Batman is a cartoon classic, fighting crime in the gritty streets of Gotham City. In this video game, Batman is joined by Robin, Nightwing and Batgirl in his quest to take down Sin Tzu.

The graphics are really stellar in a cartooney sort of way. Batman's cape flows behind him as he moves, headlights show dust particles, the puddles of water reflect their surroundings perfectly as you move around. Birds fly up as you approach, cans tumble out of your way. Shadows lighten and darken as you move through areas.

The fog effects are cool and when you get gassed, the screen becomes woozy in a VERY neat way. I really give this game high marks for its graphic achievements.

On the other hand, being a cartoon, it does seem a bit TOO clean at times. The water doesn't ripple when you go through it. It's more like walking through a Disney version of a "gritty city" - the actual comic was much more gritty. But that's a minor flaw.

The sound feels quite appropriate - both the music and the crunches and thwaps. The attack combos are great and fluid, and you get the little color "splats" when you hit an enemy.

The game is very much like the Two Towers and Return of the King series in that you learn series of combos and after each mission can buy yourself more for the given character you're using. You get rated on how many of each quality type of attack you use, and can replay levels to better your score.

The game for some reason reminds me very much of the old Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game on the ancient Nintendo console. You're a crimefighter in a dark-but-clean city landscape, battling thugs that pop up out of manholes and out of alleys. You can even do co-op play if you want!

This game isn't a complex RPG or puzzle game, but for anyone who loves comics or the Return of the King style of levelling up and building combos, this is a fun way to spend your time.

Buy Batman - Rise of Sun Tzu from Amazon.com