I should've mentioned that Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory ran like a freaking pro for all of my friends, and most of the people who I knew played the game. Clearly, Ubisoft Shanghai didn't know what in the hell they were doing with that engine.

dead_red_eyes

@Witzbold:

Indeed my man. It REEKED of "unfinished". They really needed to either do a public beta, or actually get some decent QA going on. That time has passed tho.

Frankly, I'm getting fucking tired of companies (publishers I'm assuming) rushing games out before they're finished. It's all too common these days to pick up a PC title, only to find that it's in Alpha state ... Splinter Cell: Double Agent for example, was fucking terrible. It was full of FAIL because of the hundreds of bugs and piss poor coding, the game was hardly optimized as well. I remember top of the line cards pulling 15 fps for the title, when the engine was based off of Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. Maybe Ubisoft Shanghai just isn't up to snuff? Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow suffered the same fate.

Note to companies, quit rushing your fucking games out before they're finished. If you want a good review, make a decent game that's at least 90% bug free.

dead_red_eyes

Jeff Gerstmann is never wrong. The man is a god among men. Giant Bomb for life!

Zinc666

A friend and I rented Kane & Lynch a little while back, and it was pretty bad. Actually, it was really bad, and if I had to give it a score, I would say 5/10. Mainly the bugs and the controls ruined the game for me. I'm all about some dark and violent characters being the main focus of the story, but at least do some freaking QA on the game before you ship the damn thing out.

dead_red_eyes

Rented the game, played it long enough to say it was crap. I saw the review after the fact I wanted this awful game out my console. It felt like it was good thing I did not pre-ordered the game when it was available.

REDRUN

@Witzbold: LOL... did it sound like that? I got the that same gist from it but I wasn't sure :)

okenny :) ...building bridges (to hide under)

@wild homes loves you but chooses darkness!:

You're saying drop the one unique and defining aspect of the game, its dark characters and story? Yeah....no.

Do you think they go back and "perk up" max payne?

MyLittlePwny

The game wasn't amazing, but Gerstmann was unprofessional and a major ass in the review regardless.

NoahSteam

Kotaku commenters are usually first to say number based reviews are bull and yet here you guys are using that to backup your negative opinion of a game you havent even played.

Having played and passed the game, it was a damn decent co-op title. I probably had more fun with its co-op portion than I did with Army of Two's.

MyLittlePwny

I feel sorry for IO. Kane & Lynch is hardly even viewed as a game; whenever it's mentioned, all that people think about is the Jeff Gerstmann thing.

Jorw

"many reviews range from 7.0 to 10"

Holy crap, someone gave this game a 10?!?

deuce_22_deuce

Kane & Lynch wasn't bad by any stretch of the imagination. It just wasn't great-- and it suffered tremendously from the fact that for every single thing the development team did very well there existed a critical flaw or glaring example of poor design.

Many aspects of the game were really, really enjoyable. The game began with a nicely designed level that really made the generally solid mechanics of the title shine, and ended with a gunfight in a donut shop. Sweet-ass. The chase sequence with the police early in the game was an absolute blast... the Retamoto-san (?) stuff featured in the demo was a real joy to play as well. Dropping the player into a whole other country (!) toward the end, while jarring, still provided some good times.

Unfortunately, all the good stuff was drowned in the fucking stupid. The game had more false endings than Return of the King, and the final ending (whichever one you got) was onerous and insulting. The nightclub scene-- ugh. Eidos has never, ever made nightclubs work in any title-- it didn't work in Hitman, and surely it didn't work in Kane & Lynch... whoever decided gunfights are more fun when it's shitty and dark and you can't see what you're doing should be punched in the forehead. The helicopter fight is possibly one of the most stupefying design decisions I've ever seen in a game-- are we really still doing such obvious pattern battles this generation? Ugh. Too much of the game seemed to be the product of initial brainstorming not being refined into quality product-- a few gems got through, but the rest of the stuff needed to be sifted through and the dross removed.

It was a pity, because there was a really good game in there, somewhere. They just needed to drop the god-awful, relentlessly depressing story and just focus on the gameplay mechanics that worked. It would have benefited Eidos tremendously to do so.

wild homes loves you but chooses darkness!

123 cry 123 cry 123 cry

spacecoffin2

Don't blame Gamespot. I played the demo and absolutely hated the game.

Strangelove

The game was awful and they should feel awful. There I said it.

The characters were awesome, Ill give them that though. Its tough to create characters with personality like that.

Altima NEO

Didn't play the game, didn't read the review, but if I have something to say about this, this is it: If the game was truly good, it would hardly be bashed because of a GameSpot review alone.

The sooner they realise this, the sooner they'll be making better games.

Bokusatsu_Tenshi

@Witzbold: Oh yeah also much coolness on the devs behalf of releasing that free content also for Kane & Lynch a while back.

Witzbold

Seriously if it wasnt for the scandal thing then I doubt the game would have sold 1 mil.

The devs should at least be greatful the game sold that much.

Im all for them making another game, Ill buy it again just as long as they can promise me they have learned from their mistakes and are working hard to amend them.

Ill always support devs who support their fans.

Witzbold

There was a substantial lack of polish, but 6/10 isn't a catastrophic review. This doesn't neccessarily point to bad development, it could point to publisher pressuring for early release. Whatever the reason for the poor game quality (for a AAA), perhaps they should learn from the experience and avoid hyping a game as an AAA title when it's more of a niche experience.

Jekht

I loved K&L. Although it had it's flaws and felt unfinished (it certainly could have done with another few months in development) and felt rushed, it still was a damn good game, and one I thoroughly enjoyed.

I'm looking forward to the sequel, and I hope it'll be more polished than the first. I'll love it.

Fullforce

It's just life and he should learn how to handle criticisms or even life properly (what he said just perpetuate the typical stereotype of computer programmers). There will always be someone who don't like your work just as much as the other guy.

eternalsunshineofcoralfang

I have played the game completely through once. It was an average game. Yes it had its share of problems, but Kane & Lynch was no where near the steaming pile of shit people make it seem. My biggest complaint was that some parts in the game were damn near impossible to beat.

