I'm in on some controversy.  I came here because I was tired of seeing "Pelit (Finland)" consistently dole out the highest scores on Metacritic.  I don't understand how it earned a reputation as a "serious" critic under Meta criteria.  And...if I were to cast aspersions, I would say they're doing so to win publishers over: gamers go to Metacritic, gamers see high review from Pelit at the top, publishers continue to send review copies.

Just take a look http://www.metacritic.com/publication/pelit-finland?filter=games: 
For 1,438 reviews, this publication has graded:
80% higher than the average critic 4% same as the average critic 16% lower than the average critic

Compare to, say, IGN http://www.metacritic.com/publication/ign?filter=games: 
For 11,287 reviews, this publication has graded:
60% higher than the average critic 7% same as the average critic 33% lower than the average critic

I smell conspiracy...