There are going to be plenty of end-of-year / best-of / top-10 / the-year-in-review lists flooding the internets over the next couple weeks. We all have our picks; every gamer, reviewer, blogger, pundit, hobbyist, and fanboy. We have it all broken down by qualifiers: “best game I beat” or “best game I never played but know it’s supposed to be really good.” But who cares about us? Metacritic uses the magic of statistics to compile a (relatively*) unbiased list of the best reviewed titles of the year.
At the tops of the list are Resident Evil 4 (PS2 and Gamecube), Ninja Gaiden Black (Xbox), Civilization IV (PC), GTA:LCS (PSP), Mario Kart DS (DS), and Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (GBA). The biggest stinker of the year is unequivocally Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (PS2, PC, Gamecube, GBA) winning “Dud of the Year” on an amazing 4 out of 7 platforms! Congratulations guys!
*The fine print at Metacritic reveals the following: “The METASCORE is considered a weighted average because we assign more significance, or weight, to some critics and publications than we do to others, based on the overall stature and quality of those critics and publications.” That being said, the winners are clearly superlative titles whose accolades have been acknowledged many times.
