As I assume most people out there know, I turn to Game Informer for all my gaming news. But as I was doing a bit of research today, I realized I hadn’t directly addressed two of my other favorite sites that have proven time and again to be excellent resources: HowLongToBeat and Co-Optimus.

(Note: To be fair, I have talked about HowLongToBeat here and there, but but I’m not sure I’ve ever brought up Co-Optimus.)

HowLongToBeat.com

I found HowLongToBeat by accident when I was (brace yourself) trying to find out how long it would take to beat a certain game. Since then, I’ve frequented the site, especially when I am trying to budget my time around several titles.

Not only can you pull up virtually any game you can think of and see the various times it would take to complete said title (e.g.: main story, main + extra, completionist, combined), but I’ve often stumbled upon other games I want to play or, rather, reminded of games from my backlog that I’d like to get to sooner than later. I tend to keep digital lists of the games I’d like to play at any given time, and the site is instrumental in the way I list that data. Next to any title, I list the approximate hours it will take to do a completionist run, as I know I will at least play the base game, but there is always the chance I will want to 100% it. It’s nice to have that data at the ready.

One of these days I should actually sign up for the site and start contributing my own data. I’m almost embarrassed that I haven’t already.

Co-Optimus.com

The other website I love is Co-Optimus. If you are wondering if a game is co-op, head over to Co-Optimus. If you are looking for a co-op game but don’t have one in mind, head over to Co-Optimus. You can use any number of search filters to find a co-op game to play. You can search by system, title, player count, you name it. You can search for online, local, or splitscreen. The website is vast and dense. I have ended up there when I was unsure if a particular game supported co-op. I’ve often just plugged in random requirements and come away with new ideas for games to play.

Not that I need more games to add to my backlog, but there’s something inherently wonderful about going to a website, and coming away with ideas for games you might have never heard of (or heard of once long ago and have forgotten in the interim).

I can’t recommend these sites enough for any curious gamers out there. Both of these sites remind me of the times (back in the day) when I could mosey down to the local video/game rental store and peruse for entertainment to consume. This is just infinitely easier and doesn’t require any one clerk to have all the knowledge.

Are there any gaming sites you frequent? Which ones? What do you like best about them?

If you are even remotely curious, I highly encourage you to poke around both sites. There is a font of knowledge to be had for the asking.