With its release just hours away, reviews for Bioshock Infinite have started to emerge and it is on track to be one of the most critically acclaimed titles ever.

The review embargo for the game was lifted just a few hours ago and so far the reception has been scorching, leaving the game with a massive 96 per cent rating on Metacritic after the first ten reviews.

For comparison, only 13 games have ever achieved such a score, among them Half-Life, Half-Life 2, the original Bioshock, Batman: Arkham City, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and Mass Effect 2.

Infinite is clearly a member of the upper echelon of gaming, and only five games have ever topped the 96 per cent rating – Super Mario Galaxy 2, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and Grand Theft Auto III all hit 97 per cent while Grand Theft Auto IV managed to scrape a casual 98 per cent.

This also makes Bioshock Infinite the most well-received title so far this year. The PC version of the game has a 95 per cent rating on Metacritic also, and the only title close to either of those scores is Ridiculous Fishing, which holds a 92 per cent on the site.

Several perfect reviews have also been dished out for the game already, including 10/10s from Polygon, Destructoid and Eurogamer.

Bear in mind as more reviews are added the score is likely to drop, and once the game receives widespread release it will most likely drop even further.

By the time Infinite got to 12 reviews, for example, the score had already dropped to 95 per cent, so we’ll keep you posted on whether or not this game actually is amazing or if the reviewers are just fanboys.

So, it appears Infinite has lived up to the hype – will you be desperately trying to get a copy? Or are you not that bothered? Let us know in the comments.