Silent Predator

The Gerstmann Gate snafu was felt industry wide, I'll never forget that. I feel for the dev team, they got so much flak for being suspected in that incident,

lantus

@Kai200X: "Hey, this game sold more than 1 million copies. Obviously it wasn't crap."
So did 50 Cent Bulletproof.

excel_excel

Tried the demo, it sucked.

I wanted to like the game, but the controls and gameplay didn't feel right at all.

OGHowie

Also when they say "a review that I would like to forget" surely they should have said controversy or something? The review certainly wasn't controversial but what happended as a result of the review was.

@excel_excel: sorry I mean one review for the 360 version

excel_excel

K&L was a great game idea, but it wasn't fun to shoot things, which is, you know, kind of important to a game where all you do is shoot stuff.

Cwolf267

Hey, this game sold more than 1 million copies. Obviously it wasn't crap. I'll admit that I've only played the demo on PS3, but I think it was fun, especially play co-op with my friend.

Kai200X

Well I don't know about those other people, but I know my opinions aren't based on Gamespots review.

No, my opinion is based on the shoddy combat, glitchy graphics, numerous bugs, and general lack of polish in the game.

QualityJeverage

@RaptureScientist: I think thats because game reviewing is generally accurate unlike say film reviews which can be way off the mark. For instance I recently played heavenly sword and thought it was generally underwhelming and correlated with its 6/10ish reviews. I have to say I played the Kane&Lynch demo and thought it was alright. I must be in the minority then lol...

TotaleeAwesome

@I_Eat_Kids: according to Metacritic, no place gave it anywhere higher than an 8, except for one review for the PC version

excel_excel

I'm all about seeing things from a developer's perspective. After all, very few games are made with the understanding that they will suck. Most sucky games are unintended. But I'd like to hear more from them than just that it hurt. In short, I'd like for them to honestly justify their game, explain why they think it stands out. Not a PR statement, but an honest assessment of the game's qualities. Of course, I don't expect this after launch, but now would be nice.
I haven't touched the game. It's genre didn't seem that appealing. Stranglehold would seem a better use of money if I wanted a game like that, which I don't.

AllegraStreit

Metacritic score of 65%, the gamespot review fell right in the middle of most other sources. Gamespy, G4, Gamepro, Edge and Play all gave the game the exact same score and in Edge's case (I think) they sounded much harsher on the game.

Gamespot was probably the biggest review site at the time, so it's score was probably the most important, but that doesn't mean it needs to play softball. You'r game had unacceptable faults that should have been addressed. End of story.

Adamk24

im glad i gave this game a chance it was pretty good. and sometimes amazing.

DaveStampeed

It's over...let it go.

If you want to show people up, then make a K&L2 that will blow their pants off.

TaggarT6

I played it and found the controls difficult to manage in terms of shooting, aiming, running..you get the idea. The idea was brilliant essentially Heat the movie with more break-ins. It was damn near impossible however, I never got past the tunnel escape scene the police were too tough before I had to return it. I wasn't a big fan of the graphics which I presume can be easily touched up in the follow-up. I would give a second version a try -the multiplayer sounded like fun but I could never find a group to roll with.

Punkateer

It has a metacritic average of 64/65. Which means there's probably a lot worse scores than a six out there. Probably not as well publicized as that six but meh...

GregoriusH

I loved K&L and I've always thought Gamespot was crap. Go figure.

gipmah

I'm trying to be an a-hole but really GUY, REALLY?
He acts like Gamespot was the only site that gave the game a bad review. Most of the reviews were around 6 and 7 if i recall.
I could understand if the controversy still keeps him sweating at night.

HeyMykie

I was never interested in this game in the first place so I don't know if it sucked or not. I do know that developers seem to make every excuse for why their games don't sell well except the obvious one. Which is there game most likely sucks.

SofaKingHI

Game sucked so the score SHOULD suck. Thank God I managed to give it to my brother. Giantbomb is awesome so its win win.

Oh! Gamespot/C|net sucks.

NorthernAvengeR

I've played it and didn't really enjoy it that much plus the PC port was terrible, playing Co-op was very poor

excel_excel

@okenny :) ...building bridges (to hide under): Dont make this some bleeding heart speech.

The truth is basically the game wasnt done.

I bought, played and beat the game multiple times, played multiplayer (which I do applaud the devs for trying something quite different and interesting with), but it still stands the game didnt feel finished. So its perfectly reasonable for the devs should feel the impact of their work from the consumers. Without such incidents there is no way they will learn from their past mistakes and strive to better themselves as to not feel the same way they did with what had happened with Kane & Lynch.

Witzbold

They should throw away the sequel and make another Hitman game already. Mmmmyes.

CosmicElement

What reviewer gave that steamer a 10?

I_Eat_Kids

Giantbomb came from the controversy.. So in a way, I'm thankful for Kane and Lynch.

GiantEnemyCrab

If i could have rated the game for gamestop i would have rated it a little lower, after trying to play the demo. Not being able to change my control to invert y axis i gave up. If you want people to play your game you have to give them the power to change their play style so it fits them. You can say these are the controls love them or dont play our game.

Allcars

@peAr nectAr: it has in the form of Giant Bomb.

IGoogledMurder

Must've been like pistol-whipping a blind kid for them...

But having played the game, I feel no sympathy...

what0080

@JohnnyHash: I'm sure you'll get a bad gamespot review for that..

Bendable

I don't hate the game and some of its mechanics/design were good. I liked the weird and fucked up chemistry between between the titular characters and would actually like to see more from them.

However, there are flaws and there is no way to sugar-coat them; no matter how much one wishes to. The graphic engine was old at the time the game came out. The textures were flat and npc models were non-descript. Although there were some cool locales they were destroyed by generic, bland models(like the Japanese dance club).

