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Kane & Lynch boss: Gamespot review "hit like a hammer"

Speaking to GamesRadar, Kane & Lynch director Jens Peter Kurup has spoken out about the effect of the now infamous Gamespot review of his game, saying that the team took it hard.

"GameSpot reviewed the game," he said, "and [the team] didn’t like it one bit.

"I’m not quite sure why, but I remember that review hit the team like a hammer. You can just 'absorb' a bad score but there was something in the tone of that review that was tough on people, and on me."

The 6/10 Gamespot review was written by Jeff Gerstmann, after which the writer was fired from the site, a move that created one of the unholiest internet shitstorms in gaming history.

"It’s a review that I would like to forget, but unfortunately the GameSpot review had its own wicked little life and Eidos, Gamespot and of course the game got entangled in what I guess is best described as a conspiracy theory. And if there’s anything the 'net loves, it’s a good conspiracy," Kurup added.

"It was surreal to sit in Copenhagen and watch the game get shredded in forums for reasons and feelings that didn’t all seem entirely based on the game itself.

"I know this might sound like a sissy song of “Boo-hoo! This isn’t fair” and other unproductive thoughts, but you asked me how I felt and I did feel like that for a couple of weeks after the GameSpot review. Pathetic I know, but in glimpses I still feel it, because when I meet somebody who hasn’t played the game, I can be fairly sure that his or her opinion is based on the GameSpot review. It just won't go away."

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Kane & Lynch: Dead Men

PS3, Xbox 360, PC

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Patrick Garratt

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Patrick Garratt is a games media legend - and not just by reputation. He was named as such in the UK's 'Games Media Awards', the equivalent of a lifetime achievement award. After garnering experience on countless gaming magazines, he joined Eurogamer and later split from that brand to create VG247, putting the site on the map with fast, 24-hour a day coverage, and assembling the site's earliest editorial teams. He retired from VG247, and the games industry, in 2017.

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