kane-and-lynch
Latest
Achievements hint at new Kane & Lynch DLC
Thanks to Xbox360Achievements.org and their never ending search for achievement news, we learn that Kane & Lynch: Dead Men will be getting five new achievements and an additional 250 Gamerscore. The only questions we have are when and how?The five new achievements have been discovered via Xbox.com and are being hidden under the "Secret" achievements status, broken down into one 100GS, two 50GS and two 25GS achievements. We haven't the foggiest idea to what new Kane & Lynch DLC would be or who would be overly enthusiastic about such content, but if it's free or really cheap (80 Microsoft points?) we'd accept it with open arms. That said, achievement addicts would accept a 250 Gamerscore boost to almost any game no matter the circumstances.
Deal: Assassin's Creed, Kane & Lynch for $40 each
Ah, deals. They're either a blessing or a curse, depending on how you want to look at them. Sometimes they're just an undeniably awesome steal; at other times, they're a cleverly disguised way to rope you in on puchasing games you were previously borderline on getting. Throw in the fact that today's deal involves two somewhat politically controversial games in the realm of game journalism -- one more so over the other -- and there's more to it than meets the eye. But enough of this unnecessary analysis! We're all about the numbers and the savings, right? Right. If anyone's still thinking of picking up either Assassin's Creed or Kane & Lynch and hasn't done so already, then Best Buy probably has the deal for you. Both games are on sale at $39.99; that's 20 bucks worth of savings, politics not included in the box. [Via CAG]
Gamespot staffer Alex Navarro quits in wake of Gerstmann-gate
Joystiq has confirmed with longtime Gamespot staffer Alex Navarro that he will be resigning his position at the CNET gaming site in response to the controversial firing of editorial director Jeff Gerstmann."I felt like it was just time for me to go," Navarro told Joystiq in an exclusive interview. " Certainly [the decision to leave] had a lot to do with the whole Jeff [Gerstmann] situation. ... I wouldn't have left if this situation hadn't gone down the way it did. ... Sometimes you just realize a place isn't for you anymore, you know?"Navarro has been a mainstay on the site since early 2003, writing hundreds of reviews and appearing regularly on video podcast The Hotspot. His last day at the site will be Jan. 24.
Kane & Lynch sells a million copies; [obligatory reviewer firing joke goes here]
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men has hit the million-sold milestone – and somewhere a journalism fairy just died. Unfortunately, the achievement has been overshadowed by parent company SCi's current woes. Despite strong Kane & Lynch sales, SCi still plans to declare an operating loss for fiscal year 2008.SCi said in a statement that it expects Kane & Lynch to "firmly establish itself as another key franchise" in the company's arsenal. In other words: Sequel confirmed! Start practicing those superlative adjectives game reviewers because Kane & Lynch got no problems rubbing your career out – allegedly.[Via X3F]
Kane & Lynch sells a million
Despite average reviews and its very own scandal, Kane & Lynch: Dead Men has managed to sell one million copies. As you might expect, the announcement of the milestone also included the very important keyword "franchise." Yup, it looks like a sequel to the game is a certainty now. Furthermore, the game has outperformed the same period of 2006 sales for the previous IO Interactive title Hitman: Blood Money. SCi expects sales to remain high for the rest of its fiscal year. That's good news for SCi, especially in light of their recent troubles. Now all we can do is wait for the sequel: Kane & Lynch 2: Even More Deader Men.[Via Evil Avatar]
Long-time freelancer leaves Gamespot over Gerstmann-gate
While the major developments over last month's Gerstmann-gate fracas kind of petered out in the midst of vehement official denials, the reverberations are still being felt around Gamespot. Frank Provo, a freelancer and major contributor to the site for nearly eight years, recently announced he would no longer be contributing to the site.Provo made no bones about the reason for his departure. "I believe CNet management let Jeff go for all the wrong reasons," he wrote. "I believe CNet intends to soften the site's tone and push for higher scores to make advertisers happy." And Provo is in a position to know, according to an earlier post on his LiveJournal. "All the proof I need is in the way the staff reacted to Jeff's dismissal and to what went on in the closed door meeting that took place on November 30th," he said. "Any staffer that continues to work there once this fervor dies down does so with the fear that, one day, management will ask them to soften up their tone and scores... and they will either have to swallow their integrity and abide, or risk taking a stand and being let go," he added back in December.All that remains to be seen now is whether Provo's will be alone in his action or whether others will follow his lead and depart what Provo calls "the ultimate soul-crushing work environment."[Via GameDaily]
Kane and Lynch: Dead Men, Live demo
Kane and Lynch have gotten a bum rap lately as the guys responsible for double-handedly ripping the internet asunder and scattering the pieces to the wind. But did you know that they also starred in an electronic video game? And it's a game which, despite the negativity, is actually sporadically pretty fun. A reminder is now available on Xbox Live with a new, single-player demo.What we hope is that more people getting their hands on the demo with re-establish the game as what it should have been all along: A decent action game, not a pariah. Give it a try yourself, we'd bet that no matter what your impressions are, they're going to be better than "symbol for all that is wrong with games journalism," which is where we'd imagine several of you now have it ranked.
