10 Video Game Review Scores Fans Lost Their MINDS Over
7. EGM Is The Only Major Outlet To Give Aliens: Colonial Marines A 9/10
There's absolutely nothing wrong with being an outlier and straying from the critical consensus, but there are certainly extreme examples where it raises a few eyebrows.
And in a rare case of an unexpectedly positive review score causing a furore, we have Electronic Gaming Monthly's head-scratching 9/10 score for Aliens: Colonial Marines.
EGM reviewer Brandon Justice lauded the much-anticipated FPS for its setting, level design, and AI, and even dared to call it "easily the best gaming representation of the franchise to date."
EGM's sentiments went firmly against the grain, though, with the next-highest score from any Metacritic-approved outlet being a resoundingly average 6.8/10.
With a 48 Metascore, Colonial Marines received a combination of mixed reviews and outright pannings from most of the major games press, criticising its dated visuals, generic gameplay, atrocious AI, and lackluster engagement with the Alien franchise.
Many were simply baffled by the disparity in EGM's review, such as praising the widely-criticised Xenomorph AI, enough that EGM publisher Steve Harris even issued a statement assuring players that the mag wasn't paid off and reminding folks that, believe it or not, reviews are subjective.