The Walking Dead tops Metacritic’s Best Games of 2012 list

Metacritic has revealed that Telltale’s The Walking Dead was the highest rated game of 2012, winning the aggregate site’s game of the year award.

The game had an aggregate score of 95 on the Xbox 360- we’re talking about the complete retail collection. It is notable that it had 9 reviews, while the game that came in second- Persona 4 Golden- had over twenty reviews. The third and fourth ranking titles- the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Mass Effect 3 respectively, had 30 and 74 critic reviews.

The Walking Dead joins previous Metacritic GOTY winners Batman: Arkham City’s PS3 version in 2011, Super Mario Galaxy 2 in 2010, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves in 2009 and GTA 4 in 2008.

Metacritic also noted that this year saw the least number of games having titles that had average scores of 90+, with a total of 18 games -14 console releases, others on the PC and handhelds and other platforms- being less than what we have seen in the last 4 years. It was especially low compared to 2011, when we saw 32 games- 23 of which were console titles- hit the 90 mark.

What’s more, of the 18 games that made it into the 90+ aggregate region this year, there were a few repeat entries as well- both versions of Mark of the Ninja made it into the region, as did the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of both, Mass Effect 3 and Far Cry 3.

Here’s the list of all the games that had an aggregate of 90 or higher:

1. The Walking Dead: The Game – Xbox 360 – 95
2. Persona 4 Golden – Vita – 94
3. Mass Effect 3 – PS3 – 93
4. Mass Effect 3 – Xbox 360 – 93
5. Journey PS3 – Sony – 92
6. Xenoblade Chronicles – Wii – 92
7. Dishonored – PC – 91
8. Mark of the Ninja – PC – 91
9. Borderlands 2 – PS3 – 91
10. Far Cry 3 – PS3 – 91
11. Far Cry 3 – Xbox 360 – 90
12. Trials Evolution – Xbox 360 – 90
13. Okami HD – PS3 – 90
14. Mark of the Ninja – Xbox 360 – 90
15. FIFA Soccer 13 – Xbox 360 – 90
16. Guild Wars 2 – PC – 90
17. NBA 2K13 – PS3 – 90
18. XCOM: Enemy Unknown – Xbox 360 – 90

You can check out the entire report here.

Have a look at our very own Game of the Year awards here. Some of the results may surprise you.

[VG247]