Kane & Lynch demo breaks onto XBLM
Today's most controversial Xbox Live Marketplace offering: a demo for Kane & Lynch: Dead Men from Eidos. It's strange that Kane & Lynch, for many gamers, will be remembered more for the controversy surrounding it than for the game itself. Frankly, we're eager to see what all the fuss was about. In all honesty, we've been curious about the game since it was first revealed. The demo features one level of the single player campaign (co-op is also available). Most will recognize the level from the trailers in which Kane, Lynch, and his crew rappel down the side of a skyscraper. Give the demo a try and see if the game is worth remembering for the right reasons.
GameSpot addresses Gerstmann-gate concerns in depth
Update: Gamespot's Tor Thorsen weighs in with his personal commentary on writing the story: "I know many of you out there are going to see this as the latest in a series of attempts at damage control. Guess what? You're right. It is damage control, because--let's face it--GameSpot has taken a beating over the past week. However, just because it's damage control doesn't mean we're being disingenuous or misleading."Original Story:After nearly a week of non-stop rumor, speculation and discussion fueled by insufficient comment from all parties involved, GameSpot has finally opened up and answered many outstanding questions surrounding the Gerstmann firing controversy. Tor Thorsen's recently posted On the Spot Q&A contains official comment on numerous matters that GameSpot was unwilling or unable to address before. Among the important new information revealed in the piece: Gerstmann's firing followed " an internal review process" by management. Eidos did express displeasure with Gerstmann's Kane & Lynch review, though GameSpot is adamant that this displeasure did not cause the review to be edited, the video review to be pulled, or Gerstmann himself to be fired. On why the text review was edited: "The copy was adjusted several days following its publication so that it better meshed with its score, which remained unchanged." (Is this fair? Read the edits and judge for yourself). The Kane & Lynch video review was taken down because the "audio was deemed inferior due to a faulty microphone. There were also concerns about the limited amount of footage that was unrepresentative of the game in the review." It was not put back up immediately because the busy holiday release schedule left "insufficient resources to reshoot and re-edit the video review." The version that was reposted recently is identical to the original and was put up "in the spirit of full disclosure." Eidos' Kane & Lynch ad buy was made weeks before the firing decision or the review were made. The prominent front page "skinning" of the site was automatically removed at midnight on Nov. 29, when the ad buy was previously scheduled to run out. Tim Tracy's departure was "completely unrelated." The company is coming up with this information now because of the "widespread misinformation that has spread following Jeff's departure." While the full Q&A still won't directly address the specific reasons for Gerstmann's departure (citing "accordance with California State Law"), it does sufficiently explain almost all the outstanding issues surrounding the matter and should do a lot to quiet this controversy. Whether or not it actually will depends largely on whether readers can accept these explanations after six days of effective "no comments" left the rumor mill to grind out of control.
