It’s a Bat-blast From the Bat-past as the 1989 Batmobile Comes to Batman: Arkham Knight
After all these years, the 1989 Batman film and its 1992 sequel, Batman Returns, still hold a special place in many a comic fan's hearts. Though there have been numerous Bat-films over the years, including those by Christopher Nolan, they still aren't talked about with the same reverence as Tim Burton's iconic adaptations. That's why, against my better judgment, I was actually excited for the planned 1989 Batman downloadable content for Batman: Arkham Knight. There's just something about those films that overrides my common sense.
The next Arkham Knight content drop, due out later this month (for season pass holders), brings the Corvette-inspired Batmobile to the game along with a new Keaton-era Batsuit skin for Batman. There are also two race tracks coming, one of which was shown off in the newest Arkham Insider video from the development team. Inspired by both films, the race track teased in the latest video takes you through the streets of Gotham during Joker's parade, the snow-covered zoo and through the underground lair of the Penguin himself.
As you can see in the footage, there's a great amount of detail in the tracks with some nice Easter eggs for longtime fans of the original films. The Batmobile is longer and thinner than the version in the game, which is built more like the Tumbler from Nolan's films, and as such drives a little differently on the course. Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like this '89 iteration of the vehicle will be usable anywhere but on the race tracks as it's so different from the standard Batmobile present in the rest of Arkham Knight.
We also don't get a look at the second track from the game, which was teased with a single screenshot of Wayne Manor when the add-on was announced. There is a brief glimpse of the new, old Batsuit, but it's so quick it might as well not exist at all. I'm sure it will look fine however, as Rocksteady has always managed to craft accurate and detailed costumes for Bruce to wear.
It would be nice if we could get some sort of confirmation as to whether or not these items will be usable outside of these specific areas, and a price for non-season pass holders would be nice, too. However, there's still no firm release date in place even for early adopters, so the rest of us will just have to wait and see if this content is really worth it. Judging by past add-ons, the odds are not in the Batmobile's favor.
Oh, and as for you PC folk, good luck. There's been no update on when Rocksteady will have a real fix in place for that version of Arkham Knight, and as such, no plans on when to expect any of this additional stuff to be made available to you.
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