Generally, we would suspect that any unfavourable review of one's video game creation would be quite the bum out. In the case of IO Interactive's Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, however, team members say that GameSpot's damning review of the Eidos published crime epic knocked the wind out of them and that being caught up in the "conspiracy theory" brouhaha that surrounded the review was "surreal".

Jens Peter Kurup, Director of Kane & Lynch at IO, tells GamesRadar that "there was something in the tone of that review that was tough on people, and on me".

Calling the GameSpot thrashing of Kane & Lynch — a nasty 6.0, when many reviews range from 7.0 to 10 — "a review that I would like to forget", Kurup is surprisingly honest in his feelings about the judgement.

Read More »

James Yu over at GameSpot has just posted an excellent hands-on comparison of the old Sony PSP 2000 model and the shiny new PSP 3000, announced just last week at the Games Convention in Leipzig. While we've already posted the comparison that showed up on Famitsu, the GameSpot article has a few things going for it. More comparison photos of the screen, which looks to be where the biggest noticeable differences lie, and the fact that James writes in easy-to-understand English, always appreciated by us English-exclusive humans like myself. Hit the link below for the full skinny on what has changed in obsessive detail, right down to the surface textures of the plastic.

Sony PSP 3000 Hands-On [GameSpot]

In-game ad company Double Fusion announced a promotion and two new management hires today: Double Fine's own Julie Shumaker will now oversee the company's newly formed Core Games Group as general manager and former VP of games at CNET Joshua Larson has been brought on as Vice President of Business Development, and former GameTrust CFO and COO Glen Sussman is now Double's Fusion's CFO.

Joshua Larson, Joshua Larson, Josh Larson? That's right, at CNET he was involved in GameSpot business strategy, and he was apparently involved in the site's "Gerstmann-gate" brouhaha. This controversy supposedly lead to the controversial firing of long-time staffer Jeff Gerstmann (pictured0. After that incident, other senior GameSpotters like Frank Provo, Brad Shoemaker, Ryan Davis and Jason Ocampo all left the site. Josh Larson was sacked last April. According to an anonymous "gamespot" commented at sister site Valleywag, Larson was "a suit [...] who had no editorial experience and was only involved on the business side of things".

And now Joshua Larson is working in advertising. In-game advertising. Why was he ever working in editorial?

GameSpot's 'Gerstmann-gate' VP Heads to Double Fusion [GameDaily] [Pic]

Want to get in on the ground floor of an upcoming post-apocalyptic MMOG? Fallen Earth is going into alpha testing this Thursday the 14th, and Icarus Studios want to give you a chance to help them test out their game. Sign ups are being handled via a rather primitive GameSpot page, meaning you'll have to have signed up for a free subscription in order to participate, and then you'll have to meet their criteria in order to actually be selected, but nothing worthwhile is ever easy.

Fallen Earth Project Manager Colin Dwan said, "During the Alpha test phase, testers will be focused into specific towns so we can have miniature stress tests each week. They will be able to experience all of our game systems including missions, combat, crafting, scavenging, economy, and vehicles. We are extremely excited to move from general content creation to game balance and bug fixing."

Incidentally the game date is 2145 and their apocalypse of choice is a plague named Shiva that wiped out 99% of the population. Always good to know which post-apocalyptic scenario we are working with. Hit the jump for full details on the alpha sign ups.

Read More »

Don't you just love the name Mount and Blade? It's just so functional - as though Ernest Hemingway was moonlighting as a game titler.

It's just you, your horse and some mounted medieval combat. They may as well call it Stabby Stabby Horse Riding.

The game offers PC owners some first or third-person single player fighting with an RPG bent as the player guides their horsey around a sandbox environment, cutting a swathe and trading in what is reckoned to be a complex economic system. A bit like GTA with horses, I suppose.

If this tickles your fancy and you can't wait until mid September for the full release, you can sign up for the game's open beta via Gamespot.

Mount & Blade Exclusive Beta [Gamespot UK]

C-list celebrities hit E3 [The Cut Scene]

Former GameSpot reviewer Jeff Gerstmann is no stranger to controversy. His 8.9 scoring of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess was met with unhappy campers, while his 6.0 Kane & Lynch review *might* have cost him his job. But does Gerstmann have any regrets? From MTV Multiplayer:

"I'm at a point where I rarely second guess what I think about a game upon finishing it," Gerstmann told me. He said he's long gotten over the doubt that could set in "when you are facing the raging fury of the Internet." He used to get death threats about some of his scores. "Now that stuff just rolls off. It's the ranting of insane people, which you could say about a lot of internet stuff."

I've always thought that some people take personal offense to reviews. They are just opinions. Everyone's got one.

The Art of Not Second Guessing [Multiplayer]

Anyone up for an attempt at a 360 v PS3 graphics showdown? I'm out, had my fill of these by around 1994, but if you're curious, read on. GameSpot have attempted to settle which system has the better graphics by comparing a bunch of games, blending some screenshots together into a single image then providing some accompanying notes. One-eyed fanboys will no doubt find a way to convince themselves of their system's superiority, but cooler heads know that if you can pick up any differences - let alone major ones - from the tiny screens they've provided, best case, you're most likely a fibber. Worst case, a liar.

Graphics Comparison [GameSpot]

CBS Corporation just announced an agreement to buy CNET for $US 1.8 billion dollars. Through the deal, all of CNET's network sites, including GameSpot, TV.com mp3.com, CNET news.com, UrbanBaby, CHOW, Search.com, BNET, MySimon and TechRepublic all become property of CBS.

CBS' existing online network already includes CBS.com, CBSSports.com, CBSCollegeSports.com, MaxPreps.com, CBSNews.com, last.fm, Wallstrip, MobLogic, and the CBS Radio and CBS Television Stations digital media
platforms. CBS says its distribution net, the Audience Network, comprises 300 partner sites and reaches 82% of U.S. web users.

"CNET Networks operates some of the most important premium online brands, serving the most sought after online audiences," said CNET CEO Neil Ashe. "Today's announcement brings together two organisations that complement each other and working with Leslie, Quincy and the talented people at CBS, we look forward to taking our business and our brands to the next level."

Full announcement follows the jump.

Read More »

Some of the more eagle-eyed/paranoid dwellers from the darkest recesses of the internet discovered a few days back that when GameSpot's GTA IV score was first spotted, it was given a score of 9.5, then quickly "changed" to a perfect 10. I don't need to tell you there was much tin-foil-hattery surrounding the possible causes for this. Well, according to GameSpot's EIC Ricardo Torres, it was all down to a bug:

...there was a bug in our publishing system on Monday that caused the incorrect score for GTAIV, a 9.5, to appear for on some pages for a while. This happened hours before we posted the actual score with the review, a 10. This has all led to a lot of talk and speculation so I'm going to set things straight, short answer: it's not true.

Read More »