Kane & Lynch: gamers liked it more than critics did, game director speaks up
Although Kane & Lynch: Dead Men wasn’t a hit with critics, and despite being the center of one of gaming’s more public controversies, a survey reveals that most of those who played the game actually enjoyed it. More than the reviewers did, at least. Jens Peter Kurup, director of the game, has a chance to speak his mind about how the game was received by critics, and even speaks a bit about the whole Gerstmann gate hullabaloo.
Although Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360) wasn’t a hit with critics, and despite being the center of one of gaming’s more public controversies, a survey of 900 gamers reveals that most of those who played the game actually enjoyed it. More than the reviewers did, at least.
Makes you wonder just how much reviews can go to influence your decision to buy a game.
Jens Peter Kurup, director of the game, was recently interviewed by GamesRadar on how it feels to develop a game that critics didn’t take well to. Kurup gave some frank and honest answers, and even speaks a bit on the whole Gerstmann Gate hullabaloo.
Kurup relates how the game received early lukewarm reviews – and good ones as well – and that he and the team took it professionally, using them to take the franchise forward. Then came Gerstmann Gate:
[…] 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 thereÂ’s anything the ‘net loves, itÂ’s a good conspiracy.
[…] I still feel it, because when I meet somebody who hasnÂ’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.
Except for that, I feel fine today, and the franchise is doing well. Sales have been okay, the movie deal is moving along nicely, and most importantly weÂ’ve learned a lot from K&L, and it seems that itÂ’s all being put to use in our future products.
Aside from this though, he took other reviews pretty well, and even agrees with some of them. He particularly agrees with problems with the controls. He doesn’t, however, agree with how reviewers took to the characters of Kane and Lynch:
I do however not agree with the critics that simply just didnÂ’t like the characters or the story. They didnÂ’t like the characters as people and had problems relating to them.
If you want to mirror your happy face in shining knight’s armour then Kane and Lynch 1 isnÂ’t the place to look, and people have every right to dislike that. I just donÂ’t agree. IÂ’m sick of likeable characters. I like Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven. IÂ’m done with Mel Gibson in the Lethal Weapons.
So have you played Kane & Lynch yet? Did you like it?
Related Articles:
- Kane and Lynch: Dead Men ads banned
- GameSpot talks Gerstmann, says Eidos did not cause termination
- Jeff Gerstmann talks about Kane and Lynch issue, career options
Via GamesRadar
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