Who can blame the throngs of avid comic book fans who've eagerly been anticipating a solid game that's ideally exciting and worth playing? We initially expected Batman: Vengeance (Ubi Soft's first endeavor with the acclaimed license) to deliver, but, sadly, it missed the mark.

Well this time, it looks like we're about to finally experience one of the most exciting Batman installments to be released in years. Rather than tempt fate with yet another bat-typical action-adventure game, Ubi Soft Montreal Studios has opted to create an entirely different recipe consisting of something old, something new, graced with the artistic talents of Jim Lee. Mmm-hmmm, that's good.

Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu harkens back to the good ol' days of classic simultaneous arcade gameplay as seen in Streets of Rage and Double Dragon. The engine is based on the animated series, so Bat-fans can suit up and choose from among Gotham's heroic ensemble, including the Dark Knight himself, Robin, Batgirl, and Nightwing. (Sad that this engine couldn't support up to four-players, this could have easily been the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles of the 21st century!)

It looks like Ubi Soft has definitely learned from its mishaps with the inaugural Batman release, as our initial impressions with the game were nothing short of oohs and aahs. Rise of Sin Tzu features intuitive controls that gamers young and old can easily pick up play. Essentially, the controls are mapped for punch, kick, and facilitating the Dynamic Duo and friends' trademark gadgets. Each character demonstrates his own unique fighting style on the battleground and can unleash over thirty-five different attacks, each of which can also be chained together to create your own unique, devastating combinations. Plus, you can pick up items such as garbage cans that can be hurled at the incoming rush of goons within each level.

Steps have been taken to add a relative degree of depth to the combo system, as players will be awarded more points for every successive attack they execute without taking damage. Moreover, you can pace your attacks depending upon the rate that you press the action buttons. Thus, you could unleash a quick flurry of attacks or even initiate a pseudo-Matrix "bullet time" strike, which is quite a visual perk (though we know after the 100th time, it will eventually lose its novelty.) But that's not all . . . you'll also be able to execute double-team attacks for bonus points.

Besides the generic enemy ranks, players will face off against several of Batman's all-star rogues, including Scarecrow, Clayface, and Bane. However, as the title implies, Batman will encounter an all-new villain developed specifically for this upcoming release. In the same vein as Harley Quinn, who was created as the Joker's mistress and eventually integrated into the comic book saga, Batman's new adversary seeks to conquer Gotham City and its legendary protector. Unlike most of Batman's foes, Sin Tzu is driven by an insatiable passion to conquer opponents that have never fallen before him. Highly skilled in martial arts and military tactics in addition to the ancient hypnotic power derived from the Mehta-Sua, Sin Tzu has used his power to construct a powerful army to conquer parts of Cynna and Vek Nak and carry out an invasion of Unglong.

Has Batman finally met his match? Only you can determine the outcome.

While it's still premature to consider this be the best Batman installment to date, we simply can't undermine the level of brilliance currently at hand. Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu could very well usher in a new era of the forgotten classic beat-'em-up genre. Prepare to suit up this October when it hits the PS2, followed by the other major platforms. We've got a very warm, fuzzy feeling about this game. We'll keep you up-to-date with any new developments.