End of the world or not, 2012 promises to usher in a number of breathtaking games for avid enthusiasts. Here’s a list of the top 20 games that are expected to set off gamers’ adrenaline and blow their minds.

1. Final Fantasy XIII-2

photo credit: katclay

To be released on January 31, this is the sequel of the Final Fantasy XIII. The game provides a darker mood than its predecessor. It involves some interesting elements like time travel in it. Initial reports suggest that the storyline would be a brain bending one.

2. Mass Effect 3

Check out Commander Amanda Shepard fight against aliens, trying to ruin their plans of world invasion. This futuristic game is the last chapter of the story. The game is supposed to release in March 2012.

3. Uncharted: Golden Abyss

photo credit: PopCultureGeek.com

Like the previous games of this series, it’s anticipated that this game too will deal with the adventures similar to Tomb Raider and Indiana Jones. Gamers should look forward for the new touch pad motion sensor of the game console PlayStation Vita. Set to release on 22 Feb.

4. Twisted Metal

Scheduled to be released on the 14th of Feb, the latest version of the game allows four users on the console or 15 players on the internet to wipe out larger number of vehicles than the previous versions.

5. Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater 3D

This is the ported version of the PS2 version of Metal Gear series. The release date of the game has been decided for February.

6. Syndicate

The cyberpunk game is an improved version of the game that was first launched in the year 1993. The release date of this game, a cross between Deus Ex and Crysis, has been fixed on February 21.

7. Halo 4

photo credit: felixtsao

If rumors are to be believed then this game is going to be the first game of a trilogy named Reclaim. The game will be launched in 2012, sometime in its second quarter.

8. Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm

photo credit: My Blue Van

The second of the three series odyssey offers exciting changes, including differences in the multiplayer gaming experience. Around 20 additional singleplayer missions are included in the game. The game will be released in the second quarter of 2012. [Editor's note: Really stoked for this one!]

9. Xcom

Earlier known as X-com, this game is a mix of a tactics game and X-files. Expected date of release is March 6.

10. Minecraft

The game considered one of the best games witnessed is now coming to the Xbox and will support Kinetic too. The second quarter of 2012 has been decided for the release of the game.

11. Far Cry 3

photo credit: shanewarne_60000

The third in the series is set back again in the tropical jungle just like the first game of the series. There is no more specific release date of the game, but it’s promised to be out in 2012.

12. Diablo III

Ending the long wait of gamers, the next sequel of Diablo will be released during 2012. This version is supposed to bring a lot many changes and possibilities in terms of online gaming and game tactics.

13. Metal Gear Solid Rising

To be released sometime during 2012, MGS Rising has been developed with more attention on action and fighting techniques.

14. The Last Guardian

The game was first shown in E3 in 2009 and since then the release of the game has been postponed many times. The developer team now has declared the release of the game in 2012.

15. World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria

The fourth expansion pack of the game World of Warcraft is expected to release in 2012 though there is no confirmation of the date of release yet.

16. Max Payne 3

The sequel to Max Payne 2 will be launched in 2012 after almost 10 years of gap in between. [Hope it's better than the movie!]

17. Hitman: Absolution

photo credit: Symic

The game that came with puzzles and penalties is ready with its new version with a lot of changes and modifications. There is no confirmed news on its date of release so far.

18. Grand Theft Auto V

photo credit: Joe Fakih Gomez Photography

A new version of the controversial game has been developed by Rockstar and is ready for release in 2012.

19. Borderlands 2

With four new heroes and new weapons in a brand new story, the sequel of the hit game of 2009 is ready to be released in 2012.

20. Bioshock Infinite

photo credit: zampano1212

Though it shares the name with Bioshock, it’s not entirely a sequel to the game or its second version. This fresh shooting game set in a dream-like backdrop will be ready to be released sometime in 2012.

With all these games on offer, there’s no doubt that the year 2012 will be exciting and thrilling for gamers. Whether you like to twitch your mind with puzzles or be the savior of the world, all varieties of games will be on your palate to choose from in the coming year. Enjoy!

This post was written by Alia Haley. Alia Haley is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on technology, home designing, luxury and environment. Besides this she is very fond of games. Recently an article on PCI Graphics Card attracted her attention. These days she is busy in writing an article on Android games.

When the Playstation 3 came out with a Blu-ray player, people were impressed and many got the gaming console just for the Blu-ray player. Now the gaming console is turning into an entertainment center. The Xbox 360 is looking to take TV entertainment to a new level.

