I don't really get this comment. Let's go look at Metacritic averages for 2013 games based on the most reviewed version:
Tomb Raider: 87
Devil May Cry: 86
Crysis 3: 79
Metal Gear Rising: 79
Dead Space 3: 78
Aliens: CM: 49
Are there a lot of numbers near 80? Sure, but there are also pretty clear bands of separation here.
Outside of the odd bomb that should have never been released like Aliens, most major release reviews from the major videogame media like Gamespot, IGN, Game Informer consistently get around 8, give or take a degree. I don't think what you listed is much separation at all, especially when so many use 0.5 grades of scale.
Not that I'm bashing the reviewers for not being more strict, but that days of major "bomba" reviews are basically over. Games have advanced to the point where unless they're development hell and greenlighted like Aliens, they're competent on some level. Fundamentally broken games don't get released much anymore.
So that leaves you with very predictable results. The canned 8, 8.5 is commonplace this year, and all throughout last holiday with Assassins Creed, Call of Duty, Madden, etc.
Basically you don't even have to read reviews anymore, you know what they'll get for the most part, you know what genre you like, and they all boil down to "if you're a fan of this genre, you'll like this" and that's basically it.