5. Level Up
Another Newsweek writer in our round-up (the first was Dan Lyons), Level Up is the creation of N'Gai Croal.
Lately, he has been on a kick posting simple interviews with gaming experts, but the blog really hits a high plateau when it debates issues such as whether The Sims should be made into a movie. Croal goes deeper than the typical fanboy hysteria, raising thought-provoking questions about game characterization (such as, is it better to only hear a character's words or should you also hear his thoughts).
6. Kottke.org
Jason Kottke doesn't give himself enough credit for his own writing.
Kottke.org is mostly a collection of sanguine links to compelling stories, such as this one about the best sports journalism stories ever.
Yet, its Kottke's quick but insightful comments about those links that makes his blog worth bookmarking.
7. Sore Thumbs
As the newest site in our round-up, it might be too early to list Sore Thumbs as a best-written blog, and many of the posts so far seem hurriedly written and maybe a little cheeky. Yet, the dynamic duo of Dan "Shoe" Hsu and Crispin Boyer, both former editors at Electronic Gaming Monthly who have legitimate writing experience, seems like a winner so far. (Full disclosure: Boyer was one of my editors at EGM.) Sore Thumbs has become an outlet for the editors to share behind-the-scenes details about their careers, and the writing is engaging enough to keep you reading.