Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment wasted no time today in revealing the latest sequel to 2009’s critically acclaimed action-adventure title, Batman: Arkham Asylum.  Rocksteady’s title saw Batman return to dominant form, and alongside polished visuals, superb voice acting, and a steady dose of investigating and brutal pummeling, Arkham Asylum proved to be one of the best titles of last year.

Well now fans have a reason to get excited for 2011 as Batman: Arkham City is now confirmed and scheduled to release sometime next Fall.  Touted as a true sequel to Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham City focuses its sights around Gotham City, where a section of the city has been quarantined into a giant fortress for all the new criminally insane and demented.  The fortress is said to be nearly three times the size of Arkham Asylum, so imagine the hours of exploration Arkham City could implement.

One of the biggest surprises besides the new location for the game is the inclusion of one of Batman’s most popular villains, Catwoman.  While Arkham Asylum saw its steady share of popular baddies, many were still missing from action and judging by the covers of the latest Game Informer, Catwoman looks to have a major starring role in Batman’s latest adventure.

Fans irked by this decision should still keep into account that Mark Hamill has already signed on to voice The Joker again (for possibly the last time in his career) and Kevin Conroy (Batman) returns to give Batman a helping hand.  No other news regarding returning or new villains has been confirmed yet, but considering the massive size this game exemplifies, it will simply be unheard of if Rocksteady does not end up giving fans more popular villains to defeat.

Batman: Arkham City already sounds bigger and grander in scale and knowing how closely DC Entertainment values authenticity and fan service, this sequel looks to be even better than the original.  Paul Dini has also returned to write an original story that will help tie together the two games while remaining true to the comics and animated series.

Expect Batman: Arkham City to be released for the Xbox 360 and PS3 in the Fall of 2011.

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