Of course. GTA is the best example imo. IV was incredibly mediocre and got like a 98 on metacritic

It's a fair question. There may be some people who award a game an inflated score, consciously or not, based on its pedigree. However, there may also be some people who award that same game an artificially lower grade because of unrealistic expectations of the franchise.

Reach is an interesting case. I do think some of the praise was over-the-top, but the median score it fairly accurate. With Reach, I think the number of critics celebrating its story -- and by extension its place in the Halo universe -- was offset by the number of critics who judged it against the series' earlier, superior games. In other words, I think there was a decent number of reviewers who would have awarded Reach a higher score had it been a new IP without a decade a baggage attached to it.

GTA is the best example, especially GTA IV. Give it any other name it wouldn't even get near the 90 mark.

I knew someone would point out Uncharted. Well, I'll have to agree there as much as I love the series. However, let's not forget games like Halo, Gears, Mario, etc. Anytime someone says something about those beloved franchises gets flamed.

Well said.  This, exactly.

I just think the Naughty Dog name became so immensely big after UC 2, and people seem to always praise their games almost no matter what. Personally I didn't find Uncharted 1 and 2 (haven't tried 3) to be THAT good, but hey Naughty Dog made them so how can they be bad? 

And IMO it's even worse with Rockstar. Can someone explain why GTA V got 97 on metacritic?

Let me tell you a secret,

BIOSHOCK INFINITE

Yes........ Most Mario games are sometimes rated much higher than they should be. ........ Mario Kart 8 is no better than a 7/10 rating if it were not made by Nintendo. For as repetative as combat items that are in most Zelda games are in its series, if they were made by any other developer, they would be bashed for months on end for the lack of originality in its combat.

Well, I don't want to hurt feelings so won't mention other franchises, but I believe Zelda is one to fit here. Althought, games are enough good to get high scores, sometimes the reviews feels like "oh, this is Zelda, 9 by default".

Not that I want them to score lower, but to do an actual review.

GTA, Half Life, Battlefield and Uncharted are alot overrated!!!