It's funny: I reviewed Birthright for CNET's then-Gamecenter. Gave it moderated approval--I also thought the adventures didn't work too well, and combat was lacking in options, but the AI was good, and the overal strategy, and variety of choices, were great.
Within a few days of submitting my review, my editor got back with me asking me to reconsider it. I looked it over, changed a few words, and resubmitted it.
The review never ran. My editor instead chose to run a review by someone on staff who thought the game was atrocious, and had evidently convinced my editor of this fact privately. This new review in fact said that the adventures were the only good thing in the product.
I never got any work again from that editor (whom I'd done a lot for, over two years). Ironically enough, the jerk has since gone on to work for--Sierra.