Another thing I found a bit annoying was the aim. It seems Army of Two and K&L took the gun mechanics from the same textbook and it feels very often that you are just spraying and praying instead of actually relying on your skill to kill.

I bought my game for 15$ and for that amount it was a decent purchase, but at 60$ I'd look elsewhere. However, I'd like to see IO revisit the franchise and see if they can't fix some of the issues. I liked the script and the voicework was very good compared to most games.

PixelRambo

I really liked the premise of Kane & Lynch in that these are two utterly irredeemable characters who aren't going to end up having a crisis of faith or an ounce of remorse for killing anyone who gets in their way, or even in the line of fire. It's an opportunity to tell a really gritty crime drama story that was unfortunately lost in the wash of a genuinely crappy game.

Calhoun

Yeah. After the scores and th cruelly insipid sarcasm of blogs and forums is the tragic truth that the people who dedicate their passion to making these games with pride and to see people enjoying their game, those simple words, those simple numbers are sharp and dripping with poison and come down on a persons heart with the force that just tears right through them.

The pain is never nearly as bad if the negativity can be rationalized and even be boiled down to simple mechanics. Things like the Gamespot incident just bought out the ugliness on the consumer end and with all the force bought down on the corporate evils involved, the game was the only things standing to take the blame. Just about all rational their was lost to the scandal and I'm sure that didn't help either.

I'm sure people could be stronger and realize when you make something and offer it to the masses, the reactions are not yours to control. If you wanted it to be experienced in a certain way then you needed to make your game that way. If it can't deliver that experience then that's nobodies fault but the game and its creators. We are only human so understanding that is hard.

okenny :) ...building bridges (to hide under)

actually if you look at metacritic, there isn't a single review above 90, and only a few above 80. the average score is around 64. so no it wasn't just gamespots, and no the game isn't good.

HuffmanDickings

I played it, it sucked. The GameSpot review was spot on.

Rubezh

Yeah the demo sealed the deal for me, although I can see what he means about the tone of the review. Especially in the video, Gerstmann had this look on his face that just said something harsh about his criticism, like that it was stemming from an oversimplification of the game, ultimately like he wanted to say "This game is shit." And of course that kind of comment isn't constructive or nice, it was just the sort of feeling he was giving off.

William Killer Shatner

I also preferred the hitman series and generally agree with Jeff's review. K&L is has a lot of good ideas, none of which were executed very well. Even the basic anti-hero template wasn't bad, but in the end they characters were pretty hallow. Still if the team is doing another go, I hope they use the opportunity to improve a lot of the mistakes of the last time, as it wasn't only Gamespot that was critical of them.

drifter13

Kane and Lynch is okay, but since I based my expectations off an early (and awesome) trailer of the game, playing through the game was rather disappointing.

This guy makes a good point though, I know way too many people who base their opinions off reviews instead of playing games, and limit themselves to the titles that generally get high review scores (Metacritic 90+)

RaptureScientist

Umm what? No offense to the devs but I played the demo and did not enjoy it at all. If the demo was any indication of what the game full game is then the review was spot on.

XeroKool

Characters were interesting, but the story just kinda went limp along with the development.

Gameplay wasnt too great, weapon accuracy was quite terrible for a game that tosses a lot of bad guys at you even more so when there is a level where you need precision shooting to survive.

Level design was so-so.

Overall though I really was hoping for the game to turn out a lot better since I did enjoy the 2 main characters and the idea of the game sounded great. Just that it seems what we wound up with was just too early to really be considered done.

Im seriously guessing its becuase they were rushing to make the Holiday rush thats why.

Real unfortunate, since with more time the game could have been a lot better. Same with the story and planning of how things flowed together.

Witzbold

I was intrigued and open minded, until I played the demo. That's what put me off...

Ungruntled

I borrowed the game from a friend, and barely played it ten minutes before I ejected it from my 360 and put it back in its case. The gameplay was in no way entertaining or well done.

flaagan

I based my opinion on the demo. I didn't like it. :P

cheesecake000

I played Kane and Lynch, and liked it. It could have definitely been more polished, and the endings were rather dumb and anticlimactic, but other than that I thought it was a fun, gritty game, just a lot of missed opportunities. But did it deserve all the attention it got with all that Gertsmann bullshit? No way. It's farcical, really.

It's kind of funny in retrospect what a huge deal all of it turned into at GameSpot, but I think it showed people how far video game journalism has come and has fallen. I started reading GameSpot when I was 15 (that's 7 years ago), and it really has strayed far from what it used to be, which was gamers reviewing games. Now it's more corporate, more about money, and I'd like to see it return to its roots, and not get caught up in all this Kane and Lynch type bullshit again.

peAr nectAr

@CukyDoh:

I liked the game. Wasn't the best game, but it was fun

GearsOfWar12

@Bendable: I also just put a lot of effort into the bathroom a minute go but I guarantee you wouldn't like it either.

JohnnyHash

I still haven't played the game, so I really have no idea if it's good or bad. One thing for sure is, I am aware of that review and pretty much thought of the game as a failure. I am downloading the PC demo right now. Anyone play the game and enjoy/like it?

homernoy

I finished the game. The review was right.

Shinryoma

I loved the characters, as well as the mentality of it's multiplayer. I put my fair share of hours into it. Overall, I really enjoyed my time with this game despite some of it's flaws.

fourzerotwo

Yeah 6.0 in a ramge that averaged a 7. How is that bad? If it was a fricken 2.0 it wouldn't matter. There is always a place for well written reviews that range from 0's to 10's.

Cartman86

Haven't played Kane & Lynch yet, so I can't say whether or not GameSpot was too critical of it. Regardless, the bugs and flaws will probably be ironed out in the sequel.

YHWHMystic

Poor buggers. Hitman was much better but it does look like they put alot of effort in this game.

