Every hardcore gamer has heard of Kotaku, Joystiq and Destructoid. And N4G and MTV Multiplayer aren’t exactly unknown entities.* However, there are a number of quality gaming blogs and information sources that you may have never heard about. In fact, many of the most well-known gaming blogs cull their information from these sources.
*However, if you’re not a gamer, you really should check all of those out.

If you want to learn about gaming news on the bleeding edge and tire of the same old writers at Destructoid and Joystiq, here are the top ten video game blogs you should check out.

This list was compiled using 3 data points: 1. Blog traffic; 2. Technorati Authority; and 3. # of Linkbacks. All traffic statistics were pulled from Compete.com and are current as of September 30, 2009.

1. The Wonderland Blog

   Description: Though the Wonderland Blog may not be the most sophisticated or prettiest looking blog, its beauty is in its simplicity. Alice Taylor finds interesting and amusing items on the internet that are gaming-related (for example, this adorable radish Mario mushroom.

   Visitors Last Month: 14,300

   Technorati Authority: 130

   Linkbacks: 4,450

   Total Score: 481.67

2. Major Nelson’s Blog

   Description: Okay, this one you may already know. Xbox’s Larry Hyrb (aka “Major Nelson”) is a veritable legend in many gaming circles. He hosts the “Inside Xbox” program that can be seen on the LIVE service, and he’s a Twitter legend with over 50,000 followers. Nevertheless, if you want to keep on the cutting edge of Xbox LIVE updates, he’s the guy to tune in for, as he always gets a great deal of exclusive information (later picked up by Kotaku, etc.) and gets privileged (and useful) information about LIVE gaming statistics that nobody else has access to.

   Visitors Last Month: 51,365

   Technorati Authority: 339

   Linkbacks: 1,570

   Total Score: 275.92

3. FiringSquad

   Description: FiringSquad is truly the Home of the Hardcore, and they mean it when they say that. If you’re a PC gamer and you want to mod your home computer to be the best rig, they’ve got you covered. You’ll find nary a 360 or PS3 gamer on this site, but you’ll find a great deal of informed, intelligent writers and readers that tend to specify on the hardware side of PC gaming.

   Visitors Last Month: 45,450

   Technorati Authority: 91

   Linkbacks: 1,200

   Total Score: 204.33

4. Total Video Games

   Description: TVG is one of the most underrated gaming blogs published. If you’re interested in reading game reviews and pre-release previews, TVG has some outstanding coverage. Their writers’ review scores contribute to the overall Metacritic rating for games as well. Though they also post relevant news articles, but reviews are their bread and butter.

   Visitors Last Month: 58,025

   Technorati Authority: 114

   Linkbacks: 414

   Total Score: 237.38

5. Ripten

   Description: Ripten is a cute acronym that stands for Reviews, Interviews, Previews, Trailers, Events, News. Though the updates have slowed considerably over the past year, it’s still a great go-to gaming website for gaming news and information.

   Visitors Last Month: 42,076

   Technorati Authority: 90

   Linkbacks: 369

   Total Score: 115.55

6. Pixelated Geek

   Description: Pixelated Geek should get much more viewership and recognition than it does. It’s updated often, always features useful information and I love their layout.

   Visitors Last Month: 35,527

   Technorati Authority: 74

   Linkbacks: 175

   Total Score: 83.71

7. DigitalBattle

   Description: More focused on news than anything else, DigitalBattle is a great alternative source for gaming news if you really want to stay on the cutting edge.

   Visitors Last Month: 30,117

   Technorati Authority: 59

   Linkbacks: 198

   Total Score: 75.55

8. NerdWithSwag

   Description: NerdWithSwag always manages to find off-beat and bizarre tech and gaming gadgets that might interest only me. It’s a great place to find things slightly off the beaten path, but does often find their content from other blogs like Gizmodo.

   Visitors Last Month: 11,579

   Technorati Authority: 38

   Linkbacks: 410

   Total Score: 63.97

9. PureNintendo

   Description: Need your fix of all that is Wii? Here’s the place to get it. Most of the biggest gaming blogs are decidedly anti-Nintendo (at least in the past couple of years). Here’s a place to get some of that good old Wii-lovin.

   Visitors Last Month: 10,165

   Technorati Authority: 23

   Linkbacks: 169

   Total Score: 36.03

10. Modern Warfare 2 Blog

    Description: Here’s your chance to find any and all things Modern Warfare 2. In light of Call of Duty: MW2 being the most hotly anticipated game since Halo 3, the MW2 blog is definitely worth checking out.

    Visitors Last Month: 3,470

    Technorati Authority: 9

    Linkbacks: 9

    Total Score: 7.54