Kane & Lynch site lies about Reviews and Scores(Kotaku)

[7th lutz]

http://kotaku.com/gaming/kane-%26-lynch/kane--lynch-site-fibbing-about-reviews-scores-329529.php

It's not like the relationship between Kane & Lynch and review scores wasn't messy enough. But now this? Visitors to the game's official site will notice, once the page's flash intro is done, that two review scores for the game are flashed for your perusal. One from GameSpy, one from Game Informer. Both look positively glowing! Both give the game a very encouraging five stars! Thing is, both are...well, not real. They're fabricated. Lies, if you will.

GameSpy did not say "It's the best emulation of being in the midst of a Michael Mann movie we've ever seen" in their review of the game. They said that in their E3 2007 coverage. In other words, a preview. They also did not give the game five stars. They gave it three.

As for Game Informer, same deal. The highlighted quote does not appear in the review of the game. Nor do they give it five stars. Game Informer don't even score in stars. They gave it a 7/10.

[7th lutz]

I think Eidos might have a port of that gamespot reviewer being fired now. I know that joystiq claimed a couple days ago that eidos didn't have a port of the firing despite joystiq's informat. I hope I am wrong. I am saying that because that because it means a game company is willing to cover all fronts to make a game have a great rating. I heard about game companies not being happy at a game magazine's rating for a game since 1994.

That makes me question every tv commercial that shows a game having a perfect rating even more now.

I thought there might of been some shady stuff doing on. This confirms it. I have to compare this to the "great reviews" sony movies had. At one time, Sony "created" a movie critic. That person was a an employee of sony, but was never a movie critic.

[roushimsx]

God, I feel bad for the guys at IO Interactive. Forced to push their game out months before it was done just so Eidos could capitalize on the holiday season (resulting in less than stellar reviews across the board) and then being caught smack dab in the middle of all of this bullshit or Eidos' and C|Net's shadiness. It's a damn shame Eidos bought them back in '04, because they seriously need to get the fuck away from that company with a sense of urgency.

Oh well, time to go pop some more popcorn and watch this non-stop PR nightmare slowly spiral further and further out of control.

[monkeysuit]

Well this game just keeps looking better and better! X_x

[Half Japanese]

This really is turning into quite a nightmare, and just when you think that maybe it's all circumstantial, something else pops up and there's even more egg on Eidos and Gamespot's collective faces. I do think Gerstmann's tone in Kane and Lynch could have caused his firing, but other outlets, as well as Gamespot itself have no problems ripping into a game when it warrants it, it's just that usually the publishers of games like Big Rigs Offroad Racing or whatever don't purchase advertising on the site. Watching the video review, I felt like Kane & Lynch should have probably gotten a worse score than it actually did, and the 6 was probably a mercy score.

[esquire]

Does anyone else find it extremely ironic that Eidos may have gotten a game reviewer fired for giving his honest and truthful impression of the game, while at the same time Eidos misrepresents other game reviewers' impressions of the game?

What the http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/images/smilies/shaqfu.gif is wrong with this picture??? Is this what society has come to? It's morally acceptable to character assassinate someone and get them fired, while at the same time misrepresent and outright lie about what others have stated?

:shameful:

[Rob2600]

It doesn't make sense that Eidos is upset about unfavorable Kane and Lynch reviews. It's not like this is the first time Eidos released a mediocre game. The company must realize its track record has been spotty during the last ten years, right?

Yes, it released well-received games like Hitman, Thief, Lego Star Wars, Deus Ex, Mister Mosquito, Fear Effect, and Time Splitters, but it also released garbage like Backyard Wrestling, Salt Lake 2002, Swingerz Golf, Fighting Force, Urban Chaos, Daikatana, and now Kane and Lynch. What's the big deal, Eidos?

[Snapple]

It doesn't make sense that Eidos is upset about unfavorable Kane and Lynch reviews. It's not like this is the first time Eidos released a mediocre game. The company must realize its track record has been spotty during the last ten years, right?

Yes, it released well-received games like Hitman, Thief, Lego Star Wars, Deus Ex, Mister Mosquito, Fear Effect, and Time Splitters, but it also released garbage like Backyard Wrestling, Salt Lake 2002, Swingerz Golf, Fighting Force, Urban Chaos, Daikatana, and now Kane and Lynch. What's the big deal, Eidos?

Maybe the way they handle business is different since they were bought by SCi. Most of the games you mention were released when Eidos was still their own company.

[Rob2600]

Maybe the way they handle business is different since they were bought by SCi. Most of the games you mention were released when Eidos was still their own company.

Thanks for the info. I didn't know that, so I did some reading:

Sales Curve Interactive (SCi) is a United Kingdom video game publisher. The SCi takeover of Eidos was finalized on May 16, 2005.


Has Eidos changed for the better or for the worse since the takeover two-and-a-half years ago? Or does SCi leave Eidos alone?

[heybtbm]

What the http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/images/smilies/shaqfu.gif is wrong with this picture??? Is this what society has come to? It's morally acceptable to character assassinate someone and get them fired, while at the same time misrepresent and outright lie about what others have stated?

:shameful:

"Society" has been this way for 1000's of years. The concept is as old as civilization. Study the history of any religion, and you'll see this practice time and time again. Eliminate your detractors and create a "new" reality.

[esquire]

Well, they pulled the bogus quotes and 5 stars after some serious backlash....

http://kotaku.com/gaming/eidos/kane--lynch-site-drops-five-star-reviews-329910.php

[Nature Boy]

GameSpy did not say "It's the best emulation of being in the midst of a Michael Mann movie we've ever seen" in their review of the game. They said that in their E3 2007 coverage. In other words, a preview. They also did not give the game five stars. They gave it three.

As for Game Informer, same deal. The highlighted quote does not appear in the review of the game. Nor do they give it five stars. Game Informer don't even score in stars. They gave it a 7/10.

Neither are lies if the publications in question did in fact write that (the 5 stars thing might've been their E3 score as well).

Misleading? Yes. Lies? No.

I've seen Ebert complain about this sort of thing before. He can write a totally scathing review of a movie, but include a comment about how the cinematography was outstanding, and the publisher can put "Outstanding - Ebert" in it's advertising for the movie, and Ebert can do nothing about it.

Caveat Emptor my friends...