The player controls Isaac Clarke, who has escaped the USG Ishimura.
Dead Space 2 takes place three years after the first game on a densely populated space station, dubbed the "Sprawl". The mental illness caused by the marker is permanent and continues to have an effect on Isaac. The Church of Unitology and the government will continue to have a large place in the storyline. The game will begin in a hospital on board the Sprawl. Players will witness the horror of the Necromorph infection as it begins in the station.

Dead Space 2 will feature less horror and more action that its predecessor, according to developer Visceral Games.

The studio - whose Dante's Inferno hits UK stores on Friday - said it has a dedicated team working on Dead Space 2 and that the new game would "empower" players.

CVG confirmed last month that the Dead Space 2 release date would arrive before before March, 2011. Highly likely to be Christmas, then.

"We've got two main teams; we've got some supporting content for Dante's Inferno coming out, but we'll mostly shift our attention to Dead Space 2," Visceral senior VP Nick Earl told Industry Gamers.

"The first one was well received, and we want to take advantage of that start with something that has tremendously wide appeal.

"We're more focused on the action than the horror this time. We're more empowering to the player. We've got a lot of feature innovation and we feel comfortable because we have something with resonance and we have something that's so capable.

He added: "I've heard some people say that Dead Space was the most "un-EA game" they had seen, and they meant it as a compliment! Funny anecdote, when [EA CEO] John [Riccitiello] in his position several years ago and was touring the studio, he said he wanted a horror game. He went away and when it came back, he helped support and finally realize that game in Dead Space.

"That's one thing we like about Visceral; we can really establish a new audience with it. I feel it's on the pathway to greatness and being widely recognized. We love the culture we've established in doing edgy properties like Dead Space and Dante's Inferno, created with the philosophy "let's build quality and let the rest follow."