Rise of Sin Tzu

Description
Developer   Ubi Soft Montreal
Publisher    Ubi Soft Entertainment
Platform     PlayStation

Why must it be so difficult to make a really good Superhero game? I mean if a plumber can have cool games then it would seem almost a given that developers could do the same with a real action hero. Yet we have all been subjected by one horrible superhero game after another, and I’m talking bottom of the gaming pool type of games. Despite this constant disappointment I try and keep an open mind hoping that someone will finally figure it out that a game needs more than just a familiar name in the title. It would actually help if the game was fun! Sure I’m an optimist but you never know. So now I have Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu (BRST) for the PS2 in front of me. Could this be the end to a very long drought of sucky superhero games? Let’s see….

Our hero in this case is, of course, Batman. Now Batman is no stranger to the bad Superhero video game syndrome, see Batman Vengeance for further details. But I’m one to let the past stay in the past and not hold that against our caped crusader. You don’t only get to play as Batman but there are three additional characters from the Batman universe that you can play and each has different weaknesses and strengths. There’s Robin who is a very fast little dude but doesn’t do a whole lot of damage. You can give it a go as Nightwing who isn’t as fast as Robin but is more powerful. There’s also Batgirl who is probably the quickest but also might have the weakest attacks. All of this leads us to the character that most everyone will play at first, Batman. He is the strongest of all the characters but does give up a little in the quickness department when compared to Robin or Batgirl. But still, you know he’s what the game is all about so it would just be strange not to play as him.

Those that are only somewhat in touch with the Batman thing might be asking themselves, “Who is this Sin Tzu person?” That is indeed a very good question. As it turns out we are witnessing history here as Sin Tzu is the first Batman character to debut in a videogame. I think that’s pretty cool and really shows the influence videogames are having. As you may be able to guess Sin Tzu is a character that is influenced by Sun Tzu who is generally acknowledge as one of the greatest military strategist in history. Naturally Sin Tzu is brilliant and, unfortunately, a little insane just like any truly bad guy should be.

The basic story of the game is that Sin Tzu figures that the only person worthy of his time and talent is Batman. So in order to get Batman’s attention Sin has masterminded a full-scale breakout at Stonegate Prison while seizing control of Arkham Asylum at the same time. Part of Sin's strategy to defeat Batman is to throw a lot of muscle at him and in this case that means getting Bane, Scarecrow and Clayface involved in the action. So there you have it, three rough and tumble bad guys as a warm-up, all leading to the final showdown with Sin Tzu himself. That should be a pretty good workout, and for the most part it is.

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                     Download Link 2