Nope, it's all about being in the right place at the right time. Truthfully, the fanboy ooze I see on some "professional" reviewers screams someone who has a personal bias and agenda to push. I don't think at least half of them are deserving of their position. There are also some low-quality posters, but that will be true for any forum. Likewise, I think if you took the creme-de-la-creme from places like this and replaced the "pros" with them, things would improve dramatically.
Conversely, there is a chance that they go in more qualified, but get jaded, or forced by higher-ups to go a certain way. (Advertising dollars probably play a large part in this...) A game that is "okay" may be forced to have things played up, whereas something that won't draw in money is told to be controversial- extract on the flaws, give it a low score, and draw more hits (or sales for magazines), thus more revenue from other things.
Continuing along things, you then have people like Pachter, to which I would guess that a majority of posters here could make better guesses than he does. Man, he's got a cushy job... and I see the same flaws in him as I do the other "pros." And I think we all know Pachter's flaws...
-dunno001
-On a quest for the truly perfect game; I don't think it exists...
