CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

I know a lot of people read Gamespot's reviews, and like them and seriously consider their views. Those people should be very familiar with Greg Kasavin, the now former editor-in-chief of the site. Personally, I have felt Kasavin has been the best reviewer in the industry for being consistently harsh yet fair in his reviews, and thus he was my favorite reviewer.

Well, no more. He now has his chance to go into game development and he is taking it.

Here is the announcement from Gamespot.

*wonders who will now keep the equilibrium with Jeff Gerstmann now Kasavin is gone.*

EDIT: Here is Kasavin's blog entry for his farewell.

EDIT 2: For those wondering about Kasavin's review style... and sense of humor, here is a copy of his review of chess.

EDIT 3: More Kasavin humor. This video shows Greg explaining "The Gamespot Advantage" in the Gamespot review process (it is a parody).

I'm really not sure what exactly to think. I'm quite shocked.

On one the hand, I'm really going to miss his reviews and Gamespot is going to be hard pressed to find a replacement of that caliber. Jeff is a good reviewer (tons better then the ones on IGN or Gamespy), but I can't see him reviewing something like Final Fantasy or Metal Gear. Then on the other hand, most of the time I just read reviews after purschasing and playing a game (out of curiousity). So, it's see cool seeing someone living out their dreams and I can't wait to try the game out.

Link Antilles wrote:I'm really not sure what exactly to think. I'm quite shocked.

Yeah, ever since he got the top editor spot at Gamespot, he pretty much molded Gamespot to what it is today especially in editorial control, which is dramatically different from its early years.

Link Antilles wrote:On one the hand, I'm really going to miss his reviews and Gamespot is going to be hard pressed to find a replacement of that caliber. Jeff is a good reviewer (tons better then the ones on IGN or Gamespy), but I can't see him reviewing something like Final Fantasy or Metal Gear.

I am guessing Jeff will take the EIC spot in place of Greg since he is now Senior Editor and the other dominant management personality at the site. The other candidates (based on seniority) would be either Andrew Park or Ryan MacDonald, but I don't see them taking it. Park only deals with PC games, and Ryan has shifted from writing to managing all the website tech and events that Gamespot is involved.

If Jeff takes the lead spot, I think he will delegate more to the other editors for genres he is not interested in. I am fine with that as long he is just as demanding in their review control process like Greg was.

Link Antilles wrote:Then on the other hand, most of the time I just read reviews after purschasing and playing a game (out of curiousity). So, it's see cool seeing someone living out their dreams and I can't wait to try the game out.

All I want is Jeff to review the game Greg is involved in... you know it will happen.

Which brings up another question... which game franchise is it? Greg states that he will be working on one of his all-time favorite franchises.... I doubt it is a Japanese developer....

Omega Amen wrote:Which brings up another question... which game franchise is it? Greg states that he will be working on one of his all-time favorite franchises.... I doubt it is a Japanese developer....

Yeah I was looking for that info, but couldn't find it.

Maybe it's Valve. XD

Yeah, maybe Valve... but then it will be years before we see his work....

Okay, last tidbit of Kasavin review humor. Here is Greg's little parody video on the Gamespot review process called "The Gamespot Advantage." It is quite funny, and you can see the underlying message Greg tries to get across on reviewing games in the industry.