|
Here, you'll find a bunch of different links to the sites I usually visit to get my video game information.
These are very useful sites and I highly recommend them for fellow gaming enthusiasts.
I am very descriptive of the sites, because I want to provide you, dear reader, with a better idea of where to look for your gaming needs.
Also, I've taken away the "open new window" links for this page (well, for the actual links that I considered a "credit"), because I assume you want to look at these sites and not my own.
In the name of spreading video game information, I permit this and give you my blessings to go away from my admittedly super-duper page.
Enjoy!
Video Game Information
| IGN |
The International Gaming Network (IGN) is one of the most extensive sites when it comes to gaming.
There are game previews, game reviews, game articles, extensive forum boards, and so many other things, making it (in my eyes) a wonderful goldmine of video game information.
I go to this site primarily for their video and written reviews, which I find to be more informative than the average gaming site.
|
| Gamespot |
Gamespot is another extensive game site, though I go there primarily for their written reviews.
These are done masterfully, though I find their video reviews, in comparison, often droning and with considerably less sheen than IGN and Gametrailers.
|
| Gametrailers |
Gametrailers is something of a counter to Gamespot; great video reviews, not-so-great written stuff.
Still, this is a great site for video content, from trailers to top ten lists.
Although I get annoyed by the video advertisements, I cannot deny that I can't think of a video game site that provides so many game videos.
Youtube certainly outclasses it in quantity, but it is user-driven content that is not quality-assured.
|
| GameFAQs |
This site is, by far, my favorite video game site.
It has perhaps the most basic design out of any official gaming site that I have seen, yet it is the one where I derive most of my information.
It has great FAQs written by users who, surprisingly, do a good job in monitoring the quality of the material.
If I cannot find an answer to my questions, its message boards, though still with its share of trolls, idiots, and flamers, have many archived answers and lots of helpful people.
Its reviews are by others who have played the game rather than being paid to review it (thus giving a more relatable perspective), its cheats section is clear and concise, the developer and publisher information is easy to find, and it follows any new updates or findings by users.
If you want user-driven information, there is no better site than GameFAQs.
|
| YouTube |
The world's most popular video-viewing site is a wealth of information about video games.
All music and videos used in this site are from YouTube, and their location can be found by right-clicking on any of my music or video embeddings and clicking "Watch on YouTube."
I highly recommend using this site to any person who wants to watch gaming videos, because of the wide scope of games available and the number of specific gaming videos.
However, I also would recommend that you not be too optimistic about the quality of the material found on YouTube, as people either don't seem to like using appropriate tags or "whore them out," making the search for even adequate video content very difficult at times.
YouTube is also prone to little witch-hunts, where they systematically delete things if even the slightest hint or suggestion of DMCA violation.
To stand on my soapbox, I must ask why the DMCA goes against our concepts of justice with the idea of "guilty before proven innocent."
This is an irrelevant rant, I know, but this is my site, people, and I will rant where I want to!
Incidentally, if you want to see my personal channel on YouTube (composed mainly of different playlists), click here.
|
[Back to top]
Video Game Reviewers
| SpoonyOne |
Among video game reviewers, he is probably the one that stands out most prominently in my mind.
He does excellent reviews with a quirky sense of humor, with quality video footage and amusing themes or storylines in most reviews.
SpoonyOne's reviews are generally geared around things from his childhood, like older PC games, television shows, movies, and Dungeons & Dragons.
His best-known work, however, is probably the Playstation game Final Fantasy VIII.
Basically, he absolutely tears it apart with his scathing remarks and rage-filled rants, and he absolutely antagonizes hardcore Final Fantasy fans.
This is perhaps the first time I've seen anyone take a poke at the Final Fantasy ivory tower, and I could only watch with malicious gleefulness as every flaw was pointed out and hundreds of Final Fantasy fanatics tried to respond.
It was entertaining, it was epic, it provided me with great insight into the considerations of game design, and it made me away of the mindsets that often run while playing such large games.
Thumbs up to you, SpoonyOne!
|
| AVGN |
AVGN (Angry Video Game Nerd) is perhaps the most prolific video game reviewers on the Internet, dealing with pre-5th generation games.
