Games like Wii Sports, Mario Party 8, Big Brain Academy, Wario Ware, Rayman Raving Rabids, Mario and Sonic, and Carnival games review poorly because they are quite a bit different than what reviewers want or enjoy playing; they sell well because they are excellent social games. Wii Play and Link's crossbow training sell well because they are packed in with accessories. When you take these games out you get:
Rank Title Rating
3. SMG 97
5. Zelda: TP 95
8. Paper Mario 85
10. Guitar Hero 3 86
11. Res. Evil 4 91
12. Mario Strikers 79
13. Wii Fit 78
16. Metroid Prime 3 90
18. Red Steel 65
Which means that the only unusual performance was Red Steel ...
Being that it was the best FPS on a system everyone was dying to try a FPS on it isn't a surprise that it sold well.
