Congratulations, Eidos: You're officially off the hook. Responding to rumors that CNET fired GameSpot editorial director Jeff Gerstmann for slamming a game heavily advertised on the site (check out the highlights in the above clip), spokesperson Sarah Cain told Joystiq, "We do not terminate employees based on external pressure from advertisers." We doubted that CNET would toss away its credibility so readily.

Kotaku got a longer if less poignant spiel from CNET's improbably named director of public relations, Leslie Dotson Van Every:

"GameSpot takes its editorial integrity extremely seriously. For over a decade, GameSpot and the many members of its editorial team have produced thousands of unbiased reviews that have been a valuable resource for the gaming community. At CNET Networks, we stand behind the editorial content that our teams produce on a daily basis."

Stand behind? If CNET stands behind its editorial content, why did it take down Gerstmann's video review in the first place?