He rants, swears constantly, and makes rude analogues, and we all love him for it. He is also a huge movie buff (with a move review site, located Cinemassacre).
With his extensive library of pre-5th generation games (for the Genesis, Atari 5200, NES, SNES, 3D0, etc.) and his extensive experience playing them, coupled with his extensive movie experiences and knowledge of movie tie-ins, and you have one pissed off reviewer who can find all the holes in a video game.
He inspired a whole generation of unofficial video game reviewers, and he is the standard in which all of them are measured by.
Naturally, I cannot help but bow down to his unprofessional yet entertaining expertise.
|
| Wiiviewr |
Wiiviewr is perhaps the only single-console reviewer that I have a large amount of respect for.
There is no unfounded ranting against other consoles and he does not try to make unjustifiable comparisons.
As his name implies, he only reviews games on his Wii, and he actually has his son (still in elementary school) help him in his reviews from time to time.
Not only is he informative and amusing, he does what no other reviewer really made me do: care about families.
I have heard a lot of family-oriented game reviewers and they, quite frankly, have no idea what they are talking about, but Wiiviewr actually plays the games, knows the nuances of console gaming, and refers to his son for *actual* opinions from children.
Thanks to him, I now find myself pondering the family values associated with video games and their suitability to various demographics.
I cannot recommend him highly enough if you own a Wii and/or are concerned with your children playing certain video games.
|
| Ashens |
The first thing you will notice with Ashens (or, as he keeps calling himself, Dr. Ashens) is his sexy British accent.
I kid you not, his accent alone has gathered him a sizable fan-base.
However, that is not why I became an Ashens fan; I find his dry wit utterly refreshing compared to the ranting styles of so many other (unofficial) game reviewers.
He tends to review knock-off video game consoles and cheap LCD games which, although are not my target interests of study, are very informative and provide a wealth of information that I could find from no one else.
I eagerly look forward to his reviews because the stuff he reviews is so obscure or rare that I know I will not stumble upon them through my own efforts.
Hats off to you, my good man!
|
[Back to top]
Video Game Insights
| TV Tropes |
This is an excellent site to consider tropes.
It is amazing how you link games together (along with plays, literature, movies, television, anime and, in some case, real life) and find similarities in nearly anything.
"TV Tropes Will Ruin Your Life" because you cannot see any sort of fiction without seeing how similar it is to so many other things.
However, given that I am a person who does not care about spoilers, it suits me just fine.
If you have a similar attitude and have not yet visited this site, well, I usher you forth, dear reader, to what can only be described as something that take up hours of your time.
This is perhaps the site where I felt closest to connecting to the entire world.
|
| Console Role-Playing Clichés |
This one is just for giggles, really.
Before the popularity of TV Tropes, this was the list to turn to for common RPG elements.
It was witty, well-organized, and made you stop and think about the RPGs that you played.
Although TV Tropes has more or less incorporated all its points already, I have to admit that Console Role-Playing Clichés is a nostalgic site of mine.
I guess I put it up here just to satisfy my memories of simpler times.
|
| Gamesradar |
Gamesradar is an okay site for reviews and basic gaming information, I guess.
The heart and soul of the site definitely lies in its featured articles, because they give you unique perspectives that few other gaming sites provide.
They write excellent articles that compare games and their histories, giving you a clearer picture of the development behind games.
They also combine user speculation with hard information, compare the similarities and differences between games, and write about literally anything related to video games.
In short, I find their articles to be top-notch and very thought-provoking and inspirational.
|
| Wikia Gaming |
There are so many gaming wikis that I visit that I could not really put them all here without making a mess.
As a compromise, I've decided to put the gaming wikia on here, so that you could find your own game wikis.
It is amazing how much information each game can contain, and the wiki is probably the best format to express it all, in my humble opinion.
They tend to be well-organized by fans of the game, so you know that you are getting as much information out of it as you possibly can.
I have no doubt in my mind that gaming wikis generally are easier to navigate than gaming fansite and tend to be less restricted than official game websites.
In short, for any specific game or series, I recommend checking out the wikis as a first resort.
|
[Back to top]
|