Before I start, I would like to note one thing: I haven’t gone insane. I just really, really think SpongeBob is a hilarious cartoon character. That said, I miss the classics like Bugs Bunny and the Looney Tunes a lot too, and I think SpongeBob fills that void for me. I could talk about SpongeBob for ages, but I think you’d rather not hear me do that.

This kind of stuff kills me. (I can be a bit silly sometimes.)

With regards to Tooncasts, I wish I had this kind of stuff when I was a kid. Tooncasts are awesome! I remember as a child, I’d have oodles of fun playing with Lego and running some levels on Donut Boy, but Tooncasts bring on a whole different level of creation and customization.

Basically, with Tooncasts you can put animations of your favourite cartoon characters over included backgrounds. There are also voice clips, ambience objects, and a bunch of other details you can choose to include in the final product.

If you weren’t a fan before you probably won’t be after using this program. If you are a fan though, the little details and nuances that this Tooncast involves are awesome. It’s great to see that they weren’t overlooked.

If you’re not a fan, then imagine your favorite TV show: for example, imagine Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, with the ability to make Carlton do the Carlton dance or Will Smith do his “yaw’m sayin” catch phrase anytime you wanted.

This is what it’s like with the SpongeBob SquarePants Tooncast Studio software. It’s absolutely hilarious to use, and a joy to play with the animations and sound files.

There are a huge variety of characters, ranging from a bunch of SpongeBob animations (which look hilarious) to random Bikini Bottom residents.

The Tooncast Studio features the funny nasal narrator from the show, who is key for adding the ambience. There are a ton of audio clips of SpongeBob or Patrick’s unique lines, as well as lines from a wide array of other characters. SpongeBob does sound kind of different from the voice on the show, but that might just be me.

I kind of wished for more – for example, text-to-voice would be hilarious if we could make SpongeBob say whatever we wanted. (Granted, that might be abused, especially with kids.)

It’s surprising how sophisticated the interface was. Granted, the guide does go through a lot of the features, and it was kind of quick for me to figure out as I’d been using Flash for a while too. That said, I’m not too certain that it’s as simple as it could be – for example, frames are an important concept for the SpongeBob Squarepants Tooncast Studio, and it’s a concept that a lot of kids aren’t yet familiar with.

I also wished they’d made it easier to loop characters. Nonetheless, even with a more complex interface (after all, it is Tooncast software), I still think it’s great and it really opens up the possibilities.

If you’re even remotely a fan of SpongeBob you’ve absolutely got to give this a look. It’d be great for your kids to make cartoons with, if they’re fans of the show and don’t mind the interface. Check out the SpongeBob Squarepants Tooncast Studio.

What’s a great way to make some good money? Where can you find sweet pictures for your new blog? How can you find an image that you can put in your next project? Can you just Google Images your way to success? In occasional cases you can, but a lot of those images are someone else’s property — so, where can you find images that are free to use for anything?

The answer to these questions all lie with stock images (also known as microstock).

Stock images, or royalty-free images, are in huge demand. Since blogs and other methods of sharing online have become more widespread, so has the demand for images that aren’t copyright-protected. There are some great free ways to find stock images (Photo Dropper and SXC.hu are two of my favorites), but if you want the high-quality stuff you’re going to have to pay some good dollar for it.

What is Fotolia?

Let me illustrate Fotolia’s service with an example: You just started making some chump change mowing people’s lawns. You want to post fliers up around the neighbourhood. You don’t have the resources to hire a graphic designer yet though, so all you’re left with is a trial version of Photoshop and that 2.0 megapixel camera on your BlackBerry.

But whose lawn are you going to take a picture of? Does that image quality represent your business well?

Instead of doing that, you can download a high-quality, high-resolution image from Fotolia, and use it in your poster/business card. Best of all, it’s affordable and totally legitimate to use.

Fotolia is a microstock service that provides stock-free images, video clips, illustrations, and vectors. Basically, members pay for one of these types of files to use in their own creations. For example, directors might use a transition video clip that they purchased from Fotolia in their documentary.

Members can also choose to upload their own image files and clips and sell them through Fotolia. This provides amateur photographers and hobbyists a great opportunity to do what they love, and helps support them. Sounds good so far.

