A branch of Nick Denton's online gossip empire (, , et al.), Kotaku has some of the best writers in the gaming world. Up-to-the-minute cross-platform gaming news is all they do; they usually get that news before anyone else, so if you want stay current, their front page bears watching all day.

If you venture beyond our own , Inside Mac Games' news section is the place to go. It's regularly updated; between them and us, you'll have all the Mac gaming info you need.

While I find the site hard to navigate at times and its news section weak, The Escapist produces the best games-related videos on the Web. Lots of personality (see, for example, contributor Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw's caustic weekly review, ), lots of humor, lots of detailed info.

One of the most successful gaming sites out there, IGN is huge, slick, and full of information. While it offers some information about PC-based games (and little if any about those for the Mac), the main focus here is the major consoles. But if you're a serious gamer, IGN secures lots of exclusives, and you can usually trust what they say.

Back in the day (say, 2004), 1up was one of the hardcore gamer's best kept secrets. Lately, it's been overshadowed by megasites like IGN and . But I'm still a fan, for its community news, podcasts, iPhone game reviews, and slick news tab.