Toby McCasker and Jeff Gerstmann must have loads to talk about. Former editorial director over at GameSpot, Jeff was packed off after giving Kane & Lynch a somewhat uncomplimentary review – tremendously inconvenient for GameSpot, since Eidos was pretty much throwing cash at them to promote the game all over the site. Of course, GameSpot subsequently denied the otherwise inexpedient coincidence of Jeff’s dismissal and the review, but didn’t bother giving any other reason for it. Just an inexpedient coincidence, apparently. Uh-huh.

Anyway, it looks like Toby McCasker,  former entertainment editor at Aussie mag Zoo Weekly, has now been chucked for exposing what looks very much like a solicitation for a good review from Rockstar. McCasker claims the magazine staff were sent an email from the developer, regarding coverage of the upcoming game, Red Dead Redemption.

“This is the biggest game we’ve done since GTA IV, and is already receiving Game of the Year 2010 nominations from specialists all around the world. Can you please ensure Toby’s article reflects this — he needs to respect the huge achievement he’s writing about here,” it’s alleged to have read, with all the supercilious presumption of someone who doesn’t subscribe to such petty human faults as integrity.

McCasker posted the email on Facebook, but the magazine quickly removed the entry and the editor was promptly dismissed. 

 “I did not sign up to become a journalist to write advertorials masquerading as editorial,” McCasker told news.com. “This ‘cash for comment’ culture that is fast becoming the status quo within print media bothers me a lot.”

Zoo Weekly managing editor Paul Merrill, who apparently doesn’t read the news, has denied the otherwise inexpedient coincidence. “It’d be wrong for me to comment as to why someone is dismissed,” he said. “I’ve never known any game maker to ask for a positive review and they’ve certainly never received it.”

Whatever the case may be, it’s just more negative press heaped on negative press for Rockstar, who made headlines recently when disgruntled employees went public about the company’s working conditions.