Gerstmann-gate: Wednesday update
Editor's note: This post has been edited to point out the latest updates from around the web on the controversial firing of Gamespot editorial director Jeff Gerstmann (Further note: the post hasn't really been edited -- we just thought that would make a funny intro.) If you missed it, check out Joystiq's analysis of the edits to Gerstmann's Kane & Lynch review. Gamespot staffers have further addressed the controversy on the site's Hot Spot podcast. After being taken down on Friday, Gerstmann's Kane & Lynch video review is back up on the Gamespot this morning. The reasons behind this move and the initial removal are still unclear. UPDATE: On the Hot Spot podcast mentioned above, Ryan MacDonald said that the review was taken down not because of pressure from advertisers but because "the quality was not what [they] do." 1UP digs up another potential wrinkle to the story: "Our sources indicated CNET management had been dealing with a series of advertising vs. editorial issues on GameSpot -- Sony Computer Entertainment America came down on the site for scoring Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction a 7.5 just a few weeks prior to the Kane & Lynch incident -- and the Eidos Interactive situation was where they finally drew the line. Kotaku hears rumors that there may be "mass resignations" at Gamespot over the whole incident: "Our credibility is in ruins," says anonymous source. Also from Kotaku, the misleading "five star" review graphic on the Kane & Lynch site has been removed. MTV's Stephen Totilo talked to Gerstmann about editorial standards in the game press: "As for the future of game journalism, you asked if it's realistic for readers to expect a church and state separation between editorial and sales. Realistic or not, I think readers should demand that from a publication." Newsweek's N'gai Croal uses the Gerstmann controversy as a jumping off point to talk about the symbiotic/parasitic relationship between game publishers and the game press: "One would have to be naïve or foolish not to understand that there has always been a mutually beneficial relationship between journalists who cover consumer products or entertainment and the manufacturers or publishers of the goods in question." The controversy was mentioned briefly during Tuesday's edition of The Kojo Nnamdi Show on Washington D.C.'s NPR affiliate, WAMU (discussion begins around 44:50): "Apparently [there's] no firewall there between editorial and advertising. ... It certainly looks and smells fishy." Gamespot Associate Editor Kevin VanOrd, on losing a colleague: "It is confusing, upsetting, and hurtful. In the blink of an eye, my mentor no longer sits 50 feet from me. When I need advice and encouragement and shielding, my greatest advocate is no longer there to offer that kind of support." Sarcastic Gamer isn't feeling too sorry for Gerstmann: "Getting fired was the BEST thing to ever happen to the man. He has become an instant internet celeb, without the taking the sleazy amateur video route, and can basically cash his own ticket anywhere he chooses." Organizer Drew Watson talks to Audiogame about the in-person protests being planned for the CNET offices this weekend. [Thanks again to all the tipsters sending in links. Keep 'em coming]
Gerstmann-gate: Tuesday update
Official statement or no, fan reaction to the firing of Jeff Gerstmann continues practically unabated: Gamespot readers have tagged the official Gamespot news story rather, er, harshly (see image above). Not everyone is on the anti-Gamespot bandwagon, though. Check out IGN's Hillary Goldstein, CrushedBefore.com and the possibly satirical KeepGirthmanFired.com. The story continues to drip slowly into the mainstream press. Check out Fishbowl LA, TheStreet.com and the Syracuse University Daily Orange. GameBump takes Eidos to task for misleading "review" quotes and a "five-star" rating image in the intro. for the official Kane & Lynch web site. GameSpy and Kotaku are confused as well. Pronet Advertising uses Gamespot as a case study in "How To Destroy Your Brand And Alienate People" GameSetWatch's Kevin Gifford: "Game publishers ... don't care what Jeff Gerstmann or any reviewer has to say about their games. They care about the score, the Metacritic average, and it's been that way ever since the Internet became the primary vehicle for game media." More from Gamespot freelancer Frank Provo: "Even if they don't get pressured to cut me loose because I've made a few posts here, I personally cannot write for a site that, for whatever reasons, wants to bring its review scores and tone more in line with the Metacritics/GameRankings medians, and is willing to pressure its writers to nudge in that direction."
