Review editor here. Thank you all for your comments!
Aaron, the score is reflective solely of the machine's performance. It doesn't account for price. If price were not a consideration, this machine is good and would be recommended. However, from a value proposition, there are similar or better machines out there that cost much less. That's why we write up a conclusion of our thoughts; while a laptop may look great on paper, there are more variable facets (like price) that need to be considered.
Overall, the biggest downside to this machine was heat and noise, as some of you mentioned. However, I've recently written up a review of the Asus GL703GE, which uses the same chassis as this machine but swaps out the CPU for a Core i7-8750H and the GPU for a GTX 1050 Ti. In short, gaming performance drops a bit, but heat and noise are MUCH improved. It's still pricey for what it is, though. That review should be published soon.