So in a few weeks, I’ll be going to the most important gaming convention in this country for the first time. By that, I certainly don’t mean E3, I’m talking about Penny Arcade Expo. Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik describe it best when they say, “the best part of PAX is hanging out with other people who know their shit when it comes to games.” But before anyone thinks it’s just about a bunch of sweaty nerds gathering together to play mind numbing, emotionally desensitizing, and physically sedating video games, take a look at the schedule. With such panels as How Gamers Give: Improving the World through Games, Digital Rights Education, and a panel I swear stole it’s name from a Sesame St. episode, Losing Should Be Fun.

I can’t say how enlightening it will be, but I’m definitely going to make sure the account of my time there is spread to the rest of the Internet with as much description and honesty as I can muster. There have been plenty of Cons that had passed me by, and I remember looking for every tidbit of news I could find, just to have a small taste of the experience. I owe it to the bloggers who came before me to do the same.

And now, for no particular reason, two korean girls in front of a sandcastle Playstation 3.

For whatever your gaming news needs are, whether they be the latest trailers and screenshots or the games that will be worth the money or the latest controversy, I’ve pulled together a list of websites that will let you know more than you ever wanted about video games. Each one of these are unique to each other and offer different views, so at least one of these should suit your needs.

1. Kotaku

This is the gaming blog that began it all, the grandpappy of video game news. It has some polish, and is generally safe for kids, save for when they cover M-rated games. But whether or not simply discussing mature games isn’t kid safe is at your discretion. Uncluttered but still relevant, I’d suggest this for any bloggers, casual gamers, or anyone who doesn’t want too much of a good thing.

2. Metacritic

While this site is not strictly a gaming website, (it’s also about movies, dvds, tv, and music) it does give you the most accurate least inaccurate reviews of games anywhere. I say this because this site doesn’t actually write reviews, it aggregates them from a number of trusted reviewers and scores it based on them. While it’s a common feature, I like getting the list sorted by recent games or highest rated. After buying some real lemons, I always go onto metacritic before I make any video game purchase and see what the reviews were. I’m considering sending this link to my grandmother in hopes my little brother never has a “ultra bad but well-intentioned” birthday gift.

3. GamePolitics

This is the site where the filthiest games meet the most fame-ravenous politicians. As video games are this generation’s rock n’ roll, they never have a shortage of articles about people yelling about the latest ‘danger to our children’. But the most appreciated feature of this site is they are amazingly even-handed with the mountains of content they provide. While anything with the word “politics” in it must be approached cautiously, GamePolitics is useful for anyone, regardless of political leanings, that wants to know the threats of, and what’s threatening the games industry.

4. N4G

Self-described as “…a social game news site that covers the game industry 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.” This site is great for more hardcore gamers and people hip with the social networking scene. It may be too in-depth for some, as it provides articles not just about the games themselves, but also about the business of gaming, the debates, and just about any other bit of gossip even vaguely game-related. Actually, I can’t recommend it’s social networking aspect too much, the most social I’ve seen gamers online is when they’re ruthlessly arguing.

5. GameFAQs

(Sorry, I- I, uh, couldn’t get a logo)

This site isn’t about gaming news at all. But it is a helpful tool that plenty of gamers use when they’re stuck. It’s better than any cheat code book, magazine, or sponsored game guide could be, because the cheats, FAQs, and guides are all written by and judged by the players. It has some frivolous polls and Top 10s there for laughs, but they don’t distract from the site at all. It’s an indespensable resource for anyone who plays challenging video games.

But as useful as gamefaqs is, don’t go to their sister site, gamespot, for gaming news. It’s not worth it.

Honorable Mention: Penny Arcade

The guys who make the webcomic Penny Arcade are, hands down, the voice of the videogame market. With Mike Krahulik illustrating and Jerry Holkins writing, they’ve made one of the most popular webcomics on the Internet. While this is an achievement many could settle for, they’ve also created Child’s Play, a charity that has raised nearly 5 million dollars for toys in children’s hospitals worldwide. They also started PAX (short for Penny Arcade Expo), a gamer convention that has nearly doubled in attendance each year since 2004. When these guys have something to say, the whole industry listens.

As I have said before, the idea of A-list actors voice acting in games is a point of curiousity for me. I’m not sure what I’m missing when game commercials use 50 Cent or Vin Diesel or Samuel L. Jackson or some other celebrity as a selling point. Some people I talked to suggested that game-buyers might go for a game with a celebrity because of their talent as an actor, or some similar reason. I might be more inclined to believe that if there were some good actors in these games (actually, close inspection reveals there are a few exceptions, Patrick Stewart voiced a few lines in Elder Scrolls IV, and Ron Perlman did the opening for some of the Fallout games).

And yet, I am a hypocrite.

Brutal Legends is an action/adventure game made by Double Fine. The first trailer for it basically showcases Jack Black voicing the protagonist. Despite the “Look, look! We have Jack Black in this game! You guys like him, right?” feel I got from it, I was still quite excited. Yes, excited. Double Fine is led by Tim Schafer, who has made cult classic games like Pyschonauts, Grim Fandango, and The Secret of Monkey Island. Any snob who has an inflated opinion of the artistic merit of video games knows and loves this guy.

My dilemma with this game then is despite the cartoony aesthetic and overdone voice acting of Jack Black, the designer’s track record is platinum. It’s like if Steven Spielberg, immediately after recieving his Oscar for Saving Private Ryan announced he would be directing a family movie involving a cop dressing as a fat black woman.

Watch this as I have:

Wheelman, as I suspected, is being widely panned as a bad game. However, the interesting thing is that it stars, let me repeat, stars Vin Diesel. To me, this represents an another interesting step that Hollywood is taking to capture the electronic entertainment industry and another step awkward step in blending movies with videogames.

When I first saw the trailers for Wheelman, I wondered, “How does this game benefit from having Vin Diesel as the protagonist rather than just a character rendered on a computer?” It’s not that he can growl out the voice for a badass mercenary driver better than anyone else. Micheal Hollick’s barely a B-list actor and he portrayed Niko Bellic amazingly in Grand Theft Auto IV (and I bet he got paid a whole lot less).

50 Cent did this too by making 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand where he goes from overpaid rapper into terrorist killing badass with biceps the size of small trucks.

Both games confuse me with just their premise. Am I supposed to have fun with this game, or do I, like, experience it, like I would a summer blockbuster movie? Granted, the question is moot anyway because neither game was very good, but they are certainly intriguing indicators as to the cinematic potential of the games industry.

One thing I do NOT like about this concept of stars in games, though, is they probably steal the player’s sense of accomplishment. For 10-20 hours I can only imagine Vin Diesel telling me, “Oh, did you blow up that truck with just the right timing? No. You didn’t. I did. Vin Diesel. I blew up that truck, and you should feel lucky you were there to be a small part of how badass I am.”