Io Devs: We Know Nothing About "Gerstmann-Gate"

Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days

Over two years ago, you may recall the GameSpot/Gerstmann/Eidos fiasco that, admittedly, got way out of hand. Well, as Io Interactive prepares to deliver their anticipated sequel to Kane & Lynch - supposedly the catalyst for that ordeal - the developer wishes to toss in their two cents.

If you don't remember, here's what allegedly happened: GameSpot and many other sources advertised the hell out of Kane & Lynch, which didn't really meet our lofty expectations. GameSpot handed out one of the lowest scores around and this kinda contrasted with those full-page ads we saw on the site prior to the game's release. Not long after, the guy who reviewed the game - Jeff Gerstmann - left GameSpot for "mysterious reasons," although the belief was he was fired for not changing his review. See, the theory was that Eidos pressured GameSpot and Gerstmann to alter the score, but Gerstmann refused and was subsequently handed his walking papers. But according to VideoGamer.com, Io's Carsten Lund and Hakan Abrak think the whole thing got blown out of proportion. Said Lund, director for Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days:

"The fact that there was this whole scandal, the whole Gerstmann-gate thing, and the fact that it got mixed reviews are two different things. The Gerstmann-gate thing we know nothing about, actually. We know as little as you guys might know. We were watching from the sidelines as developers, and it was sad. It was not really nice, but we couldn't do anything about that. So there's actually nothing for us to say.

The fact that we got mixed reviews, of course we could do something about that. That is what we have been addressing with this title."

Abrak added that they've been nothing more than bystanders throughout this whole thing, and it "kind of got out of hand." He also freely admitted that the first game "had some problems with the mechanics" and since, the team has "spent a lot of time trying to fix it this time around." We're definitely encouraged by what we've seen and heard thus far; feel free to read our preview. For our part, we'll admit journalists definitely worked hard to make this a bigger deal than it probably was, and we admit that all of us in the industry are prone to that. But I guess our defense is, do you want the story, or not? If you say "no," you're likely lying through your teeth...

1/15/2010 9:31:07 PM Ben Dutka

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