While Prey 2 is a pretty different beast to its forebear, what with Killian Samuels taking centre-stage and linear corridors being eschewed in favour of a more open-world structure on the planet Exodus, original hero Domasi "Tommy" Tawodi will be making a return, and he'll play a major role too.

"He's a character that you encounter many times throughout the game. It's not just a single cameo where he shows up and takes off. He's integral to the story and events on Exodus," Human Head's Chris Rhinehart told IGN. "One of the big things is, the unique abilities that Tommy has, specifically spirit walk and death walk, are integral to his role and how he actually fits into the story."

Rhinehart also asserted that it was always part of the overarching plan to have Tommy feature heavily in Prey 2. "When we started we didn't want to reveal Tommy initially. We wanted to hold it back and make it a surprise for people that Tommy is still an important part of the game."

There's also reasoning behind not making Tommy the protagonist for the Prey sequel, favouring a new character in Sheriff Killian Samuels. "Really what it comes down to is we wanted to tell other stories in the Prey universe. We wanted to expand it and show the breadth of this universe that we were creating. New character, different mechanics, new visuals, but Tommy is still a critical character."

You can take a look at one of Tommy's appearances in the game in the screenshot, then look forward to getting your hands on Prey 2 when it launches in 2012.