Freelance journalist Lionel Royal and GamePartisan editor-in-chief Jonathan D. DeViney sit down once more and touch on a plethora of topics. Here we find DeViney addressing the relatively low scores GP staffers Michael Rausch and Mark Vincent gave Grand Theft Auto IV, just how independent the gaming press really is (or isn’t), the first perfect 10 handed out in 6+ years of GamePartisan history, the slow pace at which the site’s network has gained ground, GamePartisan without British correspondent Ben Paddon, would industry fathers like Ralph Baer, Nolan Bushnell and Dave Rosen succeed in today’s video game industry, et cetera.

Royal, Lionel: So, has the firestorm hit yet? The latest firestorm, that is.

DeViney, Jonathan D.: Which would be?

Royal: Let’s see…staff writer Phil Stortzum gave Grand Theft Auto IV a 9.0 out of 10, which was the best of the scores given the game by you.

DeViney: By GamePartisan, you mean.

Royal: Of course. But the first review, by Mark Vincent, we have an 8.5, and then senior editor Michael Rausch chiming in with a third review, giving the game a score of 8.0. Do you not think that some will find these relatively low scores to be outrageously harsh criticisms of such a great game?

DeViney: First of all, I do not presume to question the legitimacy of the scores handed out by our staff. They are educated on the subjects upon which they write, and if that’s their final judgment, then I respect that. Second, they are relatively low, true, when compared to our peers in the game journalism field, but they are not bad scores by any stretch. Finally, “great” leans more to referencing notoriety rather than quality. So a…

Royal: …do you realize just how big the circle is you just talked yourself around?

DeViney: An honest review may denigrate a game some might feel to be better than it truly is, especially one with such an overwhelming hype machine behind it as the game in question. I personally have not reviewed the game, but I can, however, vouch for the quality of the reviews handed the game by our staff.

Royal: Of course you can vouch for them, but in the event of any controversy, will you?

DeViney: I always stand behind our staff.

Royal: Right or wrong?

DeViney: They’re not wrong.

Royal: [laughs] Okay, we’ll move on.

DeViney: Let’s.

Royal: The gaming press, video game journalism, game journalism, any label you’d like to slap on it: just how independent is it?

DeViney: Just what is the question?

Royal: Are the reviews out there, among the game journalism elite (if you will), bought and paid for?

DeViney: I would not say that the reviews themselves are the resultant product of money flowing from a publisher to a game journalism outlet. No. I wouldn’t say that.

Royal: So the review scores of Game Informer and IGN are never influenced by the amount of money a publisher spends on advertisement with them respectively?

DeViney: I cannot vouch for those specific publications, nor can I specifically state what it is that influences how they come to their respective conclusions about a game.

Royal: But have you not noticed that high-profile games often receive better scores than their lesser-known, sometimes lower-budget counterparts?

DeViney: I have not.

Royal: What?!

DeViney: I have not noticed a trend that elaborate, not as you state it, and I’ve been presented with no hard evidence to the contrary.

Royal: Come now, we all know that you have made a name for yourself on several occasions by smearing, and rightfully so, your opponents.

DeViney: I have never made any sort of concerted effort to smear anyone.

Royal: But you showed neither Electronic Arts nor Microsoft any mercy when it came down to it, nor did you spare those at the Agetec forums, as I recall.

DeViney: Those are three entirely distinct and isolated incidents that cannot be rightfully discussed as a whole.

Royal: Fine. Then we’ll discuss them individually.

DeViney: I feel those topics have been aptly addressed.

Royal: If you say so. You certainly aren’t someone to be backed into a corner, it seems.

DeViney: I am very serious about the credibility of our work, and just as ardent about our staff, their quality, [and the] quality of what they turn out.

Royal: You seem to have a propensity for controversy.

DeViney: I have a propensity for standing firm when it comes to principle.

