hit, increasing
your hit count.
After adding a few new moves to your arsenal, Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu starts to become a
much deeper game.
First, you need to learn the timing of the delayed combos.
This "..." here means you can't simply mash buttons.
Instead, you have to wait a moment before continuing the attack.
Mastery of this delay is key to the later stages.
Additionally, there are a few moves that stun enemies, rather than knock them down, allowing
you to chain together some fairly impressive attacks.
And of course, the more complex the combo, the faster you fill the combo meter, letting
you use special moves more frequently, which helps you reach checkpoints before time runs
out.
I actually found the combat system to be the highlight of Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu.
While somewhat overwhelming at first, it is simple, rewards you for trying more difficult
attacks, and offers enough moves that are strategic in different situations.
For example, if there is a hoard of enemies, using a grabbing move is a nice way to knock
everyone down, so you don't get ganged up on.
Another cool use of the grab is to throw enemies off cliffs.
Next, sometimes it's beneficial to to use quicker attacks for the sake of defense, and
use the long combos when you have a clear opening, to make sure you are filling the
combo meter.
Some attacks are also unblockable, which is handy.
Now, I don't know where this control scheme originated, but it feels like a nice homage
to old-school games, while adding a nice layer of depth and evolving the formula.
Perhaps it's been done to death, but it's my first experience with it.
Between each level are more animated FMVs with plenty of chatter, doing a nice job giving
each boss some personality and keeps the game moving along from set piece to set piece.
You start on the streets of Gotham, but then have to make your way through city hall to
rescue Gordon, for example.
The story itself isn’t deep or complex, but it is through these cut scenes we learn
Sin Tzu is behind the prison and asylum breaks, which helps to explain why Gotham City is
absolutely filled with so many people wanting to hurt Batman.
Moving on, there are of course bosses.
For the most part, these are unique and offer a great challenge.
Scarecrow is first.
After launching his gas, he becomes invisible.
However, if you pay attention closely, you'll actually see he still leaves a trail in the
gas.
After attacking the invisible foe, he'll become visible so you can wail on him.
Next is Clayface.
This is a multi-part boss.
First, you have to use your batarang to take down the power.
Actually I forgot to mention the batarang.
This is mapped to the black button, adding a fifth button to the mix.
The batarang can be used to stun enemies or trigger certain level hazards.
This can be upgraded as well, similar to the moves, and later upgrades do damage in addition
to stunning enemies.
You can even use it to swing across the level.
Speaking of buttons, the left trigger also blocks, and the right trigger performs a dash.
These do complicate the controls a bit, but they all felt like second nature after a while.
But back to Clayface.
This is where Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu starts to enter frustrating territory, and some of
the fun was lost for me.
The timing on his swinging blades seems very imprecise.
Sometimes I could move back and forth with ease, other times I would get hit a couple
times before getting off a single batarang.
Something about it just felt really sloppy and I was thankful when it was over.
Shortly after Clayface, I hit a wall.
As I noted earlier, there is almost always a timer forcing you to be quick and efficient.
This could be rescuing civilians, reaching a checkpoint, or defeating all of the baddies
in an area.
Just past the halfway point of the adventure, there is a 75-man brawl, which must be completed
in 14 minutes.
For those keeping track at home, this is just over 11 seconds, per enemy.
And there is a lot of walking back and forth from the front of the boat to the back, limiting
your attack time even further.
I kept at this for about two hours before giving up.
I then recruited a second player, thinking it would go twice as fast with two players.
This proved to be incorrect.
Enemies experience a lot of knock-back, and for whatever reason tend to stay off screen
longer than necessary.
Needless to say, this was fruitless.
So, I gave it one final go on my own.
I used only combo attacks to quickly fill the combo meter, and then used the special
attacks as soon as I possibly could.
I even skipped any health drops that were not in my immediate path.
I also put a priority on enemies with projectile attacks, making sure I wouldn't lose precious
time getting knocked to the ground.
Lastly, I used the dash at nearly all times.
Dashing into an enemy will stun them, which is key against these big guys that like to
grab you.
Again, these grab attacks waste a ton of time and with just 11 seconds an enemy, there really
isn't any time to waste.
Thankfully, I was able to clear out the horde with moments to spare, but damn.
