Gaming blogs roundup

March 2nd, 2009 • 1 comment
Tags: blogs, game blogs, games, Gaming, gaming blogs, video games

I’m on a major gaming binge right now. As a result, I’m looking around for some cool blogs to add to my reader. I’ve found quite a bit of good stuff. Gaming is really so much more mainstream than it was ten years ago. Its audience has also matured tremendously. The media and the moral police of this great nation have had to accept the maturity of the content. The blogosphere reflects these sweeping changes in the medium. The blogging medium is even newer than gaming so as gaming has matured, blogging has matured into respected citizen journalism. These are the blogs that stand out right now. I’m skipping right over the Joystiqs and Kotakus—the juggernauts. You probably already know those. These are the blogs that, although they are a little harder to find, are well worth the effort.

Catchy Name News (RSS feed)- I first have to mention a friend’s blog. Justin is a long-time gamer with a lot of insight, a sense of humor, and an intense hatred of space marines and “art games.” His articles are always hilarious and often cover the dark corners of gaming many fear to tread. He just won the local SFIV tournament so head over to his blog and comment your congrats.

Sexy Videogame Land (RSS feed)- Leigh Alexander is all over the ‘net at major sites like Gamasutra and Kotaku. This is her personal gaming blog. There are some very cool posts. She’s currently playing RapeLay, the rape game that Amazon got into hot water for selling. I thought that might get your attention.

Magical Wasteland (RSS feed)- The design of the Magical Wasteland is complementary to the content. The entire site is black and white with no images getting in the way of the content which is insightful and well-written. This won’t clog up your reader either as updates come about once a week.

Arcade Heroes (RSS feed)- If you want to follow the dead and/or dying arcade scene, this is one great place. One thing you’ll learn from reading the site is that the arcade scene is much more vibrant in Japan than it is here in the US.

Dusty Pixels (RSS feed)- Is retro your game? Dusty Pixels covers game not in this generation (and I don’t see anything from the previous one), but even younger gamers may still be able to get “retro” as they seem to cover games for the original Playstation. There is a post with cool tips for acquiring older games to help get your collection going.

There are probably more blogs than there are people on earth so you probably have a few favorites I have missed. Maybe you have a gaming blog of your own you’d like to plug. Post a link in the comments. I’m always game for more cool game blogs!

Three great gaming blogs (two new to me)

February 15th, 2009 •
Tags: blogs, casual games, coop, cooperative games, flash, games, Gaming, gaming blogs, Indie Games, News

Awesome gaming blogs are coming out of the woodwork. I have found two excellent blogs in the past week that were not at all on my radar before.

The first is Play This Thing! That’s their exclamation, not mine, but it is well-deserved nonetheless. The blog covers games that are otherwise starving for coverage. They cover indie games of all kinds including downloadable games, Flash games, and even board games (which makes me very happy). If you’re interested in trying games that are small and virtually unheard of, this is the site for you. I strongly suggest you try it. There are really quite a few gems out there.

Next up is Co-Optimus. Thanks to one of the podcasts that rose from the ashes of 1Up (I can’t recall if it was Geekbox or Rebel FM.) for pointing this one out to me. This blog is perfect for fans of cooperative play in games. Cooperative play has been gaining more traction in recent years. Gone are the days of multiplayer being almost exclusively competitive… and good riddance! I’m as much a fan of competing as anyone, but I don’t want that exclusively as the only multiplayer experience. This covers news and information for games that can be played cooperatively.

Lastly comes a blog I have read for some time and just realized I had not yet subscribed to in Google Reader: Jay Is Games. The blog covers casual games of all flavors (albeit mostly Flash games). Don’t let this turn off any hardcore gamers as there is plenty of fun to be had here. I’m sure you have all played Tetris and know that a hardcore gamer doesn’t have to interface with a steroid-hyped space marine with a gun the size of the typical geek’s entire body to get satisfaction from a gaming experience. The games here are fun, easy to get into, and great for a few minutes of play. Please note: if you view this site at work, your productivity may suffer greatly!

Do you know any awesome blogs that me or my readers may be missing? It can be related to anything covered on this site. Just post them in the comments. I love finding new blogs to read!