Royal: [laughs] All right. The first perfect 10 (out of 10) handed out in GamePartisan history goes to Mass Effect. Senior editor Michael Rausch wrote the review. Do you agree with that assessment?

DeViney: I know that he wrote an honest review. Of all people Michael Rausch will tell it like it is. The guy will not pull punches to spare feelings for anyone he knows, let alone people (or a group of people) he doesn’t know.

Royal: Yes but do you agree with the score?

DeViney: I have not played the game, so I couldn’t really elaborate on it. I wouldn’t say I agree with the score one way or another, even if I had played it. It’s his review, it’s his score. My review would likely turn out differently. Hence why we try and cover as much as we can as honestly as we can. With our diverse bunch, you’re likely to come up with several honest perspectives, which cannot truly be viewed as anything other than an outstanding product.

Royal: Grand Theft Auto IV…you’ve played it, I presume?

DeViney: I’m just now working my way through it. With two reviews already on the site and another on its way [as of the time of this interview] I would say it has been given due coverage, so I feel no pressure to force myself to play it above all else.

Royal: Review scores aside, which we’ve already addressed to some degree, do you agree with the M [Mature] rating given the game?

DeViney: Yes and no.

Royal: Explain.

DeViney: Well it’s a catch twenty-two sort of situation. On one hand, you have a game with an incredible level of violence and with some elements that border on softcore pornography, which could be argued as worthy of an AO [Adult Only] rating. On the other hand, Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony will not permit such a game, generally, to be released on their respective consoles, and no respectable retailer will carry it. So what is the ESRB to do?

Royal: Does this amount to an allegation of corruption?

DeViney: No! Don’t try to [expletive deleted] twist my words. I am saying, however, that the system needs revision. The game could be argued as being deserving of an Adult Only rating, but the system is one that makes any such rating a death sentence…and is the ESRB really willing to do that to such a monumental project, a game such as Grand Theft Auto IV? Of course not.

Royal: Who is at fault here?

DeViney: I’m afraid it’s more complicated than the mere labeling of one party as being at fault. The ESRB knows what’s at stake. It knows the system is flawed…

Royal: …and Rockstar knows that and knows it can then push the envelope?

DeViney: I’m not saying that.

Royal: What of the ESRB, are they to be let off the hook?

DeViney: No, I definitely feel the honest thing to do would be to give the game an Adult Only rating, but the system is largely prohibitive of such an act. In terms of integrity, conversely, it could be argued that the ESRB failed us.

Royal: It could be so argued. Now, GamePartisan without long-time British correspondent Ben Paddon…how is it?

DeViney: We’ve carried on it, we’re doing what we’re about, and we’re determined to continue toward the mark, toward the goals we’ve set…but damnit if I don’t miss him terribly. He was a tremendous colleague, an outstanding presence on the staff, and a dear friend.

Royal: His column, Made in England…its absence leaves a glaring hole in your editorial lineup if you ask me…no offense.

DeViney: None taken, but I don’t think it leaves a void, it just makes things different. You have to adjust, you have to be prepared for change.

Royal: As we move to adjourn, you’ve always seemed to long for the days of yesteryear…

DeViney: …yes, I reminisce about the days of old, with that…

Royal: …old time rock n’ roll, yes, how quaint.

DeViney: Jackass.

Royal: That said, do you think Ralph Baer, David Rosen and Nolan Bushnell could compete in today’s industry?

DeViney: No, but then that’s like asking if the Beatles were to come out as a brand new band today if they would be as big. Nobody knows, the times are different, and then, I don’t think that any of today’s gaming icons would be as successful back then, because of the vast differences in eras. So it all balances out, if you ask me.

Royal: Well I did ask you.

DeViney: You know, this might be the last time we talk, because every time I’m around you, I begin feeling these violent urges creeping upon me.

Royal: On that light-hearted note, thank you very much for your time, and…yes, let’s do this again very soon.

DeViney: My…pleasure.