Conspiracy ?
I have played mostly all Hitman games and maybe the abilities and the manners of agent 47. haven´t changed a lot since but the graphics, especially the colors, are uniqe to this Absolution series. Also the game´s story is linked very well , from scene to scene , there are no breaks (as those of the Assassins Creed 3 series had, which is an editor choice by the way).
In other words the game would have merited an 8.5 , editors choice, due to it´s uniqueness thorough the levels . Also in Castelvania i noticed the same unmerited score.
Im beginning to think that this game rating is pure marketing .
Guess there are some favorites from both parts of the chain ; rating agencies and producing ones. As the later develop games through their strategies , the first act as a powerful intermediate btw the customer and company. Being that crucial they can heavily influence a buyers decision which means that both parts are aware of each other.
As preferences and beauty are relative I would propose better a system without ratings , just reviews of the games , stating its goods and bad and leaving the choice on players hands.