Sad to see him go as well. Even when I might not always agree with this reviews, I’ve always respected his opinion. He pretty much is Gamespot to me and I don’t think nearly as highly of most of the other staff there. I don’t really care for Gerstmann in particular and if he becomes EIC there now then I doubt I’ll put any more stock into GS’s opinions than IGN’s.
I hate that. Hate it with a passion.
I don’t get it, but it’s probably better that way.
Weak, Greg’s on my short list of favorite reviewers/writers. I’m not quite so down on Gerstmann as a lot of you, but it’s definitely a setback for GS, which is far and away the site I visit most for reviews. Best of luck to Greg.
Why DOES everyone hate Gerstmann?
Ah damn, Greg (and GameSpot in general) is my favorite reviewer. Especially enjoyed his video reviews and the Oblivion 24hr review session montage. But kudos on the new gig!
Should be interesting to see how GameSpot reviews the games he works on. Awkward? ;)
I bet he’s going to work on an MMO. Don’t know why I think this, but I do.
I don’t hate him but I find him obnoxious and overbearing on the GS podcasts. As far as his reviews go, I just don’t have similar tastes to him.
8.8
Also, complaining that Wii Bowling is nothing like real bowling while flicking his wrist from the couch. EDIT: Or was that golf? He played them both from the couch, but he only made that comment about one of them.
Kasavin got traded for Jose Liz and full concession rights to Tyson brand chicken nuggets.
A stunning move for IGN.
Have you seen the crappy podiums Greg’s had to put up with? Jose would go crazy there.
edit: Damn you and your edits.
Troy
Well it sounds like he’s going to work on a prexisting franchise. Bethesda and Fallout is my random gues.
Dolphins HC job is my guess.
Speaking of the Dolphins HC job, did Saban’s exit remind anyone else of Nixon?
What with the plane and all?
/derail
Seriously, though. Kasavin was a good reviewer and (IMO) gave GameSpot a lot of credibility. You could tell that, unlike some folks at other websites, he actually played the games he was reviewing.
They are way over on the other coast from him though. Would be about as likely Bioware then.
I would guess it’s something in CA. And probably not Blizzard, or he would have said “franchises”.
An ode to a Kasavin Review!
Paragraph of negative points.
Paragraph of negative points.
Paragraph of negative points.
Small list of good things.
9.0
Obviously I can only speak for myself but both he and Alex Navarro have this glib/bored affectation they adopt in their reviews and other media pieces thats really annoying unless its a title from an influential developer and/or publisher. Neither seem to be thorough in reviewing traditional genres like FPS/RTS titles. For instance, I wrote to Navarro about a significant omission in his review of that crappy shooter from DE “Warpath”. He completely ignored the the weapon upgrading system. When I informed him of this, he gave a smug reply that he was aware of it but felt it had nothing to do with the gameplay. It was obvious he never played the game fully or just completely flaked as the upgrade system was central to its gameplay. The really hilarious part was he penalized me a whole percentage point from my “Gamespot Rank” for criticizing him (no, I am not making this up). I wasn’t even aware of what a “rank” was (and I’m still not sure what it’s supposed to entitle one to) until I got an auto-notification. Gerstmann seems to be limited in which genres he can review properly. I don’t have titles and dates but I’ve watched many reviews where he would criticize one feature in a game as being “stale” and hail it as a great feature in another. In stark contrast Greg was always even-handed and you got the impression that he gave a game a fair shake no matter how awful he knew it would turn out anyway.
A fantastic summary, but I wouldn’t have been so restrained.
This in itself isn’t a problem, so long as the reviewer knows what his/her limitations are. It’s when reviewers move outside this comfort zone that problems can appear.
Troy
That’s exactly why I like Greg’s reviews- he seems really well rounded in all genres and gives everything a fair shake.