Kane & Lynch: Dead Men is no stranger to controversy. Perhaps what would be remembered most about the third-person shooter is the chaos that it caused at GameSpot late last year. Then-executive editor Jeff Gerstmann came out with a very negative review of the game, which ended up being edited and its video review pulled out.

That’s not the worst part. Gerstmann was terminated from the popular video game site, causing rumors of pressure from Eidos, Kane & Lynch’s publisher, to have the journalist terminated. If that wasn’t enough, GameSpot’s reputation was tarnished, employee morale hit rock bottom, and several editors resigned from their posts.

Everything that happened would always be remembered as ‘Gerstmanngate.’ All that caused by one game.

Whether the speculations were true or not, one thing is for certain: Kane & Lynch is really a bad game. It’s so bad that there are only a couple of good things going for it, while the rest is a laundry list of negatives.

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Here’s something that could slip by your radar: Eidos said it will release four new downloadable maps for the Fragile Alliance multiplayer in Kane & Lynch: Dead Men. Like anything I enjoy downloading, the DLC will be free on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. Strangely, there was no mention if the free goodies would be available for the PC.

The maps will be released in one pack entitled “The Dope Bag.” The press release gave a brief description of each map:

Take on local dope dealers and the Russian mafia at a construction site in “Clean Cut,” clash with the Yakuza in Tokyo in “Hooker’s Trail,” raid a drug baron’s mansion in a Venezuelan jungle in “Flying High” and ambush General Fuentes’ military convoy in the streets of Havana to steal the gold hidden in his vehicles in “Hasta La Vista.”

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GameHopper sent me Kane & Lynch: Dead Men to play last weekend. Kane & Lynch? Isn’t that the game that got ex-editorial director Jeff Gerstmann booted from GameSpot? Yes it is, and frankly, I don’t see what the fuss is about.

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