What We Learned Test Driving Arkham Knight’s Batmobile

How The Batmobile Changes The Way You Play Batman Games

June 20th, 2014 By Maya Mayfield

For those still on the fence about Rocksteady's decision to include the Batmobile in the epic Batman Arkham Knight finale. Think again as our hands on experience at E3 2014 certainly proved that the guys and dolls at Rocksteady Studios does know exactly what they were doing. In this exclusive Batman Arkham Knight E3 2014 live showcase video below, Guy Perkins from Rocksteady reveals just why Arkham Knight is in fact the penultimate definitive video game version of the Dark Knight's notoriously famous ride.

1. Batman's Batmobile's inclusion was built from the ground up

Rocksteady did not make an easy decision including the Batmobile into the final Batman Game.

“Rocksteady’s Director and co-founder Sefton [Hill] has always wanted to have the Batmobile added in the Arkham games,” reveals Guy Perkins. “But it has really been the horsepower of PS4 which has allowed us to finally do it the justice it deserves."

“Introducing the Batmobile was an incredibly massive challenge and not a quick fix, reveals Guy Perkins. "We wanted the game to feel like it has always had it. We wanted the Batmobile to be the penultimate super vehicle and it had to be much more that just a car. It need to be integral to the overall gameplay experience.”

2. There is a philosophy behind the Batmobile that runs alongside the franchise.

A very tight gameplay has been the main driving ethos behind Batman Arkham's hugely successful franchise and Rocksteady isn’t throwing all that hard work away now, according to Guy Perkins.

“Batman: Arkham Asylum was all about designing an intimate experience of being ‘the world’s greatest super hero detective’. Arkham City’s introduction of an open world, grapple and glide control mechanics evolved gamers into the Masked Caped Crusader. The Batmobile Car in Arkham Knight is about taking that evolution to the  next level by creating the ultimate Batman simulator.”

3. This car has a ton of character

While most versions of the Batmobile have been designed to be a speedy cruiser or an armoured monster, Arkham Knight’s version features two modes: the first mode (Pursuit) is for speed, complete with rocket boosters for quick getaways and pursuits; the second is a much slower but easier to control tank formation packing missiles, armour-piercing guns, and a non-lethal riot suppressor for more fleshier targets.

Pre-Order Batman Arkham Knight PS4

Beyond combat situations, the Batmobile can be utilized to solve puzzles such as opening up new parts of the environment in-accessible to Batman before, it can even be used for towing broken lifts up and down shafts.

“Design informed our choices – it is the car that the team wanted to build rather than just our own version of the Tumbler pictures posted by Chris Nolan from the upcoming Batman film,” explains Guy. And as a result of this the Batmobile handles like a super powered dream machine. It feels  slick, intuitive and incredibly familiar the moment you pick up the controls and start playing.  It feels like an extension of Batman’s gadgets, rather than an external addition to the game.

Check out the live E3 2014 Showcase and Pre-Order a copy of Batman Arkham Knight today.