GameSpot posts official Gerstmann firing notice
It took nearly four long, controversy-filled days, but GameSpot has finally posted notice on their web site that editorial director Jeff Gerstmann has been fired. Or, as the notice itself puts it, "after over a decade in a variety of editorial roles, Jeff Gerstmann's tenure as editorial director has ended." Besides praising Gerstmann's work and offering him best wishes, the notice echoes the company's earlier statement by saying that "details of Gerstmann's departure cannot be disclosed publicly" because of "legal constraints and the company policy of GameSpot parent CNET Networks." The posting also firmly denies (yet again) that advertiser pressure had any role in the firing. "Neither CNET Networks nor GameSpot has ever allowed its advertising business to affect its editorial content," said Greg Brannan, CNET Networks Entertainment's vice president of programming. "The accusations in the media that it has done so are unsubstantiated and untrue. Jeff's departure stemmed from internal reasons unrelated to any buyer of advertising on GameSpot." Strong words, but ones that might come too late for many gamers who have already made up their minds about the controversy.Oddly enough, Gerstmann does still appear on the site's About Us page, nearly a week after his termination last Wednesday. The notice about the firing currently appears on the front page of the site as the top news story.Even with the posted statement, many questions remain surrounding the firing. Why was Gerstmann's Kane & Lynch video review removed from the site? Did Eidos (or any other company) bring pressure to bear on Gamespot, even if it was ignored? (Eidos continues to ignore repeated requests for comment from Joystiq). How does Gamespot plan on addressing the sizable outrage in the gaming community over the issue, justified or not? We'll keep looking for answers to these and other questions surrounding the controversy and will of course let you know what we find.
CNET podcast hosts comment on Gerstmann controversy
While today's episode of CNET's Buzz Out Loud podcast was delayed for a "mandatory meeting," (hmmm, we wonder what that might have been about ...) the wait was worth it, as hosts Molly Wood, John (Update: Typo fixed) Tom Merritt and Jason Howell were able to comment on Gamespot's firing of executive editor Jeff Gerstmann from a somewhat insider perspective. Their overall impression? As Merritt put it, "Wow does this whole situation suck."While Merritt did say up front that "there are things that we're not allowed to talk about because they're internal matters," the team said they weren't sitting on any super-secret information about the reasons behind Gerstmann's firing. "[Human resources is] not going to come and tell us why a dude got fired," Wood said. That said, the hosts could offer their commentary on the matter, and their thoughts on that score were somewhat of a mixed bag.
Gerstmann-gate: Blackout Monday update
Big wheel keep on turning. Gerstmann-gate keep on burning. If you missed it over the weekend, see our Saturday and Sunday updates, as well as coverage of surrounding rumors and Gerstmann's exclusive comments to Joystiq. Many members of the gaming community are participating in a loosely organized "Blackout Monday" boycott of Gamespot today. An unrelated, real-world protest is being planned for Dec. 8 - 10 in front of the CNET offices. GamePolitics: "If the highly detailed rumors surrounding Jeff Gerstmann's firing are true, then the people who run GameSpot have, by their own hand, utterly trashed a great media brand." The story hasn't made a big splash in mainstream print or broadcast outlets yet, but it is beginning to get a little play on mainstream web sites. See USA Today, BBC Tech (link at bottom right) the San Jose Mercury News, The Guardian, the Dallas Morning News and Norway's third-largest newspaper, Dagbladet (sketchy machine translation). GameFAQs briefly changed their front page poll over the weekend to ask users what would happen next in the controversy. Over 25% of respondents predicted that "Gamespot begins its slow decent [sic]." Virtual Fools has compiled an impressive list of links to comments from current and former Gamespot staffers. [Thanks to all the tipsters who sent in links.]
Exclusive: Gertsmann speaks about K&L review, future
"Losing a job you've held for over 11 years in an abrupt manner is shocking, yes."While the above quote should perhaps win Jeff Gerstmann the 'understatement of the year' award, the former Gamespot editorial director is still staying silent about the specifics surrounding his recent firing (citing the previously mentioned "legal reasons," among others). He has, however, told Joystiq that he still stands behind his controversial review of Kane & Lynch. "I stand behind my work, regardless of where I do it," Gerstmann told Joystiq in an e-mail. "If there was content that I felt I couldn't support, it wouldn't see the light of day." Gerstmann did not comment specifically on the edits made to his text review of Kane & Lynch, or the site's removal of the video review, but he did support the editing process in general. "If factual errors are made, I have no problem owning up to that error, correcting it, noting that a correction has been made, and feeling like an idiot for making the mistake in the first place," he said. Gerstmann also directly addressed the somewhat pernicious rumor that he did not complete Kane & Lynch before he finished his review. "A reviewer's Xbox Live Gamercard is rarely a good place to look for answers about how much that reviewer has (or hasn't) played a game," he said. "For the record, I saw both endings in Kane & Lynch before writing about it."As for his future plans, Gerstmann seems to be keeping his options open. "I'm not really sure what I want to do next," he said. "This whole situation has left me with a lot to think about. While this sort of clean break would be an acceptable time to think about trying game development, I feel like I still have more to say and do on the editorial side of the fence, too."Surprisingly, the experience doesn't seem to have soured Gerstmann on video game journalism as a whole. "Despite the number of people who are taking these rumors ... to mean that game writing is ethically bankrupt, I don't feel that's the case," he said. "Either way, I'm currently keeping my options open and have been in contact with interesting people on both sides."