Bendable

never played it. I'm kinda getting sick of shooters

chaos_isnt_here

"I can be fairly sure that his or her opinion is based on the GameSpot review," Kurup said. "It just won't go away."

Bullcrap, all you had to do was play the demo to see that the GameSpot review was right. Aww poor baby feelings hurt... No, your game just plain wasn't good enough.

MCWHAMMER

"I can be fairly sure that his or her opinion is based on the GameSpot review" - No... no, no.

Our opinions are based of the game, which by most accounts, was awful.

CukyDoh

My decision not to get the game was based on their shady method of posting a non existent five star review from Kotaku on their website, and then taking it down but stating that the term 5 star is an interpretable phrase. Fuck them. You can do a thing a hundred times the wrong way and it doesn't make it come out right even though you spent 100 times as much work effort as someone who knows what they are doing.

GOLD5

@NoahSteam: I also think he was, but probably to show that the developers didn't take the time or whoever it was didn't give them the time to really polish their game were being major unprofessional asses for charging $60.

myketuna

@Mit: Actually the 2 characters would have been great if the game had actually developed them more.

Since thats what was really missing from having people attached to the characters story which would have helped deflect the negative nature of the gameplay and mechanics a bit.

Witzbold

"Kurup says that single review has molded the opinions of gamers everywhere, even ones who haven't played the game."

This is total bullshit. The game just wasn't that good. And gamers everywhere don't get their info from just from Gamespot.
Take your fucking lumps and move on to something better. I realize the time spent on making these games and I don't say any of this lightly, but don't expect me to pity you when you put out a mediocre title and get called on it. That's just lame.

heretrix

It was a six, compared to the game's 7 average. The harsh tone they sensed was probably a result of how unoriginal the game was actually. It came out during a flurry of other shooters, and it was just another uninspired, 3rd person shooting adventure with a couple of movie character knockoffs with foul mouths as co-stars.

Mit

@dead_red_eyes: Yeah tell me about it another good example was RVS2. Dear fucking god that was a train wreck.

What happened since RSV was quite fun granted it was on the more arcade style of gameplay.

Witzbold

@MyLittlePwny: Has someone said they didn't play it because of the low score?

MehGinla

@Zinc666: Friend... I think your enthusiasm for something as awesome as Giantbomb can only be realized in the form of a tattoo. DO IT! DO IT MAN!!!

okenny :) ...building bridges (to hide under)

@MyLittlePwny: You can do dark without doing pointless. Die Hard is dark. Natural Born Killers is dark. Silence of the Lambs is dark. But none of them completely lacked a payoff. When your story is zero-sum, like Kane & Lynch's story, the payoff becomes solely the journey you took to get there. And unfortunately, the journey in this game is comically uneven. The title needed a better story to prop it up and keep it going. I liked the characters a lot-- I'm not saying they needed to be changed-- but I wanted the story to do something with them. Even depressing stories have moments that compel you to continue-- Kane & Lynch is just one shitty morass after another. They should have titled it Unrelenting Thankless Codependence: The Game instead.

Truth in advertising!

wild homes loves you but chooses darkness!

He's enjoying GiantBomb.com :D

angelangelv2

Gamers can be so sickening at times. It is as if there is some sense of spoiled entitlement underpinning all the ill informed criticism of Kane and Lynch... how dare these people try to make something great only to fall short of my expectations! How dare they!

The truth is more complicated. Kane and Lynch is adequate and worth playing. It isn't amazing, but it is not terrible either. In some areas there are some glimpses of excellence (the art direction, the characterization) and in some areas it really stinks of being amateurish or under-developed (the level design). However the basics are there, it works, and it isn't completely shit no matter what some gamers would have you believe. The game was better than the demo, so if you have only played the demo don't act like you know what you are talking about.

Making great games is hard, and even talented developers can make less than brilliant games, for a whole variety of reasons. Suffice it to say that if you forget the hype, the criticism, and manage to pick up K&L cheaply somewhere, I daresay you might actually have some fun with it. I did. It is pretty far from perfect, but not every game has to be a 10/10.

kiigan

preeeetttty words only mask the intent of why a 6.0 score was given. Go balls or something devs, pathetic... No one is gonna give you a good score cause they feel sorry for you.

ffmusicdj

PROTIP: If you want people to think you are talented and smart regardless of the feedback you get, don't throw a huge shitstorm and can people when you get such negative feedback.

MeanBob866

@heretrix: i disagree. i have yet to see a story on kane and lynch that doesn't mention the gamespot fiasco. the gerstmann thing and the way it went down immediately made kane and lynch, eidos, and the dev team suspect. that's the point, i feel.

and, i am kinda with okenny on this one. real people worked on this thing. sometimes stuff comes out half-baked. such is the creative process. and there are deadlines and such. and sometimes we fumble. the anonymity of the internet really allows us to be hideous to each other. it's too bad. i'm not gonna buy a game that sucks- good intentions aren't necessarily worth sixty bucks, but man, chill.

i know at the end of the day it's product, but seeing kane and lynch on the shelves after its release always made me feel kinda bad for the people who worked on it, and all the badness it represents- the "integrity" of the media and so forth. it was literally the industry punching bag. and it had seemed so promising.

bialia

I wanted to play the game... but there were better games coming out that I wanted more, so I bought those, and I can't buy EVERY game that I want. I'm not a freaking millionaire. Maybe later when it drops in price.

mordennight

I was pretty damn dissapointed with the game. Being a huge hitman fan i was hoping for alot with this game but it just didnt deliver in the way i hoped it would. I really hope theyre working on a bigger and badder hitman though, and then all will be forgiven.

snakepliskin

I remember renting this game once and returning it the next day because it was god awful.

The dev team should seriously contemplate about what it is that they did wrong in this game *which was just about everything* and NOT do it again.

xMaverick

I got to play the movie Heat in co-op, with a badass soundtrack.

I dug the shit out of it.

