Joystick Division - Ten Reasons You're Mad About Games Journalism. Thanks Digg.
The relationship between games journalists and game publishers can be unhealthy. The fiasco around GameSpot's Kane & Lynch review revealed how publisher influence can muddy the waters for videogame critics. Sadly, game companies hold most of the cards in this relationship. They've got the ad dollars to spend, they have the review code and they've got the access to the game designers that we want to talk to. So sometimes we have to play ball, adhering to their embargoes and doing things their way. But we can't allow game company's to steer the conversation and set the tone. The good news is that no amount of influence is stronger than the average game critic's ego. We love our own opinions. And we love spewing them. Paid junkets to Hawaii may seem iffy, but take my word for it: most games journalists would rather be home playing games and telling you what we think of them.

G4tv.com - Sex and the City 2: Gaming with the Girls. Thanks via Digg.
This post was actually written by a testosterone laden male, hopped up on multiple nights of very long Red Dead Redemption sessions. All you girls who are gamers out there, I'm hoping (and praying, in case I meet you in an online match) that you realize this post is all in jest. Yes, games aimed directly at girls, and girls only, tend to be somewhat ridiculous. But, there can be the occasional gem. Like Style Savvy, which our very own Abbie Heppe happened to love. Which is probably why she's the most fashionably dressed member of our entire staff.