Isaac Clarke Returns to Battle the Necromorph! Engineer Isaac Clarke returns for another blood-curdling adventure in the sequel to the critically acclaimed Dead Space. After waking from a coma on a massive space city known as "The Sprawl," the lone survivor of a horrific alien infestation finds himself confronting the catastrophic new nightmare. Battling dementia, hunted by the government, and haunted by visions of his dead girlfriend, Isaac will do whatever it takes to save himself and dominate the gruesome onslaught. With an arsenal of tools to dismember Necromorphs and new determination, an engineer will bring the terror to space.

We caught up with Zach Mumbach to talk Dead Space 2.

Horror News Network: What is your exact role in designing the game, what parts do you tend to?

Zach Mumbach: As a Producer on the game my role is to make sure all aspects of the game are up to quality. On Dead Space 2, specifically, I work on a couple chapters and I also help out with the overall user interface. Every chapter that I work on I make sure that the design, art, visual effects, audio, etc. all sort of mesh together and deliver the overall experience we want.

Horror News Network: With a release date of January 25, 2011, what is left to do with the game before it gets finalized?

Zach Mumbach: At this point we can play the game all the way from front to back so now we are fixing bugs and polishing. We built time into our schedule to make sure we had extra polish time, it's a huge deal to be able to really fine tune everything and make sure we're not just slapping the game together at the end.

Horror News Network: Are the gameplay mechanics the same as the original Dead Space?

Zach Mumbach: Yes and no. Isaac still has the stasis ability, he still uses Kinesis, and he still shoots necromorphs but everything has been improved and refined. Zero G is a lot different this time around, Isaac now can fly around in Zero G areas rather than just jump point to point. There's also a lot of subtle tweaks to the mechanics that may not stand out a lot but make the overall experience feel better.

Horror News Network: Will Dead Space 2 feature any new types of Necromorphs?

Zach Mumbach: Yes, so far we have announced The Puker and The Pack and there are more that we really haven't talked about yet. You'll have to play the game to see them all!

Horror News Network: In terms of scaring the shit out of us, how will Dead Space 2 compare to the original?

Zach Mumbach: Well our goal is still to scare the shit out of you. The team has gotten better at that just by having the experience of working on the original Dead Space and seeing what really worked and what didn't. I think this game is definitely as scary, if not more, than the original.

Horror News Network: Inside the studio, what were the arguments encountered for and against Isaac speaking?

Zach Mumbach: I think early on there were some people who were concerned about that change but we had a very specific direction we wanted to go with Isaac's story and it was clear he needed to speak this time around. The story we are telling in Dead Space 2 needed a strong lead and Isaac's experience in the original game played into that a lot. For those that have played the first game, you know that Isaac followed orders without question and in the end that burned him. In Dead Space 2 he has learned from that experience and he takes a more active role in what is happening.

Horror News Network: Will Isaac get any new weapons to wield in Dead Space 2?

Zach Mumbach: Yes, we've been showing off the Javelin Gun recently which is a ton of fun to use. There will be others as well.

Horror News Network: What can we expect in terms of downloadable content?

Zach Mumbach: Right now we're not talking about downloadable content but rest assured we are definitely going to support the game post release with some cool stuff.

Horror News Network: Where can our readers find out more about Dead Space 2?

Zach Mumbach: deadspacegame.com is our official site. If they are interested in the back story I highly suggest checking out the animated feature as well as the novel we did. Also, for anyone who hasn’t played Dead Space 1, it really is a great game and you can get it for cheap these days. I highly suggest picking it up if it somehow flew under your radar. You won’t need to have played it to play Dead Space 2 but it’s really worth playing if you are a horror fan.

Horror News Network: In closing, what would you like to say to our readers about Dead Space 2?

Zach Mumbach: The game comes out on January 25th, get ready to crank up the sound, turn down the lights and play the best horror game you have ever seen! We pulled out all the stops for this one and we are really excited to get it out there.

Horror News Network: Thanks for your time, Zach. Best of luck! Comment on this interview on our forum.