One of the problems with allowing undisclosed paid reviews is that it eats away at trust in reviews - as you put it, "the first thing I think when I see a positive review is that it was bought". It doesn't matter how honest a reviewer is, no-one will trust them. Also, watching gameplay footage wouldn't have saved you here - the only people who could post gameplay footage were paid promoters whose contracts required them not to show any glitches or anything else that showed the game in a negative light.