Gerstmann-gate: Sunday morning update
Developments have slowed down a little bit over the weekend, but there is still plenty of chatter around the web about Gamespot's controversial firing of Jeff Gerstmann. Among the juicier bits from around the intertubes: In response to a Gamespot forum thread, the new Gamespot Manager of Community Development said he is "eagerly anticipating the official word to be released on Tuesday." Gamespot has halted user reviews of Kane & Lynch after a flood of 1.0 ratings lowered the game's user score to a 2.6/10. Destructoid has registered cashwh0re.com and changed their front page banner in support of Gerstmann. GameSpot employee Aaron Thomas explains why more employees aren't speaking up on the matter: "This isn't GameSpot suddenly clamping down on me or any of us here--this is how it is for anyone with a job." Gamespot freelancer Frank Provo: "Personally, my respect for CNet is shot, and writing for GameSpot is going to feel like a chore for quite some time going forward." GameSpot users are reportedly canceling paid subscriptions left and right, and planning boycotts of Gamespot and its advertisers. Rumor has it that Gamespot forum moderator have been told to squelch any discussion of the controversy. This seems unlikely, though, as the main discussion of the topic on the site has reached 11,110 posts as of this writing. UPDATE: Numerous Gamespot moderators have written in saying discussion on their forums isn't being stopped, but redirected to one of these two threads to maintain order. One thing is clear: This story is not going away anytime soon.[Thanks to all the tipsters who sent items in]
Rumorang: Gerstmann-gate edition
We're sure you'll agree our reporting on the continuing controversy surrounding Gamespot's firing of Jeff Gerstmann has been quite extensive. Still, there are a few angles that have come up that we still feel a little questionable reporting on as fact, or even credible rumor. Still, they are getting play elsewhere around the web, so we'll let you have a little peek behind the curtain and in to the sausage-making world of the news process. Here's what we know and why we're a bit skeptical: Some sites are reporting that Gamespot staffer Tim Tracy has also been fired and/or left the company, possibly for reasons related to Gerstmann's dismissal. The sole source for this rumor seems to be a cryptic post on Tracy's Gamespot blog where he appears behind a stack of shoeboxes with the footer, "It's been real." This could mean that he's no longer with the company ... but it could also means he just has a shoe fetish. We're working to get an official comment on the situation from Tracy or Gamespot and will let you know what we hear, but for the time being we don't want to speculate on what, if anything, this could mean. Some commenters around the web are suggesting that the firing was due to the influence of some recent hires at CNET, specifically Executive Vice President Stephen Colvin and Director of Games & Entertainment Josh Larson. These commenters will point to Colvin's previous involvement with bastions of journalistic integrity like Maxim, Blender, and Stuff magazine (read: sarcasm!) and Larson's heavy career focus on marketing to gamers. This circumstantial evidence doesn't do much for us, and while we've heard some rumblings of their involvement from somewhat credible sources, nothing has been better than second hand information. We'll keep digging, but right now it's too early to implicate anyone specific (or in general, for that matter). Finally, some commenters are claiming that Gerstmann wasn't fired because his Kane & Lynch review was negative in tone, but because he did not actually play the game sufficiently before reviewing it. The supposed evidence, as often happens with such allegations, is Jeff's Xbox Live Gamercard, which only has six achievements and 90 Gamerscore points for the game (some overstate this claim to say he only got one achievement. Fact check your rumors, people!) Reviewers often start reviews playing early code that might not have achievements unlocked. Gerstmann could have been playing on Microsoft's private PartnerNet system when reviewing the game, or simply been on a separate system/Gamertag when doing some of the playing. Furthermore, the content of both the text and video reviews seems to clearly indicate deep involvement with the game. We're waiting to hear back from Gerstmann on this issue directly, but until we do, it'll take more than a Gamercard to convince us Jeff was anything less than a professional in this matter.
