Recommendations for non-ad-filled video-gaming websites?

March 25, 2004 2:18 PM

Now that Gamespy have added an advert splash page to their site, I've had enough, and I need a new place for gaming news. Who do you find the most reliable, interesting, and unbiased, for all your gaming needs?
posted by Orange Goblin to Media & Arts (18 answers total)

Penny Arcade

Ok, so it's not *really* gaming news, but it's great.

And it's about gaming, so there you go.
posted by bshort at 2:44 PM on March 25, 2004

I second that. In addition to Gabe and Tycho telling you how much they like or hate a particular game (and they play everything), the forums will give you an unfiltered view of how people feel about a game.

This is the second time in two days I have had the chance to use Penny Arcade to answer an ask mefi question. I am so glad to pimp them out after all they have given me.
posted by sciatica at 3:13 PM on March 25, 2004

insidemacgames.com, If you swing that way.
posted by milovoo at 3:22 PM on March 25, 2004

Try Mike's Ad-Blocking hosts file. The box around the advertisement will be empty.

Next, bookmark the site as "http://www.gamespy.com/?fromint=1", which should get you past the advertisement. Until they catch on that we've bypassed it, at least.
posted by five fresh fish at 3:23 PM on March 25, 2004

I generally don't read pure gaming "news" sites because there's a lot of chaff that I just don't care about, but Evil Avatar is generally good for that sort of thing, and it is regularly espoused by the Penny Arcade guys. My most reliable source of gaming information is Game Rankings which does for games what Rotten Tomatoes does for movies. And, of course, GameFAQs is an indespensible resource and its forums are almost acceptable if you can ignore the preteens and idiots.
posted by mmcg at 3:35 PM on March 25, 2004

http://www.gamecritics.com/
posted by perplexed at 3:51 PM on March 25, 2004

http://www.eurogamer.net
posted by salmacis at 4:26 PM on March 25, 2004

Gaming Age Forums.
posted by lucien at 4:32 PM on March 25, 2004

gametab
bluesnews
posted by rks404 at 4:43 PM on March 25, 2004

http://www.gamingworldx.com
posted by Servo5678 at 5:19 PM on March 25, 2004

Game Girl Advance
posted by iconomy at 5:19 PM on March 25, 2004

I second Gaming Age Forums--I hang out there as much as I hang out at MeFi.
posted by Prospero at 6:03 PM on March 25, 2004

JIVE? Sorry, I write for them, so that lacks bias on my own part, and we do more reviews than news.

So in addition to those mentioned, I'd include TotalVideoGames.
posted by grabbingsand at 7:52 PM on March 25, 2004

The Something Awful Forums - Yeah, you have to pay USD$10 to get in. However, the games forum is one of the best I've read on the web.

Every once and awhile they open up some sub-forums for the public to read and Games is usually one of the public viewable forums.

I recommend it in any case.
posted by ODiV at 8:39 PM on March 25, 2004

another vote for gametab as rks404 mentioned.
posted by juv3nal at 2:06 AM on March 26, 2004

EToychest, despite it's playful name, is the source that all the Penny Arcade forumers trust and love. Believe me, those gamers are hard to please. They also like Evil Avatar, as was previously mentioned.

Penny Arcade is great for commentary on more popular games--probably the best weblog out there, IMHO.
posted by lotsofno at 3:39 AM on March 26, 2004

I second Gametab. Also Shacknews.
posted by arha at 5:02 AM on March 26, 2004

Response by poster: Thanks to everyone that has answered so far. I already have a few of these on my daily reads (such as Penny Arcade, of course), but a lot of these I have never seen before, and are now bookmarked. Shacknews seems to have the best mix of news/reviews I'm looking for. Cheers as well to five fresh fish for the suggestion on how to skip the ad - something I probably should have thought of myself!
posted by Orange Goblin at 8:09 AM on March 26, 2004