In case a massive, sprawling metropolis filled with the most devious offenders the minds at Rocksteady Studios can come up with doesn't offer you the kind of challenge you're looking for, the latest details concerning the DLC for Batman: Arkham City will come as good news. Despite boasting a sizable campaign and several additional modes, it looks like the DLC that will be coming for the game won't be disposable, but offer some seriously engrossing gameplay.

Arkham City doesn't have much to prove to the gaming public, since the developers at Rocksteady have shown that they're more than capable of taking the combat and mechanics of Arkham Asylum into an open-world. The team looks set to ship a wealth of content with the game itself, with a campaign lasting over 25 hours, and additional challenge modes for those looking to test their fists and wits.

But with the latest batch of details concerning the 'Joker Carnival' DLC available to those who pre-order the game with GameStop, it seems that there is still plenty of content to come after release. UK retailer Tesco has managed to snag the same DLC package for their pre-orders, and has listed a brief description of the missions involved on their website.

If Arkham City really plans on putting players into the boots of Batman, it's only right that they be tasked with taking the fight to Joker's doorstep:

"Are you brave enough to step into the Joker’s house of fun? Can you defeat armies of deranged killers in a fight to the finish, hosted by the clown prince of crime in a twisted game show where the only prize is survival?"

While the Carnival DLC seems to be exactly what many would expect as a pre-order bonus, Eurogamer is reporting that estimates put the amount of gameplay included at around the 4 hour mark. If that is the case, then the package will undoubtedly be released to the general public following release, and is a good indication of just how large future expansions could be.

After Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy let it slip that Arkham City will have episodic DLC, we knew that the experience of the game wouldn't begin and end with the singleplayer storyline. But if the first offering is already clocking in at an extra 4 hours, then fans may be in for a seriously massive amount of content.

We can only hope that the other DLC episodes that the developers have planned will be as large, but we'll wait until an official announcement to let you know.

Does this news get your hopes up for what Arkham City's 'episodic' DLC might entail? Or would you rather see this extra gameplay packaged into the existing campaign, even if it isn't part of the main plot?

Batman: Arkham City will be released on October 18 for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

Follow me on Twitter @andrew_dyce.

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Source: Eurogamer, Tesco