Latest developments in "Gerstmann-gate"
More tidbits surrounding Jeff Gerstmann's controversial firing from Gamespot, from around the web and our own reporting: Gerstmann has confirmed to Joystiq that there are "legal reasons" why he can't comment on the controversy, in addition to questions of "respect for the product team still on board at GameSpot, who are some of the most amazing people I've ever met." He added that he is not under any sort of non-compete agreement regarding future work in the industry. Eidos issues a 'no comment' to 1UP: "Eidos is not able to comment on another company's policies and procedures." Valleywag says Eidos "insiders" are "freaking out" over being blamed for something they say they had nothing to do with. Still no response from Eidos to our requests for comment. Former Gamespot editor-in-chief Greg Kasavin, on his GameSpot blog: "As the longest-tenured GameSpot editor, Jeff Gerstmann deserved a respectful send-off." Current Gamespot editor-in-chief Alex Navarro compares the whole situation to hitting the disaster button in SimCity. Former Gamespot staffer Bob Colayco and Adam Buchen clarify that just because Gerstmann was fired doesn't mean Gamespot staffers routinely get paid off for good reviews. Buchen also cancels his Gamespot account and urges others to do the same. An anonymous Valleywag commenter going by the handle "gamespot" and claiming to be a company insider: "There has been an increasing amount of pressure to allow the advertising teams to have more of a say in the editorial process." More: "Also, despite the fact that this occured [sic] two weeks ago, there was no way they were going to fire him then; the last big games didn't come out until just before Thanksgiving, and there was no doubt that management knew that the rest of the reviewers would refuse to write any reviews after his termination, which is indeed what is happening. [emphasis added]" We'll continue to update as more information comes out. Thanks to Gamespot user subrosian and all the tipsters who sent in information. Keep it coming.
CNET: Gerstmann not fired over advertiser pressure
Our compatriots at Joystiq have uncovered some more information regarding the firing of Jeff Gerstmann, GameSpot's (now former) Editorial Director. The news that he was fired broke this morning, with certain sources citing that he was fired do to pressure from Eidos in the wake of Gerstmann's harsh text and video review of Kane & Lynch. Eidos publishes the game in question, and had purchased pervasive ads on GameSpot including a page skin that was removed soon after Gerstmann's firing.Joystiq has now secured new comments from CNET, which owns GameSpot. The comments come in the wake of a fairly ambiguous statement made by CNET earlier today. According to Joystiq, a CNET spokesperson by the name of Sarah Cain noted, "we do not terminate employees based on external pressure from advertisers." When asked whether or not such pressure had been exerted, Cain provided no comment. Joystiq also inquired about the video review, which has since been removed from GameSpot. Cain said that a note of "clarification" had been added to the text review -- which also applied to the video review -- and that it was CNET's decision to pull the video review.Make sense to you? Yeah, well we don't get it either. Check out Joystiq for more details.
GameSpot denies Eidos pressured firing of Gerstmann
We just got off the phone with Sarah Cain, a CNET spokesperson who wanted to amend CNET's previous statement to Joystiq on the recent firing of executive editor Jeff Gerstmann. While reiterating that CNET does not discuss personal employee matters with the press, Cain said directly that "we do not terminate employees based on external pressure from advertisers." When asked specifically about whether any such pressure was even attempted on Eidos' part, Cain had no comment. We're still waiting for a response to multiple e-mail requests for comment by Eidos PR.While we had Cain on the line, we also asked her about the odd disappearance of Gerstmann's video review of the game from the GameSpot site. She responded by pointing out a note at the bottom of the still-running text review for the game, which states that "this review has been updated to include differences between the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions and a clarification on the game's multiplayer mode."When pressed for clarification, Cain said that this note applied to the video review as well. "At the bottom of the post of the [text] review we made a note that we have updated the review, and we made those decisions based on our own editorial standards," she said. "It was our decision to take down the [video] review." Given this justification, we can't help but wonder why GameSpot couldn't just edit the video review, as they did the text version. Why remove the entire thing if the problem was really just a "clarification?" When asked just that question, Cain reiterated her initial statement.
