Here's a weird disconnect between the opinion of some viewers and those of us that do this whole game thing for a living, the idea that receiving an advanced copy of a game constitutes a "gift" or something that affects your credibility. I understand that if this isn't your career, the idea of getting a free game in advance is attractive, it sounds like it would be something awesome that everyone would be grateful for. Not really, to me getting a game in advance is a necessary part of my job, it's not a gift, it's a stack of paperwork we have to go through. That's what this is, make no mistake, it's a job. A builder is given a bag of nails to do his job, he doesn't treat those nails as a gift. A film reviewer is sent a screener so he can do his job, he doesn't treat that screener as a gift. It's a necessary tool which we need in order to actually do our jobs for you guys, we can't do it otherwise. We need to get those opinions out before launch so you can make a good decision. Advanced copies of games are not gifts, if anything they represent a bunch of red-tape and work we have to do. It's a good job, make no mistake, but let's not pretend that reviewers/critics are falling over themselves to praise a company just because they were given an advanced copy of a game. That's standard requirement to get the job done.
