metacritic

Metacritic has released its quarterly report on the best-reviewed Xbox 360 games of the year. The list runs from the beginning of 2013, through July 1st, and ranks each title by their critical aggregate. While the usual big-budget suspects make the cut, a surprising number of Xbox Live Arcade titles round out the top spots. Of the top 25 games included, 11 of them are branded Arcade — meaning nearly half the year’s best-reviewed Xbox 360 games are sporting the orange badge of XBLA. Pretty nifty.

You can hit the link for the complete list, but here are the Xbox Live Arcade games that made the grade:

2. Bit.Trip Presents…Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien  |  87 percent
3. Pinball FX 2: Star Wars Pinball  |  87 percent
7. BattleBlock Theater  |  85 percent
9. Darkstalkers Resurrection  |  82 percent
12. Skulls of the Shogun  |  81 percent
13. Terraria  |  81 percent
14. Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon  |  80 percent
18. CastleStorm  |  79 percent
21. Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara  |  78 percent
22. State of Decay  |  78 percent
23. Sanctum 2  |  78 percent

With so much Arcade excellence hanging out on the top of the heap, it’s only natural to wonder which XBLA game is dwelling in the basement. To the surprise of no one, Double Dragon II: Wander of the Dragons sits in dead last with a collective score of 17. Just two spots above it, the Snoop Dogg/Lion-inspired rhythm fighter, Way of the Dogg totes a comparatively stellar 41 percent.

Source: Metacritic