Xbox 360

True, the PS3 finished with more great games in 2011 than the Xbox 360. But 2011 was still a very good year for Microsoft's console. Not only did the average Metascore for all Xbox releases tick up this year when compared to the year before, but the 360 had a higher percentage of "good" releases than any console this year: 43% of all Xbox releases in 2011 had a green Metascore of 75 or higher indicating positive reviews from professional critics. That's an improvement over the previous year's 39% (and 2009's 35%). In all, there were 101 Xbox 360 games released in 2011 receiving generally positive reviews, tops for any console.

Once again, however, most of the 360's best games were multi-platform releases. Just two Xbox exclusives cracked the top 15 high scores for the platform in 2011: the third installment in the Gears of War franchise, and the latest racer in the Forza Motorsport series. Forza Motorsport 4 was also the highest-scoring game of the year to utilize Microsoft's Kinect controller.

Best Xbox 360 Exclusives, 2011

#1		#2		#3		#4		#5
	91		91		86		83		83
Gears of War 3 Microsoft		Forza Motorsport 4 Microsoft		Dance Central 2 Microsoft		Iron Brigade Double Fine		Ms. 'Splosion Man Twisted Pixel

Best-Reviewed Xbox 360 Games, 2011

	Game	Publisher	Metascore	Users
1	The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Xbox 360 Game of the Year	Bethesda Softworks	96	8.5
2	Portal 2	Valve Software	95	8.1
3	Batman: Arkham City	Warner Bros. Interactive Ent.	94	8.4
4	Gears of War 3	Microsoft Game Studios	91	7.5
5	Forza Motorsport 4	Microsoft Game Studios	91	7.9
6	Metal Gear Solid HD Collection	Konami	91	8.3
7	FIFA Soccer 12	Electronic Arts	90	6.7
8	Dead Space 2	Electronic Arts	90	8.5
9	NBA 2K12	2K Sports/Take-Two Interactive	90	8.1
10	Dark Souls	Namco Bandai	89	8.2
11	Deus Ex: Human Revolution	Square Enix/Eidos Interactive	89	8.2
12	L.A. Noire	Rockstar Games	89	7.5
13	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3	Activision	88	3.2
14	Joe Danger: Special Edition	Microsoft Game Studios	88	8.2
15	Rayman Origins	Ubisoft	88	8.6
16	DiRT 3	Codemasters	87	7.7
17	Dance Central 2	Microsoft Game Studios	86	8.6
18	Mortal Kombat	Warner Bros. Interactive Ent.	86	8.5
19	Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition	Capcom	86	6.6
20	Radiant Silvergun	Microsoft Game Studios	86	8.1
21	Bastion	Warner Bros. Interactive Ent.	86	8.6
22	Fight Night Champion	EA Sports	86	7.2
23	NHL 12	Electronic Arts	86	7.6
24	Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds	Capcom	85	7.0
25	NBA JAM: On Fire Edition	Electronic Arts	85	7.5
26	Crysis 2	EA Games	84	7.5
27	Beyond Good & Evil HD	Ubisoft	84	8.2
28	Top Spin 4	2K Sports	84	8.1
29	Outland	Ubisoft	84	7.5
30	F1 2011	Codemasters	84	7.5
... and the worst:
236	Thor: God of Thunder	Sega	38	4.7
237	Lucha Fury	Punchers Impact/Mindscape	37	5.6
238	NCIS	Ubisoft	36	n/a
239	Star Raiders	Atari	35	6.0
240	Blackwater	505 Games	32	4.0

Note that games are ranked prior to rounding. Only games with 7 or more reviews are included in this and other rankings on this page.

Xbox 360 Games with Highest User Scores*, 2011

	Game	Users
1	Bastion	8.6
	Dance Central 2	8.6
	Orcs Must Die!	8.6
	Rayman Origins	8.6
5	Dead Space 2	8.5
	Mortal Kombat	8.5
	The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim	8.5

* Minimum 25 user votes.

PlayStation 3

There were more "great" games—12 individual releases with scores of 90 or higher—for the PS3 than for any other platform in 2011. That's actually the highest number of 90+ titles ever released in a single year for any of the current generation platforms.

However, for the first time in three years, the PlayStation 3 did not have the highest percentage of positively-reviewed games (that title went to the 360 this year). While 38% of all PS3 releases in 2011 earned positive reviews, that number marks a drop from the prior year's figure of 44%. The PS3 did finish the year as the console with the smallest percentage of negatively reviewed games, however; just 8% of the year's PS3 releases received scores of 49 or lower.

Out of the PlayStation's 30 highest scoring games this year, just 3 were exclusive to the platform: the latest installment in the Uncharted adventure series, a sequel to LittleBigPlanet, and Killzone 3. But it's a testament to the kind of year 2011 was that the hugely popular and extremely well reviewed Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception didn't even finish among the year's ten highest-scoring games overall (and was only the fourth highest-scoring game for the PS3 this year).