Without a doubt, this is one of the hardest gaming moments I've had in a while.
Sadly, I didn't feel satisfied once it was over either, just relieved.
The next stage takes place in the Bat Cave, which is awesome, but this is where my patience
ended.
You have to stop the enemies from breaking down doors, but I couldn't for the life of
me, clear it.
I eventually, gave up.
Needless to say, I can see where the critics were coming from.
The game is just brutal.
I regrettably started over, and began playing a new game on the easy mode.
I wonder how many reviewers from 2003 also made this same decision...>?
So, replaying the game on easy, I then found out what some of those other reviews were
talking about.
Most of the strategy and depth I mentioned earlier goes out the window.
Enemies die quickly with the simplest combos, making the timer a non-issue.
The bosses too are much easier, and the health bars seem to deplete faster than normal mode.
With the challange removed, Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu does become repetitive.
Here, the game's four hour length starts to feel really long, and with the depth removed,
you’re really just going through the motions, and most of the player engagement is lost.
In fact, I never ran out of lives or experienced a game over until the final level, at Arkham
Asylum.
Here, Sin Tzu’s goons unleash magic attacks that really suck.
If hit, your movement is reversed.
The constant back and forth of normal controls, and reversed controls, is both annoying and
slightly disorienting, and not very fun.
In hindsight, I might have been able to use the block move to prevent these, but I didn’t
think of it while playing.
Anyway, after receiving a couple of game overs, I did clear the level.
This of course, brings us to the final boss.
The final fight with Sin Tzu is actually pretty awesome.
If you’ve taken the time to really understand the controls, it can be quite satisfying.
First, Sin Tzu dashes across the screen, so you have to dash at him for any chance of
landing a hit.
He is immune to your blocks, so you have to dash away from his attacks.
Sin Tzu is also immune to normal attacks, so you have to use combos to fill your combo
meter, and then use your best charged attacks to finally land damage.
After this, you’ll have to use your block against his magic.
Then recharge your combo meter on some tough foes, and then repeat the process.
It’s tough, but not impossible, and is a great way to end the adventure.
Beating him leads to a brief cut scene with Batman and Gordon having an awkward exchange
about honor.
You then unlock a making-of video, in addition to alternate costumes.
And of course, the credits roll.
Wrapping things up, I must talk about the graphics.
Per usual, I'm playing this on the Xbox, and I have to say while they don't really push
the Xbox to the limits, there is something very pleasing about the overall aesthetic.
The color pallets are dark and grungy, like you would expect from Gotham City, but still
have some bold pops of color here and there.
Areas feel distinct, despite all being dark and open.
I even like the little things, like how this boat rocks back and forth.
Same goes for the textures, they aren't anything to write home about, but do a nice job making
the game feel like a cartoon come to life.
The smoke and lighting effects are nice, as are all of the animations.
The music on the other hand, is very good.
The opening theme sounds like it's ripped straight from the animated show, which itself
sounds like it's ripped straight from the 1989 Batman movie.
While later stages do sound more generic, they still feel moody and weighty, again adding
to the Gotham feel.
So, with all of that out of the way, we've reached our conclusion.
Is Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu underrated?
I would say no.
The game certainly has its high points, such as a deep combat system and great overall
presentation, but the game has some serious balance issues.
Easy is too easy, while Normal is way too hard.
Now, I expect a game to be punishing on Hard, or even the unlockable Dark Knight mode.
But Normal should be, well normal, meaning a normal person can beat it.
Next, the game is simply too long.
Classic beat-'em-ups typically last an hour or so.
And when you are talking about a simple gameplay concept, like punching and kicking, this feels
about right.
But doing the same basic thing for four freaking hours is a bit much.
Granted you can upgrade your moves, but there isn't enough variety to last the full runtime.
Next, I find many of the bosses a bit erratic, sloppy, and tedious.
Perhaps this is just my personal preference, but the bosses mostly felt a lot more annoying
than they did challenging or clever.
There are some nice bonuses for repeat playthroughs, like unlockable art, but these are hardly
worth multiple 4 hour playthroughs.
Still, Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu is not a bad game by any stretch, and gets the basics right.
But taking the game as a whole, there are enough problems really preventing this from
being truly memorable, or classic.
Ultimately, Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu is decent, but not, underrated.