Blogs have blog rolls, which in theory show what other blogs the author enjoys and would recommend his/her reads to look at. While basically functional, blog rolls are somewhat limited in that they are basically just a name and a link, so I figured today I would give some love to a few sites I check daily and highly recommend. The order below is simply the order I have the sites bookmarked, and in no way indicates that x blog is better than y blog.

First up is the mighty blog overlord himself, Tobold. Tobold really helped get this blog started by linking to my original post, giving me instant traffic and comments, which really helped me get off to a fast start. He writes an excellent and often updated blog, and while his overall view of MMOs differs from mine, it more often than not leads to interesting discussion and future posts. Plus it’s always fun to take a peek into carebear land (joke).

Next is TCSG written by Darren. Not only does he have a unique writing style that I really enjoy, but he is also the host of the very entertaining podcast ‘Shut Up Were Talking’, which I have been lucky enough to be a guest on (invite me again!). Darren has a fine balance of ranting and rational though over at his blog that makes each post entertaining and often informative, plus he keeps up with the more ‘business like’ stuff and often breaks it down, giving a different perspective on common issues.

My one consistent EVE blog, Crazy Kinux’s Musing is a must to keep up with all that happens in EVE, the greatest MMO that I will be playing again soon*. From his regular ‘speed link’ posts to his picture gallery, he runs a very fine EVE blog. Plus now he is a co-host on The Drone Bay, which along with Warp Drive Active are my two EVE related podcasts I make sure to always catch.

Keen and Graev’s site is my one iPhone bookmarked blog, since it’s randomly blocked at work, the place where 95% of my blog viewing happens. Luckily the iPhone allows me to read K&G daily, which is great since they always have good long posts. K&G write in a good mix between fanboy and reporter, writing with excitement yet still remaining credible, something that I think is tough to always pull off.

TAGN is, imo, the ultimate casual player blog, with topics ranging from WoW to Pokemon to Lego birthday parties. It’s one of the few blogs that I read every word of regardless of the topic, which says quite a bit about Wilhelm’s writing ability. Somehow he makes the same WoW instance story seem new and fresh, and I will read about catching the latest pokemon with the same excitement as I would fresh Warhammer info. He has also done a masterful job with his EVE-related posts, making them both entertaining and educational.

Last, but certainly not least, is West Karana by Tipa. Even though a large portion of the posts are EQ2-related, a game I no longer play, I still enjoy Tipa’s writing style and point of view. She also often posts non-MMO related items, and similar to TAGN, they are always well written. Plus she always has lots of pictures, and everyone likes those.

So there it is, my ‘extended blog roll’ of sorts. Note that this is not a complete list of sites, just the ones I frequent most. Often enough I’ll follow one link to another blog, and then another after that, which really is one of the greatest thing about such a community; on any day you can find new and interesting points of view on a topic we all love, MMOs.