Yes, these game websites would still exist. However, due to the rather unusual relationship between game publisher, game periodical, and game journalist (i.e. publisher advertises in periodical, tells periodical what to do, journalist either relents or protects his integrity), there is always room for doubt whether review scores are the real deal or just guerrilla marketing.

This is where bloggers like us come in. Despite being “just bloggers” and not really journalists in the strictest sense of the word, we actually have an edge over the enthusiast press because there are no publishers breathing down our necks.

As a result, we can give scathing reviews if a game deserves it. If the game is really good, then we’ll say so. We say things as it is. There’s no pressure from external sources.

What I’m saying is: people, you should trust us bloggers more than your average game journalist. We’re not in publishers’ payroll, at least until these companies start advertising on our blogs. :P

While the money may be tempting, heaven forbid. I’d rather keep my integrity, thank you.

For what it’s worth, X-Play gave G.O.W. (PC) 4 out of 5 and they never mentioned crashes either. You’ve got to wonder how much was screwed up between the review copies of the game and the final production release.

According to Wikipedia, there will be a PC version. Nothing on GameSpot though. As far as they’re concerned, the game is coming out for the 360 and PS3.

Then again, I can’t really believe anything that GameSpot says these days.