While the most recent Batman game had its detractors it’s fans were in the vast majority. Many, including me, hailed it as being the best comic book super hero game ever made. It did what so many games before it had failed to do, captured all the disparate elements of the Batman character. The scientific detective, the gadget crazy ninja and the face punching vigilante, each of the characters elements got a fair play in the game.

News of a sequel isn’t the latest, we all knew it was coming. But now a few details have slipped the net. Read them in itemised format below.

• After taking power, Mayor Sharp declares Blackgate and Arkham unfit, and buys off a portion of the slums of Gotham. Walling off the area and calling it "Arkham City". This is the setting of the next game. Diligent gamers of the original Arkham game (specifically those of us who found all the Ghost of Arkham clues) are well aware of Mayor, previously warden, Sharpe’s more unsavoury characteristics.

• Sharpe then contracts a mercenary group called Tyger into defending the walls. The prisoners are only given one rule: "Don't try to escape", with the penalty for doing so being death. Beyond that, they can do whatever they want within. Expect to punch in the faces of a lot of Tyger Mercenaries if they’re answering to Sharpe.

• A psychologist with a few screws loose, Hugo Strange, is Sharpe’s secret partner and the man running Arkham City. Hugo Strange might not be immediately familiar to even experienced Bat-fans. He’s a classic character in the vein of Sherlock Holmes character Moriarity. Notable for being one of the few people who knows Batman’s secret identity, uses a drug that turns people into roided out monsters (similar to the Venom drug that was a large feature of the last game) and being a schizophrenic nut job.

• Both Two-Face and Catwoman are booked for an appearance with the former capturing the latter and planning to execute her to set himself up as a major player in Arkham City. In other plot details Oracle (former original Batgirl, now wheel chair bound surveillance expert) has disappeared, insert suspenseful music, with faithful butler Alfred becoming Batman’s ‘phone a friend’ option.

• Fighting has been tuned up so Batman can now perform counter attacks against multiple opponents at once, because hey, your Batman! Gadgets will be more incorporated into fights as well. You might recall the option to toss a Batarang during a combo now you can also spray explosive gel on an enemy and a few other Bat tricks are promised. Oh and don’t worry about waiting patiently to get your wonderful toys back, Batman should start Arkham City with all the gadgets he finished Arkham Asylum with.

• The team at Rocksteady Games want to play up the "forensics" angle with more complicated and detailed puzzles to be unravelled, rather than the bread crumb trail style puzzles of the last game.

• Rather than searching for secret packages using Riddler clues and maps, you now find secret packages by ‘interrogating’ (read beating the shit out off) henchman until they reveal them. Fantastic.

• Batman can now taunt his enemies with a button press. Not that you should need too, you’re the freaking Batman all ready.

• A few familiar characters return from Arkham Asylum. Joker obviously and the bad girl you can’t keep down Harley Quinn reappears with a new costume. The serial killer with no MO, Zsasz is mentioned as making an appearance and having a whole side story devoted to him, as will other characters.

• Many new bad guys, including Two Face, have staked out territories in Arkham City. Reading this seems to indicate to me a more free roaming style game, with maybe a Bat vehicle to get around in? Pretty Please?

• No multiplayer details revealed yet but keep your Bat ears peeled for future announcements.

Absolutely awesome. Now we just need to wait until third quarter next year till this game comes out. Gah!

The next issue of Game Informer will have a big spread on Batman: Arkham City and the two variant covers for the upcoming issue below give a good vibe of what to expect from the sequel. Their Batman hub at the Game Informer website has a few more bits of info including some hints as to clues about Arkham City hidden around Arkham Asylum. Check it out here http://gameinformer.com/p/arkham2.aspx

Expect it to be every bit as mature and edgy as Arkham Asylum.