By now it’s no secret that Konami has sent out a big ol’ list of taboo topics which writers aren’t allowed to talk about in their reviews of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Things like overly long cutscenes (some are rumored to have the same length as a feature film) and hefty mandatory installs are verboten, and print review outlets are only allowed to post reviews if they abide by Konami’s wishes.

Sadly, restriction lists are becoming more and more of a daily reality in game journalism, and most outlets, knowing that their hands are tied due to consumers’ voracious appetites for news and the overabundance of gaming-related sites just salivating at the chance to one-up one of the big dogs, have played along with the new rules.

That may all be changing however, as EGM has stated that in light of Konami’s Draconian measures they will not be running any scored review of MGS 4... at all. In its place, EGM will be running a roundtable discussion on the game instead.

While one outlet not reviewing a game isn’t likely to affect much (there are plenty of other magazines and websites more than happy to play by the rules and run reviews), one can hope that EGM’s actions will create a sea change that will see all the major players begin to refuse reviews if they are forced to do so under such restrictions. As the list of acceptable topics dwindles, there is the real potential that all reviews will turn into little more than press releases with scores at the end. Thanks for having the guts to take a stand EGM.