ChairmanRAPEAPE

A buddy and I rented it. I did my best to like it, while he complained the entire time. Eventually the Buddy gave up and we watched the movies we had rented. The Bourne series was a nice way to forget K&L.

Rurik

No dude, your game was shit, I've rented it.

MC2829

That's too bad that it was devastating for them, but a review is an opinion. I think that these guys are trying to ride off the Gerstmanngate controversy. Since he was fired because of that review, they want to go along with the image that the review was slanted against it for no reason. Unfortunately for IOI, most of the gaming community has sided with Jeff Gerstmann.

BluFire

@ffmusicdj:

See that's what I'm talking about. That childish sense of entitlement. There's no need for that kind of attitude. Show some respect, IOI are a great developer and have put out some great games over the years. Some talented people worked their balls off on K&L - and sure, it didn't turn out as great as we might have hoped, but at least they made something and got it finished.

kiigan

I was disappointed by Kane and Lynch largely because it was billed to be a co-op, squad based Third person shooter. However you often didn't have a squad to speak of, and when you did they were completely inept, running directly at whatever would kill them fastest... At which point you no longer had a squad to speak of.

I was expecting something that played like a co-op freedom fighters and got something.. mediocre that didn't hold up to its pitch and wasn't even up to the level of quality found in their previous third person shooter.

ANeM

If it was as polished as Blood Money, it might have done better. The game was announced way too early, for one, and rushed out the door.

No use crying about it - it still sold like crazy. Make another one and prove to people you can make a solid franchise out of this.

dunetiger reads kotaku, seems pleased

I never read the gamespot review. I never read any reviews. I have no idea what the scores were fro the game or what the scores would even men (whats a 6/10 mean anyway?! .. is that a pass?)

...but I have an opinion of the game. It unfortunately blows. I really wanted it to be good, but its really not.

The mainstream game press review system is (for the most part) full of it and needs to be shaken up by some candid, critical and objective reviewers but that crappy review system isn't to blame for this game being crappy and not doing well in sales. Most consumers don't read gamespot, as popular as it may be.

Rajio

I only played the demo and to be honest. I liked it. I had a bit of fun. It didn't make me wanna run out and buy the game, but I'd buy it as a budget title.

Orionsaint

Generally speaking, a game sucking is more likely than being exceptionally good. Besides, knowing the basic premise of the game alone would turn any normal person off, as the review states:

"Every single person you play as or encounter is despicable and wholly abrasive; thus, it'll probably be tough for you to find anyone to latch onto and care about, even if you typically go for this sort of crime drama on TV or in movies."

ChiChi_BBQ

Who gives a fuck, this is STILL alive!? It was on review, one mans opinion, whats the big effing deal. The game sucked, period, it got lower scores too, and because all those K&L ads were on the site, as well as the connections with edios/GS, a bad review for the game wasn't taken lightly.

If it was IGN or, hell, Kotaku, it would have been a normal thing. The game sucked, I would have gave it a 7 but 6 seems accurate.

Sentry

Give me a good Hitman game and all will be forgiven.

LittleBigPlaneteer

I enjoyed it. I liked the characters and the story. The mechanics were a bit iffy sometime, but honestly i didnt go into it expecting perfect. IO makes games like this i dont know why anyone was surprised. I mean go back and play the Hitman games. I absolutely love hitman but the early ones are marred by terrible controls. Yet i still put hours and hours into them. Kane and Lynch was much similar in that regard. A great story/concept marred by bad mechanics. I also think hes right in that the vast majority of the people who say oh yeah that game was terrible didnt actually play it.

Detre

I know I returned the game unopened after multiple reviews. Maybe I'll try it again later.

They shouldn't blame its sales on the review. It is their job to tell us if the game is terrible, so we won't be surprised if we buy it anyway.

Schmatz

Like a hammer? seriously? Did the Dev team even play the end product? This game could have been great - but them game play, story, control came into the mix and it collapsed. I remember renting and really wanting to like it - really, really, wanted to like it. If I remember correctly, I stopped playing when the game decided to just jump into Cuba or South America.

Also, I'm anal when it comes to playing and saving games - but I deleted this from my 360 after that South American mission.

Seriously, development team, do you really think you were hit by a hammer? Seriously?

xMindPrintsx

I like when he says that many reviews range from 7.0 - 10... 10. I'm pretty sure metacritic had this game at around a 6-6.5 avg and nothing past 7.5-8 ish.

Mpalm.

Everyone who takes part in a creative, constructive process like this hates to see their work flamed. Especially when you pour in your passion for little pay and long hours. However, just because you worked hard on something doesn't mean it's great, or even good. In fact, because you work on something you should know better than anyone whether it's good or not.

In the movie industry, they have a very specific way of dealing with movies the company realizes are utter crap. It's called direct-to-video. Just because the video game industry doesn't have an equivalent doesn't mean developers can't recognize when their product is not great, or at the very least, finished.

Rasz-42

The gamespot reviewer was just the type of reviewer who loves to give things bad reviews. Mainly because they want controversy. In fact, his rode that controversy for some time after getting canned. Maybe gamespot fired him because he deserved it. Alot of his other reviews tend to be hate on titles everyone knew where going to be big.

Again, this is just speculation.

Lockgar

I have played the game and yes, it IS aweful!

AuthenticM

You know, Kane & Lynch wasn't all that bad. Wasn't great, wasn't horrible. It's a prime example of unfulfilled potential.

metalgear08

so why is the guy on the left holding the scope of his rifle up to his blind eye?

Frodnonnag

Hit you like a hammer? Aonder how poor Jeff felt when he got fired because of your douchebag game.

Murdoc

Nice try Kurup, but most of us tried the demo so we know from first hand experience that the game sucks.

XbhaskarX

I'll give you one more chance Kotaku.. seriously.

Conspiracy Theory? I don't call firing the Reviewer and then the massive amount of people that quit after evidence of a "theory".

