Eidos accused of fabricating Kane & Lynch endorsements

mistermostyn | December 03, 2007 | News | PC Playstation 3

With Jeff Gerstmann speaking out over at Joystiq regarding the Kane & Lynch: Dead Men debacle, the gaming gurus at Kotaku have unearthed glowing endorsements for Eidos Interactive's latest shooter, which they label as "fabricated."

Citing glowing feedback taken from the game’s official Web site, Kotaku highlights "fabricated" five-star quotes taken from respected review portals Game Informer and GameSpy. However, after a perusal of the reviews for Kane & Lynch, no such quotes are in evidence, and the official review scores offered up by Game Informer and GameSpy are not five stars but three-and-a-half stars (7/10) and three stars (6/10)… while the accompanying quotes are anything but glowing.

News Story attached to:

Kane & Lynch: Dead Men [PS3, XBOX360, PC]

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Comments

-3 thumbs!
Final Blade | December 04, 2007

OMG that video review sucks, so what GTA has just as much cursing if more and i don't see people rating it down for that.

I personally am interested in this game now, thanks Jeff Gerstmann. I now understand why gamespot and eidos had a problem with the video, he says alot of stuff that contradicts what he says. Thanks youtube now i can fully say that video was bad and i agree that it should have been taken out.

Who else thought this wasn't a Professional Review and more of a angry rant.
- 3 thumbs!
  Avalith | December 04, 2007
  
  I didn't view it as a rant at all. Gertsmann was blunt, yes, but he wasn't condescending. He was expressing his opinion on the game based on what he saw and experienced from playing the game. I personally found it as a rather interesting, professionally done review.
  - -3 thumbs!
    Final Blade | December 04, 2007
    
    I disagree, just cause he didn't like the cursing doesn't mean everyone won't. GTA titles has more cursing and yet it doesn't get rated down. I viewed it as a rant, cause lets be frank, Professional Views are supposed be opinion free, while giving what actually is wrong in the game itself. Anyone can make an opinion thats easy but seriously Storm actually played the game and said its a very good game. Now either he's wrong or the reviewers are. I stand more towards what neoseekers think than gamespot reviewers who i found to be very biased. And i think gamespot is seeing the re-view the same way i am.
    - 2 thumbs!
      Avalith | December 04, 2007
      
      There's nothing that says that having an opinion here and there makes something unprofessional. It's when the opinion overpowers the actual content of the review that it becomes unprofessional, and honestly, I don't see how his review crossed that line. I'm not saying his opinion of the game is right or wrong, but I am saying that it's really an opinion as to whether the review is an actual review or some rant from a frustrated gamer.
- 1 thumbs!
  VeGiTAX2 | December 04, 2007
  
  I'm not interested really, given all the fabrications and the fact that the only review quote remaining right now on the site comes from Yahoo not Gamespot.
  
  Either Eidos or their PR team is fouling up big time, in cases like web updates it's usually a combination of both in-house and 3rd party PR though.
  
  I don't need to venture into Kane & Lynch really, from what I'm understanding it seems to be an alternate avenue hitting the nerves of GTA fans while attempting to take on the continuing demand for more aggressive 3rd person tactical gameplay as seen in Gears.
  
  Sounds cool in concept but if I was pressed to spend $50 I'd oogle up something more worthwhile without the controversy.
  - -3 thumbs!
    Final Blade | December 04, 2007
    
    But its funny sometimes how good games gets rated down, and bad games gets rated up. Im not sure if there was bad games currently that has been rated high, maybe you would know. But I can't possibly think this game is as bad as he making it out to be. I bet he rushed through the game to make a deadline, and thats only looking for trouble. Some reviewers has done that before.
    - 0 thumbs!
      VeGiTAX2 | December 05, 2007
      
      Honestly read my statement.
      
      I don't even care about the gamespot thing when Eidos and their PR teams are making it overly easy to turn a bad situation worse. Check around on the net for the fraud statements coming off their site and false quotes as well as false ratings.
      
      I'm not going to endorse a game built on fictional quotes and fraud ratings on their own website.
-2 thumbs!
kEaNo10 | December 04, 2007

I don't see what all the fuss is about, its a very good game in my eyes.
- 1 thumbs!
  Avalith | December 04, 2007
  
  It isn't so much the game itself as the controversy surrounding the fact that Eidos is very likely the reason why the video review that is shown at the end of the source article and Gertsmann's text review on Gamespot were removed and edited, respectively, and Gertsmann fired.
  - -2 thumbs!
    Final Blade | December 04, 2007
    
    There's no solid proof(100%) that they did, or didn't. But to me i think its the former.
0 thumbs!
Seproth | December 04, 2007

How does it get a 6? All he did was shit on it. If it's that bad it shouldn't get a 6. He only mentions one thing he liked. Then quickly shits all over it again.

His gamertag showed only one achievement. His comment was "rest assured I saw both endings" That's not really a good defense. There is no way to play through a game and only get one acheivment, and watching and playing are different.

I have my doubts that eidios were involved at all. Obviously I don't know. No one really seems to.
- 3 thumbs!
  Avalith | December 04, 2007
  
  I'm not saying that Eidos was involved and I'm not saying that they're not, but don't you think that the rush of Kane & Lynch advertising on Gamespot that appeared after Gertsmann's video review was removed and his text review was edited was a little suspicious?
2 thumbs!
Storm | December 04, 2007

I guess they removed it to 'save face.' Makes no sense to have advertisements for a game that people despise because of the rumours. That'll just add to all the 'hate' flowing around there.
3 thumbs!
Daisy | December 04, 2007

I don't know about anyone else, but I do pay attention to what Game Publications like GameInformer or Gamespot have to say regarding a game, so to make something up and falsely mislead people that may be induced to spend money on your product just sucks.
1 thumbs!
tekmosis | December 04, 2007

It may not necessarily Gamespot that's the cause of all the problems. It may just be CNet themselves. In any case Gamespot's reputation has gone down the drain. I read a few comments on Gamespot and a lot of people are either leaving Gamespot for somewhere else or are just really upset about this.
-1 thumbs!
Gary15 | December 05, 2007

Yeah whatever the reals tory is Gamespot rep has taken a real beating from this and I'd say so has Eidos to an extent, the original reveiw was blunt and maybe a bit Harsh but he was giving his honest opinion on the game.
- 0 thumbs!
  Final Blade | December 05, 2007
  
  I have never seen a video be that harsh and get accepting as a good video Review. To bash the game that both Eidos and gamespot are advertising in the manner Jeff used was inappropriate and childish.
  I mean just say the bad without being that harsh, regardless if its right or wrong. That video destroyed Gamespot image and firing him just did the rest.
  Funny this is though, he said one good thing but after that he went into a garbage rant on the game. Your job isn't to be harsh is to rate a game and 6 is not a good score especially like i said when your advertising a game. Im glad the video was taken out, but whatever the story is its just gamespot fault, Eidos has no influence in jeff getting firing. They don't pay him the money.