These Are The 17 EA Games That Critics Really Liked In 2008, With One Glaring Omission

Though some of Electronic Arts’ risks didn’t take off like they’d hoped, CEO John Riccitiello said on a conference call this week he was proud of the 17 games that scored at least an 80 on Metacritic.

Riccitiello didn’t name the 17 games that made the cut, so we decided to search through Metacritic’s archives and find out.

You might be surprised at one of the year’s seemingly most critically acclaimed games that didn’t make the cut.

Here's the alphabetical breakdown, complete with accompanying scores.

* Boom Blox -- 85
* Burnout Paradise -- 88 (360), 87 (PS3)
* Battlefield: Bad Company -- 83 (360), 85 (PS3)
* Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 -- 81

* Crysis Warhead -- 84
* Dead Space -- 89 (360), 88 (PS3), 85 (PC)
* Left 4 Dead -- 89 (360), 89 (PC)
* Madden NFL 09 -- 84  (360), 85 (PS3)
* Madden NFL 09 All-Play [Wii] -- 82
* NCAA Football 09 -- 83 (360), 81 (PS3)
* NHL 09 -- 89 (360), 89 (PS3)
* Spore -- 84
* Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 -- 84 (360), 82 (PS3)
* Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 All-Play [Wii] -- 80
* Rock Band 2 -- 92 (360), 91 (PS3)
* Rock Band [Wii] -- 80
* Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning -- 86

The best scoring game on the list? "Rock Band 2."

But the big omission is “Mirror’s Edge.” DICE’s ambitious first-person-platformer has proven more polarizing when subjected to critical analysis by gaming reviewers, forcing its Metacritic average just below the 80-point threshold. Fans don’t have to worry, though; Riccitiello confirmed that thje company is very interested in the game’s franchise potential. What changes will be made to broaden the sequel’s appeal? Do you have any ideas for them?

EA’s mantra the last few years has been about a return to developing original games and increasing the quality of their existing franchises.

EA had its fair share of misfires – does anyone even remember “Ninja Reflex” for Wii from earlier this year?

And it had some solid-sellers, like "Mercenaries 2," that didn't get reviewed well enough for the chart above.

When games like “Dead Space,” “Spore,” “Boom Blox” and “Left 4 Dead” are sharing critical acclaim real estate with established giants like “Madden NFL 09” and “Tigers Woods PGA Tour 09,” it appears that EA’s experiment is having some success. But whether it's going to make the company money remains to be seen.

How many of EA’s games did you buy in 2008?

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