There is even some more irony to be had, upper-management changed to some greasy-type that was known for his questionable business tactics about a year before this incident.

That is just a taste of the cherry sirs.

Momentarylogic

to be fair, Kane and Lynch was not much different than Call of Duty 2 or 3: you run a bit, shoot at people who will only show a part of their body every 5 seconds, run a bit, shoot, run a bit.

I didn't like it a lot but I didn't dislike it either. I simply lost it when we ended up in the jungle, that was a bad decision.

The game was supposed to be like Heat, not Platoon damnit.

interstate78

It has a 67 on gamerankings, which means people other then Gerstmann thought it was mediocre as well.

ShadowFFVI

@relax_guy: I dunno, I liked the loose feel personally. It made the game feel a little more hectic, which added to the tone of it.

metalgear08

the problem with kain and lynch is that it tried desperatley to be a narrative driven game. Sadly, the plot was barley there.

also, the aiming mechanics were a little unpolished.

generally it just felt really unfinished. It's too bad, because it could've been a great one.

relax_guy

@Mpalm.: He was referring to the 4 Point Scale on GameSpot. Basically, the score range for a hyped, advertised game is 6-10, with 6 essentially being equivalent to 0. This game got that dreaded 6, which essentially doomed it.

metalgear08

No, the game was utter crap. I base that on the god-awful demo.

JAcK0R

Given the gamerankings and metacritic average, the gamespot review was actually perfectly in line with what the the game really is: something that isn't really worth playing, let alone buying. Gerstmann was right on the money. I never thought developers would take any review so personally either because in life, when you take anything too personally, it has more effect on you than it should. Grown ups apparently developers are not.

Infallible

@Momentarylogic: I'm sure they're on the edge of their seat as to what you'll do.

It's quite silly to base your entire demeanor and mood on one review, which it seems they did here..

Spoony Bard

Hell, Zone of enders, first game was mediocre, but Zone of Enders 2 was definitely a masterpiece.

Thomaticus

you know, I played this game, I didn't read any reviews. Overall, I enjoyed the game. Now I feel that the devs could have done better with the controls. This franchise has much potential and Kane and Lynch can be a triple A title. I love the characters, and I enjoyed the story. I hope that that give the game a bigger and better sequel. I'd love to play this as a 4 player online co-op, and 2 player local.

Thomaticus

@Lockgar:

Then I advice you to read up on facts instead of spouting errouneous speculation

TeflonBilly

@kiigan:

I just finished up at the toilet, should I be commended for that?
This guy needs to shut his face and leave that dissapointment behind him. I had high hopes for K&L and hoped it would have kind of a Heat feel to it.

What I got instead was broken and not fun gameplay, idiotic storyline, unlikeable characters and to top it all off a bad taste in my mouth stemming from not only the Gerstmann incident, but their blatant lying on their website about the games praise.

He should feel bad and I'm shocked and appaled that more deserving heads weren't rolled in the wake of that game. But it all comes down to the bottom dollar doesn't it? IT SOLD A MILLION! Nevermind having integrity or treating the artform with any dignity.

Army Of Two, Gears Of War, hell even that bank robbing mission in GTA4 did any number of things this game set out to do, only better. So what I advice mr Kudrup to do is to shut our faces, by making a good game. I would love that.

TeflonBilly

If the game was worth more than a 6.0, it wouldn't have been sitting in the bargain bin at target for $8 only 60 days after it came out.

psychicfriend

Just for the sake of it, I'll download the demo tonight and see if I enjoy it better than Iron Man, which got a 5.5 in Gamespot. And please note, I HAVE been playing Iron Man on the hard difficulty, past the 50% mark, where the gameplay gets ridiculously hard, and I'm still entertained, so it's not like I'm totally anal and jaded about current gaming.

ChiChi_BBQ

I played this game before I even heard of any of the Gamespot malarky, and I gotta say, right around 6 feels right, maybe 6.5. The graphics were miserable, the soundtrack felt absent, most of the scenes' only sound being gunfire. The AI was ok, except when they'd get stuck on a corner. The story, while cool at first, felt like I wasn't a part of it at all, and was just watching everything happen. And, my favorite, the controls and gameplay feel totally broken. Checkpoints that randomly forget where you were? The strange ability to give a weapon to a friend? That's ok, I'd have liked a story that isn't about everybody being a dick all the time to everybody, oh and swearing at least twice per sentence.

Talleh

I didn't play Kane&Lynch, and I NEVER will, because your CRAPPY game got my favorite fat guy reviewer fired. (I haven't been back to gamespot.com since).

I will NEVER buy a game from IO or Eidos, and that includes any and all Laura Croft games. Because you fucking pissed me off!

[www.giantbomb.com]

jamBot

Personaly I liked the charactors, but to me, this would make a much better movie than a game, cause video games have a hard time to pick out charactor, liek say a movie like pulp fiction or reservior dogs wouldnt transalte well in a game, cause its the subtile things in the charactors that make it, which is almost inmpoosible in a game.

Omniel

So this guy on the right is Jamie from Mythbuster after he dropped the show and gone on a killing spree, because one of his favorite myth isn't the fact. =P

Shachihoko

All can be forgiven (mostly) if they make a new Hitman game and it comes out better than Blood Money and more akin to Contracts.

DarkGeneral

Im sorry i bought this game and it deserved about a 3.

On of the worst games ive EVER played.

I couldnt play coop on pc withough SPLITSCREEN USING A 360 CONTROLLER FFS. ON PC.

wtf?

an issue that was NEVER FIXED.

Plus (go check out the forums) there are promises from devs right from release saying a patch is 'in the very final stages/almost done etc etc' for about 12 months. A patch which never came.

Thanks.

NovaBlack

Your game sucked, period.

All will be well if you make a great Hitman game and donate an amount of the game sales to Giantbomb. But then again you're a bunch of corporate cocksuckers, right IO?

garytek

The game is awful and geff was right, he spoke the truth and got fired. It is an crap game, 6.0 is an to good score.

xiked

@ Murdoc
'Hit you like a hammer? Aonder how poor Jeff felt when he got fired because of your douchebag game.'

you sir.. have just won epic.

