14 DAY TRIAL // Well, now that Jeff Gerstmann's Kane & Lynch video review is available for everyone to see (check it out at the bottom of this piece of news), things tend to get a bit more clear. Only a bit though, since neither Eidos, nor Gerstmann himself have gone public on this burning issue that is who or what led to Jeff's leaving the renowned video games publication?
On a scale of 1 to 5, I'd personally give this situation a 6.0 for its stinkyness. If it is confirmed that Jeff was indeed forced to leave the department, or that his leaving Gamespot has anything to do with that bad review, we can understand why. Watching the video, I was kind of puzzled to see that everything Jeff was pointing out to is quite true. Most of the negative stuff regarding gameplay is indeed there, but why did Jeff have to go and say those last words...?
Leaving aside that Gerstmann starts out with a more-than-negative statement (Kane & Lynch: Dead Men is an ugly, ugly game") which sums up the whole experience (graphically, but also from a gameplay point of view), the reviewer emphasizes that gamers wanting to have a go with Eidos' action title should opt for it "without paying full price." What's up with that?! No one is that stupid, or confident, to think that in making such a statement the game's publisher would just live with it and move on to a more ambitious project.
That's why it pretty much looks as if Gerstmann had it all figured out. I wouldn't be surprised to see Jeff finally revealing that he felt it was time to leave the website and wanted to do so in style. This time around, Eidos couldn't be more tight with Gamespot - throwing in money for the Kane & Linch ads and stuff, so for Gerstmann to just boast out saying "it's probably not worth the purchase," it would take a lot of pills and alcohol to make him forget who's paying the big bucks for some positive words about a game.
Again, Jeff's awarding Kane & Lynch Dead Men a 6 point nothing, starting out his review with a double "ugly" emphasis on the game's overall offerings, and ending it with telling gamers it's "probably" not worth the buy, should really get people thinking (not passing any hints). But until some official word from either side surfaces, all we can do is speculate. Stay tuned, we promise to update this story as soon as someone speaks their mind.