Like it or not, games are heavily dependent on attaining that holy grail of a high Metacritic aggregate. Personally, I find this heavy focus on dictating a games worth based on a numerical value as immensely disappointing. Not only does it deprive many gamers of a worthwhile experience, the industrys unrealistic belief that a game must reach a 90 or higher has formed an attitude where perfectly acceptable and genuinely good releases are dismissed as mediocre, despite reaching scores averaging in the 70s and 80s. Unfortunately, this can also lead to the making or breaking of a perfectly capable studio in the process. No other console library experienced this unrealistic attitude more than the Xbox 360, which has rather sadly led to a long list of games whose praises simply arent hailed enough as they should be. Despite possessing engrossing stories, innovative gameplay and captivating visuals, many of the titles featured on this list didnt manage to impress as much as other triple-A releases did, and though they certainly hold their fair share of valid criticism, more often than not the frosty reception they received was beyond unwarranted. So for once, lets do away with the numbers and the averages, and simply look at these games for what they achieved - you'll hopefully find theyre far better than you remember.
Resident movie guy at WhatCulture who used to be Comics Editor. Thinks John Carpenter is the best. Likes Hellboy a lot. Can usually be found talking about Dad Movies on his Twitter at @EwanRuinsThings.
