I have always imagined many professional reviews use something like a rubric... I am also convinced many just pull a number out of their asses.

Because they were able to, and they don't want to see it do badly I guess (this is where the whole "afraid of criticism" and hyper-fanboyism thing comes into play).. Most games that have rating access prior to launch have this type of thing happening

A lot do. I want them to be more critical. Especially sites like IGN and the reviewer mentioned in the OP. Users as well. I don't want the flat out hate and flat out praise; I want more calculated reviews from critics and users, and I want people to not be afraid of a little criticism.

I imagine the high scoring is due to Grades in school. Most of the people reading the reviews are kids still in school, and those giving the scroes are kids barely out of school.

Thus they are used to the 60% is a failing grade. 70% is average, 80% is good and 90% and above is the the best.

yes it does

do you mind if I ask why?

if its 50 cents its nothing, people used to put 50 cents to get one credit in street fighter 2

Do you mean it deserves a higher price?

Totally agree with the OP.

It's something I've been grumbling about for ages with my friends and family. Ultimately it doesn't really matter if you know the review system well enough to interpret what the scores actually are. Still it's pretty lame because none of the other industries do it. Music, Film and TV use a 5 star system (or rather, a true 1-10). I think its based on the fact that more than those industries, there is a clear and proven connection between review scores and the purchasing of games. Which makes me think you've a lot of websites and editorials who are being subliminally pressured into giving games that are 3 and 4 stars out of 5, scores of 8 and 9 out of 10. It doesn't help when you've got Famitsu Magazine giving FFXIII 39/40 which is just dishonest and bogus.

What I thought this thread was going to be about though was just the fact that some games have way too high review scores. For example, GTA4 and 5 have higher metascores than any previous GTA game in the series. Now I think if you did a poll right now on this forum, you'd find most people would cite Vice City or the original GTA3 to be the best in the series (though mine personally is San ANdreas).

Likewise that Mario Galaxy and Mario Galaxy 2 and the 2nd and 3rd highest reviewed games on metacritic. Now these are great games to be sure, but are they really the 2nd and 3rd best games in video game history? How many people actually consider these two games to be their favourite game of all time.

The Ps3/Wii/Xbox 360 generation in my opinion was by far the most generous with review scores.

High review scores were my main concern, but I also added some other aspects, such as Users reviewing games before they even have their hands on them etc. Good post BTW!