With almost all of the big games of '08 now on shelves (we're looking at you, Prince of Persia) or available via Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network, you're left with a lot of choices. Some of them you've already bought; others you've been on the fence over; others you didn't realize were "supposed to be" any good – but, if you're anything like us, you don't want to miss any of the must-plays this year has to offer.
Enter our "meta-metareview," a list of every game released this year that's scored above 85% on average from reviewers around the world. You won't be surprised by the games that made the list; you will be surprised that some of your (and our) favorites didn't make it. Check out the full list after the break and please, before you send us a nasty email because Castle Crashers didn't make it on, remember that them's the (sometimes painful) breaks with aggregate scoring.
Some fun facts:
Enter our "meta-metareview," a list of every game released this year that's scored above 85% on average from reviewers around the world. You won't be surprised by the games that made the list; you will be surprised that some of your (and our) favorites didn't make it. Check out the full list after the break and please, before you send us a nasty email because Castle Crashers didn't make it on, remember that them's the (sometimes painful) breaks with aggregate scoring.
Some fun facts:
- October was the most crowded month for quality titles with 12 released, followed by November (8), September (7) and April (6).
- Breaking it down by console, PlayStation 3 has the most presence on the list with 22 titles, followed by Xbox 360 (20), PC (15), Wii (8), DS (7), PSP (2) and PS2 (1).
- The best-reviewed game this year? April's Grand Theft Auto IV (98%), followed by a three-way tie between LittleBigPlanet, BioShock (PS3) and World of Goo (95%) -- all three of which were released in October. Metal Gear Solid 4 and Wrath of the Lich King are the next tier below at 94%.
- Of the 55 titles listed, 12 (or approximately 22%) were not based on an existing franchise: Sins of a Solar Empire, Patapon, Professor Layton and the Curious Village, Braid, The World Ends with You, Boom Blox, World of Goo, GRID, Pure, LittleBigPlanet, Dead Space and Valkyria Chronicles.
| January | |
|---|---|
| Rez HD (XBLA) | 89 |
| Burnout Paradise (360/PS3) | 88/87 |
| Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (DS) | 86 |
| February | |
|---|---|
| Sins of a Solar Empire (PC) | 88 |
| Patapon (PSP) | 86 |
| Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS) | 85 |
| March | |
|---|---|
| Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii) | 94 |
| God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP) | 91 |
| MLB 08: The Show (PS3) | 85 |
| April | |
|---|---|
| Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3/360) | 98 |
| Galactic Civilizations II: Twilight of the Arnor (PC) | 92 |
| Okami (Wii) | 90 |
| Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES (PS2) | 89 |
| The World Ends With You (DS) | 89 |
| Ikaruga (360) | 88 |
| May | |
|---|---|
| Mass Effect (PC) | 89 |
| Boom Blox (Wii) | 85 |
| June | |
|---|---|
| Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of The Patriots (PS3) | 94 |
| GRID (PS3/360/PC) | 87 |
| Battlefield: Bad Company (PS3)* | 85 |
| Civilization Revolution (PS3)* | 85 |
| Space Invaders Extreme (DS) | 85 |
| July | |
|---|---|
| Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 (XBLA) | 90 |
| Final Fantasy IV (DS) | 85 |
| Soul Calibur IV (PS3/360) | 85 |
| August | |
|---|---|
| Braid (XBLA) | 93 |
| Bionic Commando Rearmed (PS3/PC/360) | 87/86/85 |
| Madden NFL 09 (PS3) | 85 |
| September | |
|---|---|
| NHL 09 (PS3/360) | 89 |
| WipEout HD (PSN) | 87 |
| Bomberman Blast (WiiWare) | 86 |
| Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (PC) | 86 |
| The Witcher: Enhanced Edition (PC) | 86 |
| Art Style: ORBIENT (WiiWare) | 85 |
| Pure (360) | 86 |
| October | |
|---|---|
| LittleBigPlanet (PS3) | 95 |
| BioShock (PS3) | 95 |
| World of Goo (WiiWare/PC) | 93/90 |
| Fallout 3 (360/PC/PS3) | 93/92/91 |
| Rock Band 2 (360/PS3) | 92/91 |
| Fable 2 (360) | 89 |
| Portal: Still Alive (XBLA) | 89 |
| Dead Space (360/PS3/PC) | 89/88/86 |
| Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS) | 87 |
| FIFA Soccer 09 (360/PS3) | 87 |
| Tetris Party (WiiWare) | 87 |
| Far Cry 2 (PC/PS3/360) | 86/85/85 |
| Guitar Hero World Tour (PS3/360/Wii) | 85/85/86 |
| November | |
|---|---|
| World of WarCraft: Wrath of the Lich King (PC/Mac) | 94 |
| Chrono Trigger (DS) | 93 |
| Gears of War 2 (360) | 93 |
| Call of Duty: World at War (PC) | 88 |
| Left 4 Dead (360/PC) | 88 |
| Resistance 2 (PS3) | 87 |
| Football Manager 2009 (PC) | 86 |
| Valkyria Chronicles (PS3) | 86 |
* Note: Battlefield: Bad Company for Xbox 360 scored an aggregate 83% and was thus below our threshold. Likewise for Civilization Revolution and its aggregate 84% on the console.
Ross Miller also contributed to this story.
