Dead Space dev retracts Gears of War criticism

Dead Space story producer Chuck Beaver has said his description of Gears of War 3's writing as "atrocious" was taken out of context.

Beaver's comments were published last week on EA's official blog The Beat as part of the publisher's regular interview series, Breaking Into the Industry.

Fans reacted strongly to Beaver's description of Gears of War as having "atrocious, offensive violations of story basics" and "literally the worst writing in games", and the post has since been removed.

In a statement published on IGN, Beaver tried to set the record straight.

"I just wanted to jump in and clarify some of my comments that were taken out of context about Gears of War. First, let me say that I'm a huge fan," he said.

"It is an epic franchise that has trail-blazed more than a few industry-leading player experiences and mechanics. It is deservedly recognized as a top-tier title. Its success as a property is evidenced by its giant sales and rabid fan base. The industry is far better for Epic's contributions, and we all owe a great deal of inspiration to their work."

Epic and Visceral have a bit of a history of trading flamebait quotes; Rod Fergusson doesn't like Dead Space, for example.