Dead Space 2 demo drops Dec. 21

Dead Space 2 won't ship until January 25 in North America, but gamers will be able to sample the interplanetary horror survival thriller more than a month early. Today, Electronic Arts announced it is readying a demo of the game for a December 21 release on Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network. No mention was made of a demo for the PC version of the game, which will debut alongside its Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 siblings after a brief period of doubt.

Developed by internal studio Visceral Games, Dead Space 2 follows the further adventures of Isaac Clarke, the engineer hero of the first game. After battling the mutating zombielike necromorphs on a deep space mining vessel, Clarke finds himself inside The Sprawl, a huge metropolis anchored to one of Saturn's moons. Things quickly go south, however, once the necromorphs ravage the city, forcing Isaac through an outer space maze filled with the menacing creatures.

The demo itself will be of the Church of Unitology level, which sees Clarke come across a supposed sanctuary from the necromorph outbreak…that is anything but. The resulting onslaught will let him put an assortment of new weapons and abilities through their paces, including the new javelin gun and enhanced telekinesis. Clarke will also have a new jet-equipped suit, which allows for full flight in the void outside of the Sprawl.

For more on Dead Space 2, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.