Reviewing MGS4 rumors

The rumors are flying that reviewers of mega-hyped Metal Gear Solid 4 are under some strange restrictions (from publisher Konami) in what they write. According to Kotaku and MTV’s Multiplayer blog, reviewers (professional journalists, mind you) are being asked to gloss over such details as the install size (on the PS3) and the length of the cut scenes (which have been rumored to be extremely long).

If this is true, then its yet another sign that the game companies have an unhealthy stranglehold on the enthusiast press (the kind of relationship that fosters disasters like gerstmanngate). How ridiculous is this – film distributors don’t get to tell movie reviewers not to mention an actor’s poor performance in a scene, for instance. I suppose it’s all part of the growing process (and this information is still distinctly in the realm of “rumor”), but the fact that it’s even plausible gives me pause.

Read [Kotaku]