The Top-Ranked Games of 2005

[GetGamer News]

Here’s a list of games released since January 01, 2005 with the highest average rating from critics. The left-most number represents the composite ranking as determined by Metacritic.

96: Resident Evil 4 (GC)

95: God of War (PS2)

94: Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Chaos Theory (XBX)

92: Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Chaos Theory (PC)

91: World Soccer Winning Eleven 8 International (PS2)

91: Psychonauts (PC)

91: Jade Empire (XBX)

90: World Soccer Winning Eleven 8 International (XBX)

90: Silent Hunter III (PC)

89: Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (GameBoy Advance)

89: World Soccer Winning Eleven 8 International (PC)

89: NBA Street V3 (PS2)

89: Tekken 5 (PS2)

89: Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 (XBX)

89: Gran Turismo 4 (PS2)

89: Doom 3 (XBX)

89: NBA Street V3 (XBX)

89: WipEout Pure (PSP)

If there were justice in this world, these rankings would directly correlate to game sales, but we know that the world just ain’t fair sometimes. What critics think of games (or of movies, or any other entertainment product) is important and does influence sales, but too many critically reviled games do well.

For cross-reference, here’s the NPD Group’s list of the 20 top-selling titles for the month of March (from greatest to least):

Gran Turismo 4 (PS2)

MVP Baseball 2005 (PS2)

Fight Night Round 2 (PS2)

Devil May Cry 3 (PS2)

Star Wars: Republic Commando (XBX)

God of War (PS2)

Fight Night Round 2 (XBX)

Major League Baseball 2K5 (PS2)

Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 (XBX)

MVP Baseball 2005 (XBX)

Tekken 5 (PS2)

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (XBX)

Major League Baseball 2K5 (XBX)

Twisted Metal: Head On (PSP)

Need for Speed: Underground Rivals (PSP)

MX VS ATV Unleashed (PS2)

Warioware: Touched! (NDS)

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2)

Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade (PSP)

Robots (GBA)