NovaBlack

"when many reviews range from 7.0 to 10" I don't really know where that comes from. It's roughly 6,5 on Metacritic and Gamerankings so I suppose Gamespot's rating was pretty close to average.

slanny

someone wrote a an article - should be someone wrote an article, of course....good job no-one reviews my posts...5/10....

RedEye

I am not a big fan of reviews.
Being a game developer, reading a piece written by someone who ( as far as you know ) has no idea how hard it is or how long it takes to make a game puts me off. So I try not to look at any, of games I have made or any other ones.
And to all the people here who say 'your game was sh*t', just take a minute to think how you would feel if in your job every 12 - 18 months someone wrote a an article in the press about how well you did your job.
Fine, if you don't like a game, don't buy it. But mindlessly slagging off someones work is a bit off.

RedEye

Bad game, I mean I played Co-op once because it was a rainy day and we had no other co-op games to play and it was awful.

I mean to this day I don't understand what exactly the story was. Too clunky to this day.

The Kane & Lynch thing really showed gamers just how messed up reviewing games are. Gametrailers did a show on reviewing games where the PR people were talking about how they actually phone up places like Gamespot and IGN and ask them why they picked a certain person to review there games.

This article is very "boo hoo" they should learn from there mistakes and make a better sequel not complain that the game is good and everyone else is wrong

Lanowar

So what he's saying is that people shouldn't judge if they want to play a game based on the review (because that's someone else's (professional) opinion), they should just play the game to see whether they want to play the game.

Sure there are demo's out there but a demo is only really effective if someone's in two minds about a game. If I've read several reviews (from reviewers I value the opinion of) and they all seem to state that the game is a turkey then I won't be giving the game any more attention. If I'm not sure and the game is getting varied reviews then I rely on a demo or rental to decide whether to buy a title, I don't think I'm unusual in that.

Generally I think the reviewers do a very important job and I'd have bought a lot more crap over the years if they weren't around. Developers can moan and whine all they like (hay that's what movie directors do) but at the end of the day reviews are there for discerning consumers not over-sensitive creators.

TokeYo

@RedEye:

How is an informed opinion considered "slagging off"
Say I was a food critic and was supposed to review a new hamburger place, but instead of ketchup, I find that they've decided to use marshmallow fluff instead.
Now, I eat said burger and find it to be completely sickening. I then tell people to steer away due to the complete grossness of this burger.
Oh yeah, and I'm not some geek of the street. I've been reviewing burgers for 11 years.
This was something ENTIRELY different then some 12 year old from GameFAQS who pans the game since it didn't have enough hookers.

Let's shy away from the reviewers for a sec, you make it sound like noone should critique your game at all since it's your creation. Sounds like that's what IO did, cause I must believe the playtesters pointed out the horrible inadquecies in everything from the aiming to the cover mechanic. But apparently they were too good to listen and instead shipped off a buggy piece of shit.

I recommend everybdoy to have a look at former EGM editors Dan Hsu and Crispin Boyer's new blog. Hsu is writing an excellent multi part article about the going ons behind closed doors in the corporate world of games reviews.

[sorethumbsblog.com]

And to you RedEye, I hope I don't have the misfortune of stumbling over any of your socalled works if that's the attitude you have towards your craft.

TeflonBilly

Wasnt there a controversy involving the Kane and Lynch team malforming review scores on their website?

Bigbobo

...actually... seems like lair all over again...

Wasted_Paper_Cow

Because of the mishap of gamespot.com, I actually refuse to play this game. I know it's shit, and to come from the same guys who do the hitman games (which were really good games), this is just horrible.
From what I understand (and this is coming from customers, not just reviewers) that the game is just rushed out, no one dies from a headshot, the AI is all sorts of messed up, and nothing works as it should.

If those reasons aren't good enough, then I don't know what is

Wasted_Paper_Cow

@Wasted_Paper_Cow: The difference is Lair actually looked nice.

Witzbold

Jesus... get over it you babies. You're in the industry of building entertainment, telling stories and creating art, and just like any art it gets critiqued.

The fact of the matter is that the game was rubbish. A 6.0 out of ten is the score they deserved, assuming one is supportive of the whole concept of a numbered score.

Werrick

I must say i really liked Kane & Lynch. The demo was quite good. Unfortunatly i haven't bought it... yet.

Sandro_the_Necromancer

@Witzbold: It looked like crap, literally. They say GoW looks grey and bland. Lair looked like something someone had kept in their intestines for days, until it was finally released in all its smelly awfulness.

InsaneBastard

It was not a horrible game, but certainly not good either. It had a LOT of flaws and felt mediocre.

6.0 was warranted, although I think 5.0 would've been more correct. Maybe even as low as 4.5 or 4. I can't decide.

I had a hard time understanding that this game came from the Hitman team!

I do feel sorry for the dev team, I really do. It's never fun to receive harsh criticism. But I'm also astounded by the fact that the dev team didn't seem to have a single clue what the problem was.

Did they think it was a 10?

InsaneBastard

I completely back up Jeff Gerstmann on this one. The game was sloppy. I love how Jeff pointed out that when you would tell your A.I. squad mates to do something, they'd just say "Fuck you."

That's basically the take away message this game sent to anyone who really tried to enjoy it.

DugDawg

The game was good in my opinion, awesome gritty story. Too bad it gets bashed by most people without them even trying the game, because of that childish idiot at gamespot

Taheen

I just played through this game (mostly co-op) and it is fun. Sure there are some issues, but I give it major props for setting its stages in some really intense scenarios. The dialogue and interplay between all the characters was funny. The multiplayer is a nice change of pace from constant deathmatch. I would definitely rate it in an 8 range instead of a 6.