Best PS3 Exclusives, 2011

#1		#2		#3		#4		#5
	92		91		84		83		83
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Sony		LittleBigPlanet 2 Sony		Killzone 3 Sony		Resistance 3 Sony		inFamous 2 Sony

Best-Reviewed PlayStation 3 Games, 2011

	Game	Publisher	Metascore	Users
1	Batman: Arkham City PS3 Game of the Year	Warner Bros. Interactive Ent.	96	8.1
2	Portal 2	Valve Software	95	8.0
3	Mass Effect 2	Electronic Arts	94	8.2
4	Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception	SCEA	92	8.4
5	The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim	Bethesda Softworks	92	5.3
6	The ICO & Shadow of the Colossus Collection	SCEA	91	8.0
7	LittleBigPlanet 2	SCEA	91	8.1
8	Metal Gear Solid HD Collection	Konami	91	9.2
9	NBA 2K12	2K Sports/Take-Two Interactive	90	6.6
10	FIFA Soccer 12	Electronic Arts	90	7.2
11	MLB 11: The Show	SCEA	90	7.9
12	LIMBO	PLAYDEAD	90	7.9
13	Dead Space 2	Electronic Arts	89	8.1
14	Deus Ex: Human Revolution	Square Enix/Eidos Interactive	89	8.3
15	L.A. Noire	Rockstar Games	89	7.3
16	Dark Souls	Namco Bandai	89	8.4
17	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3	Activision	88	2.9
18	DiRT 3	Codemasters	87	7.7
19	Rayman Origins	Ubisoft	87	8.7
20	NHL 12	Electronic Arts	86	8.3
21	Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition	Capcom	86	6.5
22	Plants vs. Zombies	PopCap	85	7.9
23	Battlefield 3	Electronic Arts	85	7.5
24	Crysis 2	EA Games	85	7.2
25	Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes	Ubisoft	84	7.6
26	Fight Night Champion	EA Sports	84	7.2
27	God of War Origins Collection	SCEA	84	7.9
28	Resident Evil 4 HD	Capcom	84	7.1
29	Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds	Capcom	84	7.6
30	Killzone 3	SCEA	84	7.9
... and the worst:
222	PlayStation Move Ape Escape	SCEA	43	n/a
223	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2	Electronic Arts	43	4.8
224	Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime	Atari	42	3.0
225	Thor: God of Thunder	Sega	39	2.6
226	Kung Fu Panda 2: The Video Game	THQ	31	3.5

PS3 Games with Highest User Scores*, 2011

	Game	Users
1	Metal Gear Solid HD Collection	9.2
2	Rayman Origins	8.7
3	The King of Fighters XIII	8.7
4	Dark Souls	8.4
5	Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception	8.4

* Minimum 25 user votes.

Wii

The Wii U (due in 2012) cannot come soon enough for Nintendo fans. As a platform, the current Wii is clearly at the end of the line; just a dozen positively reviewed games were released for the console in all of 2011. (You can add three more "good" games if you also include games with fewer than 7 reviews.) In fact, there were fewer than 70 scored games in all released this year for the platform; in 2010, over twice as many titles were released for the Wii. And those few games that did arrive in 2011 collectively scored over two points lower than the average Wii game released the year before.

Fortunately, the one game that Wii owners were likely looking forward to the most this year—The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword 93—didn't disappoint, earning top honors as the highest-scoring Wii release of the year. But out of all our Wii Game of the Year recipients, only 2009's Metroid Prime Trilogy 91 had a lower Metascore.

Best Wii Exclusives, 2011

#1		#2		#3		#4		#5
	93		82		81		78		73
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Nintendo		MotoHeroz RedLynx		escapeVektor: Chapter 1 nnooo		Kirby's Return to Dream Land Nintendo		FAST - Racing League Shin'en

Best-Reviewed Wii Games, 2011

	Game	Publisher	Metascore	Users
1	The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Wii Game of the Year	Nintendo	93	7.7
2	Rayman Origins	Ubisoft	91	8.3
3	Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters	Electronic Arts	85	8.0
4	Bit.Trip Complete	Aksys Games	84	8.6
5	MotoHeroz	RedLynx	82	6.5
6	Bit.Trip Flux	Aksys Games/Gaijin Games	81	7.2
7	escapeVektor: Chapter 1	Nnooo	81	n/a
8	Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure	Activision	81	5.3
9	Pro Evolution Soccer 2012	Konami	79	n/a
10	de Blob 2	THQ	79	7.9
... and the worst:
40	Top Spin 4	2K Sports	54	6.5
41	Rango	Paramount Digital Ent./Electronic Arts	52	n/a
42	101-in-1 Sports Party Megamix	Atlus Co.	41	n/a
43	X-Men: Destiny	Activision	36	6.1
44	Transformers: Dark of the Moon - Stealth Force Edition	Activision	33	3.8

Wii Games with Highest User Scores*, 2011

	Game	Users
1	Kirby's Return to Dream Land	7.8
2	The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword	7.7
3	Conduit 2	7.4

* Minimum 25 user votes.

More games ...

Continue to the next page for this year's top releases for PC, PSP, and Nintendo DS/3DS.