Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu [GBA] Review

Developer	Ubi Soft Montreal
Publisher	Ubi Soft
Genre	Action

Being both a Batman fanatic and a video game fanatic is a tough row to hoe. The anticipation for the next Batman game is filled with both hope and dread. Hope that finally they’ll get it right and dread knowing that they won’t. Because all too often, the world’s greatest detective, the Dark Knight, the dreaded bat has been reduced to nothing more than a mindless brawler, capable of little more than punching and kicking only to be taken down by a horde of copycat goons.

And so goes Ubi Soft’s handheld take on Gotham City’s most feared crime fighter. Once again, our poor Bruce Wayne must don his bat suit and trudge through level after boring level of mindless goons, who somehow, despite said mindlessness, are still capable of defeating Batman. Batman fans, if you’ve played these games in the past, you know exactly what to expect here. And because this game is for the Game Boy Advance, expect even less from it than the console versions.

So instead of rehashing the same sad song once again, let’s do these developers a favor and tell them exactly what they are doing wrong.

1) Batman is not a brute. Sure, he can kick some serious ass, but it’s not all knuckle sandwiches in Gotham City. If you must turn your game into a beat ‘em up, make it a deep one. Give gamers a variety of options. No, pushing the B button three times in a row to perform a combo does not count. Change things up a bit. Take a cue from fighting games and throw some fancy button combos in there. And if you’re going to have a “combo”, make it a little more involved than simply holding down the B button.

2) He’s got a freaking utility belt! Use it! Remember the Jack Nicholson line, “Where does he get those wonderful toys?” Batman’s utility belt accounts for 50% of his coolness and to not utilize these gadgets prominently (not just as an afterthought) in your game is shameful. Oh, and a well-done jaunt in the Bat Plane wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

3) The Joker has to be in your game. Always. It’s admirable that you tried to introduce a new villain, and Sin Tzu is pretty cool (I guess), but no one gives a darn about him. To guarantee at least some geek cred, Joker is your man. Oh, and stay the hell away from the Mad Hatter. Nobody likes him.

4) How about some stealth and sleuthing elements? After all, he is the world’s greatest detective. Don’t be afraid to call off your hordes of goons and have Batman a) sneak into a lair, b) escape from impending doom, or c) defuse a bomb. It’s not all prowling the streets and pounding waves of look-alike goons. Think Splinter Cell meets Streets of Rage.

5) Read the freaking comic books!

But don’t fret. You haven’t done everything wrong. The animation and graphic style of Sin Tzu takes a cue directly from the Warner animated series, which has always done a great job of recreating the gritty feel of the comic. The game actually looks quite nice. Unfortunately, there’s hardly any variety to the levels, as each just seems to be a slight variation of the one before it. Regrettably, this only magnifies the glaring lack of gameplay.

Bottom Line - It’s the same old song. One with which Batman/Video Game fans have grown all too familiar. While nothing could ever be as shameful as Kemco’s debacle (knock on wood), we Bat-geeks still deserve more than this. The Batman franchise lends itself so well to this medium that it’s just a shame developers can’t get it right. The game is repetitive, uninspired, and does nothing to compliment the Batman legacy. Instead, it only helps to confirm the fear that there never will be a game that does Batman justice.

If this review didn’t exactly give you the straight dope that you were looking for, check out my review of the GameCube version. This handheld iteration has the same issues.

Until next time, I’ll be waiting with hope and dread for the next Batman game. Same Bat-time, same Bat-channel.

Review by John Luedtke