Heidern

6.0 was actually pretty generous. I would have given it a 4 or 5. The dev team and its management needs to go play some other great games and then go play their game again. Forgettable characters, an inability to stand out from the crowd, and generic gameplay isn't going to win you any favors.

But, of course, these failures _must_ be someone else's fault...right? Accomplished teams don't make crappy games now do they? /sarcasm

BigDragon

The game was bad. Played it from start to finish and saw both endings. A total mess, gameplay and story-wise. Anyone who thinks this is a good game should play more genuinely good games.

VicViper

You know, I've heard the PC version plays much better than the consoles versions do.

Mommar

Wow, wtf?

Poor game developer has to face a critical review? That's the news these days? Where have we ended up?

Maybe there should be a re-adjustment of scores. Every damn wannabe-AAA title that gets advertised enough gets a 9 these days.

6 is above average. They should be happy they got that.

lumpi

Maybe they should have tried to create a better game.
Here's a hint to get you started. People like likable characters.

LordAndrew

I think I read the Gerstman review well after playing the game from hearing about the whole bru-ha-ha off of Shacknews.

The game was pretty bad and I thought Gerstman's review was pretty accurate.

Sorry Eidos, you don't get to "pass the buck" on this lame duck.

axiomatic

Next to Stoner's Pot Palace, this game was the worst case of false advertising ever.

ThickSkinned

The only thing this mess made me do was to hate Gerstmann...

Daisuash

Uh, on the Metacritic page for the 360 version I count a grand total of four reviews that are scored 80 or above.

The game wasn't terrible, just forgettable, and I don't know how you can blame that on a single reviewer when he was hardly the only one to pan it.

Too many developers just want an 8 for effort these days. Not while games are $60 apiece, folks.

Silverbackne

Stop whining when people don't enjoy your product. I have never heard Ford complain because Auto Trader didn't like the F 150. Adapt and overcome.

UncleAndross

VIVA LA GERTSMAN

UncleAndross

Composure, Jens Peter Kurup. Way to show your professionalism. So your game didn't review well, big deal, you sold a million copies! That itself should shut people's opinions.
If you want to get upset at someone, get upset at Eidos for not giving you enough time to iron out some of the issues.
Take the r-tard comments/opinions with a grain of salt, and keep them in mind as you work on your new project...get pissed, get angry, fuel that development drive to shut these idiots up with a kick-ass product. /pep talk

opt2not

I got the demo, didn't like it, deleted. I really wish people would tell it like it is and start realizing not every game is going to get 10's from everybody, everyone is different.

zombie16thc

@Witzbold: yea, that is until i jumped on and my dragon started to act like a small child with ADHD, and telling him to color in the lines... plus i did have a rouge squadron flashback... just switch everything over...

Wasted_Paper_Cow

My desire not to touch the game at all had nothing to do with the Gamespot review since I never saw it. Back then, the only places I usually read the reviews of are Edge, Eurogamer & PC Gamer UK. And if I was honest, I had a liking to the story concept during all the previews.

No, my desire not to touch the game had everything to do with what happened post-review. After Gertsmanngate, the game was forever tainted goods. I don't know whether it's the Second Coming in game form, but I think I'd analyse the finer points of Daikatana before I do K&L.

It's a bit of a shame for IO, but they can credit Gamespot & Eidos for the game not doing as well as it could've.

Jonax

Gerstmann's status as the Lester Bangs of game journalism just became cemented.

Well done, you son of a bitch, well done.

Jonaconda

eh i liked it, i dont really see what was so bad about it, there are MUCH worse games out there, this is actually one of my fav. this generation

pandafresh

@TeflonBilly:

You are entitled to your idiotic and wrong opinions.

"This guy needs to shut his face and leave that dissapointment behind him. I had high hopes for K&L and hoped it would have kind of a Heat feel to it."

The guy answered a question that was put to him directly. Yeah, how dare he! And how dare he make a different game from the one you had in your head! Really, the nerve.

"What I got instead was broken and not fun gameplay, idiotic storyline, unlikeable characters and to top it all off a bad taste in my mouth stemming from not only the Gerstmann incident, but their blatant lying on their website about the games praise."

Where does Kotaku find these commenters? The website stuff has nothing to do with the developers of the game. As for the quality of the game itself, you have your views and I have mine. I played it through to the end and enjoyed it, though it had some flaws as every game does. Personally I thought the characters were great.

"So what I advice mr Kudrup to do is to shut our faces, by making a good game. I would love that."

That's useful advice, I'm writing it down. How many great games have you made by the way, just so I get a sense of the merit of your views?

kiigan

@kiigan:

I should just quote one of these deep and fantastic characters in K&L and say "FUCK YOU!", but that wouldn't be very constructive would it?

I'll concede that the developers had no say in the blatant lying around this game and they were probably innocent bystanders in that case. I do genuinely feel bad that they were caught up in that whirlwind, hence why I'm shocked we never heard of any reprecussions due to the blatant lies presented by Eidos.

The fact of the matter is that whining about a totally justified review just reeks of not being able to understand the criticism. I read the entire interview and he says that the reviews of K&L has made them playtest their games more. I would certainly hope so!

The thing I was trying to say was that this suggests that IO isn't in the business of making a great game, just shitting out hyped up lowest common denominator bullshit in the vein of flicks like Meet The Spartans and Disaster Movie. Pardon me for having a modicum of faith that they are taking pride in making a good game.

As for my credentials in game developing to critique this game? Congratulations on a insipidly stupid response! What, since I didn't record Master Of Puppets, I can't say that St. Anger was sounded like a cat getting beat up in a trashcan? Since I didn't direct Donnie Darko, I can't say that Southland Tales was a jumbled mess?

You complain about gamers having a sense of entitlement that this game should have been good. So we should have no scrutiny about games? Just smile wide and be happy we got anything at all?

What I wanna say to mr Kudrup is, don't serve me a shit sandwich and call it a filet mignon.

TeflonBilly