It seems that development on Dead Space 3 is very much underway, with an anonymous source telling Siliconera that the game is to be set upon an ice planet named Tau Volantis, where he'll encounter an enemy known as the 'hive mind' in the treacherous blizzard conditions. Already we're thinking of John Carpenter's The Thing, which is perfectly fine by us.

According to Siliconera, Isaac Clarke is back and this time he's packing even more fractured psychological baggage in the shape of 'Shadow Isaac', who manifests himself as an entirely separate on-screen character who'll taunt, sarcastically cajole and berate Isaac at every turn. At one point, he calls Isaac 'an idiot' says the report.

Isaac and his shadow will come into contact with another of those pesky markers seen in the previous two Dead Space games too, as the game's protagonist and his imaginary friend embark upon a mission to rescue a woman on Tau Volantis and return her to Mars. Apparently, there'll be banter back and forth between Isaac and Shadow Isaac throughout the course of Dead Space 3's story, which might even succeed in sending the player insane too.

Now there's an intriguing concept for co-op if ever there was one... However, nothing has yet been officially confirmed by EA regarding Dead Space 3, so as always, keep your salt shaker handy. Y'know... as in take this with a pinch of salt.