There are only a few more days left until the first DLC from Visceral Games arrives in the form of Dead Space 2: Severed. Fans have already had their chance to explore The Sprawl with Isaac Clarke, but as the DLC’s previous trailer revealed, Isaac isn’t alone. These latest videos of gameplay released show that while the the story may have changed, the combat and tension that has made the game such a hit isn’t changing a thing.

Severed won’t be giving players a few more weapons or multiplayer maps, but a brand new campaign following security officer Gabe Weller and Lexine Murdoch. The exact intricacies of the story are still a bit of a mystery, with the connections between Gabe and Isaac’s exploits still unknown.

Gabe Weller and Lexine have already had a story of their own told with Dead Space: Extraction on the Nintendo Wii. While the game delved deeper into the story behind one of the franchise’s most mysterious characters, it’s a fair bet that many of the original game’s fans missed the Wii-exclusive. How it will connect to Severed is anyone’s guess, but we can bet that it will bring even more clarity to Isaac’s own adventures.

We do know that Gabe will be much more prepared for combat and versed in weaponry than engineer Isaac, and the character’s one-of-a-kind suit and plasma rifle are on display in these two videos released by IGN.

The firsts clip shows that even with Gabe’s expertise, he is no less likely to be caught upside-down than Isaac. Weller seems to be somewhat partial to his flamethrower, so fans of Dead Space 2 already know what to expect:

The game’s fans are incredibly dedicated, and it would be understandable for some to look down upon DLC that takes them away from the series’ protagonist, no matter how enjoyable. Hopefully Gabe’s exclamation of “Oh Balls!” is an indication that players will have an entertaining and unique character to become better acquainted with when the package lands next week.

As if there were any doubt, Visceral has confirmed that the DLC will include all previous forms of Necromorphs, including the return of the first game’s Twitchers. The incredibly disturbing space zombie babies will also be making another appearance in full force, and as can be seen in the next clip, Gabe knows just how to deal with them:

There were never any doubts that Visceral intends to take the Dead Space franchise to great heights, and these videos seem to show that they have a clear idea of the kind of gameplay their fans expect.

Do these videos make the wait for Severed even more difficult? If you picked up Dead Space 2, is the purchase of the DLC a foregone conclusion, or do your interests lie solely with Isaac?

Players will have the chance to step into Gabe Weller’s necromorph-stomping boots when Dead Space 2: Severed arrives for the Xbox 360 and PS3 on March 1, 2011.

Source: IGN