Batman Review Raises Ethical Questions

UK magazine Games Master's is the first print magazine to release its review of Batman: Arkham Asylum. Scoring an outstanding 96 out of 100, Batman wowed editorial staff at Games Master's enough to say that it is "not only the best Batman game ever, but one of the finest adventures of its generation." The issue at hand, though, lies in allegations of unfair play by Eidos, who allegedly played many gaming journalists for fools.

Eidos put an end-of-the-month embargo on any review released in print for Batman: Arkham Asylum. However, several anonymous sources have indicated that Eidos was willing to forego this embargo if the game scored a 90 percent or higher, and was featured on the front cover of the magazine. Eidos was quick to respond, saying they have not put such a restriction on reviewers, but it seems magazine’s fulfillment of the criteria works as proof in itself.

Marcus Beer and Shane Satterfield of Gametrailers discussed the ethics of putting restrictions on reviews that release early on their latest episode. Former PR representative Marcus talks about how commonplace these restrictions are over in the United Kingdom, where print magazines hold a lot more clout than in the United States. Shane asks gamers in general to keep an eye out for early reviews, stating there might be something at play if they released before bigger networks.

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