Downloading Images with Fotolia

Fotolia’s image quality is certainly up to par with standard stock image sites. From the images I’ve downloaded, I can definitely say that I love the uniqueness and the wide scope that Fotolia has to offer. That said, you’re going to have to cough up a good amount of money for higher-resolutions. If you just want a smaller-sized image for your business card that’s not a big deal (I’d still recommend an M size) – if you want an image for a poster though, it might be.

Fotolia allows you to pay for images either using a subscription system, where you buy a plan and are allowed to download a certain number of images a day, or through a system where you buy their own currency – called credits. The more credits you buy in one sitting, the cheaper each credit will cost. If you plan to buy credits, you might also want to have a look at Fotolia Promo Codes.

Here are the standard rates of Fotolia:

Comparatively, I looked at iStockphoto, a competing stock photography service. Their credits are noticeably more expensive than Fotolia.

This comes as a surprise to me, because their standard rates are pretty similar:

There are a great amount of pictures available on Fotolia, which means that your money won’t be put to poor use. Of course, if you want to try it out initially, I’d definitely recommend starting off with a small amount of credits, especially if you’re running on a tight budget. Also, you can use the search function without having to purchase credits, so give that a look and see

Download speeds will depend on your own Internet Service Provider (ISP)’s speed; I’ve found mine to be excellent, which means Fotolias upload speed isn’t shabby.

What if you want to go wild while you download images? What if you download five at once? There’s this great feature in the Cart, which if you request, sends you an e-mail of a .zip file if you buy more than one image at once – that means all five will be sent in a compressed file, and can be downloaded within 48 hours. Don’t forget to download it! (I learned the hard way.)

Fotolia’s User Interface

Although not as modern or streamlined as iStockphoto, I think that Fotolias interface serves its purpose very well. It highlights and draws your attention appropriately — for example, if you haven’t selected a license in a cart, it will highlight the text in red. My eyes dart right to it every time.

I like the green and grey color scheme, but I think that there’s a bit too much white space. All the white space makes me kind of bored — but that’s a subjective call.

One useful, although a bit creepy, feature enables you to find photos of the same model. It’s pretty useful if you find that the model suits your aesthetic tastes but has a funny pose or is wearing something too informal. Conversely, if you find a model too serious in a photo, you’ll likely be able to find photos of him or her looking a lot more expressive.

Selling Photos on Fotolia

How about the flip side? Is it possible to make some good money by selling your photos on Fotolia?

You bet.

One of mine actually just got accepted a couple of days ago, and I’m excited to see how it’ll perform. Fotolia’s been pretty prompt with it. (Don’t mind the dates — they weren’t reviewing my submissions yet because I hadn’t finished filling out a form that I didn’t know existed.)

Ever wonder if you’re speaking to this lovely lady when you’re on the help line with your web hosting company?

It’s doubtful. Now you know where a lot of companies get their images from, and why they’re allowed to do it! Even better — you now know where to find useful resources to help represent your company in a more professional light.

Fotolia is a great service with a wide variety of high-quality images available. As you’ve seen in this review, doing even five minutes of due diligence will amount to you saving a lot of money — take advantage of Fotolia’s search function and know which images you’re going to buy before you spend money on those credits.

Photo Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26728047@N05/5976786511/ (Ironically my Fotolia subscription ran out so I couldn’t grab an image that I would haeveliked to feature.)

How would you like to win some free cash?

Perhaps some free swag and giveaways from Blackberry and Telus?

So here’s the deal:

My buddy Dhruv Vyas at Western made a video about his organization (WPA) for Blackberry ‘The Best Life’ campaign: http://blackberry.campusperks.ca/entries/600

Now, for his second round, he’s giving out free swag on the Western campus tomorrow (Jan 28) to whoever will take a picture with him!

Apparently there’s a 6-foot high picture frame involved? SOUNDS AWESOME.

Anyway, here’s the link, so check it out, like the event, just click attending people!

Link: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=104753426267420&index=1

Holy smokes, this made me do a double-take. I’ve never seen World of Warcraft played on an HTC Desire before! Have you?

WoW on HTC Desire

Guest Post by Britney Baker of PrepaidCellPhones.net. If you’re interested in submitting a guest post, contact me.

If you are considering purchasing a Microsoft Kinect device to use with your Xbox 360, before you go out and spend the $150+ dollars for the system, there are a few things you should take into consideration.

photo credit: Jon Åslund

1. The Kinect does not need a controller.

When watching demos or viewing commercials for the Kinect, many people ask where the controller is located. The answer is your body. With its sophisticated motion sensing technology and voice recognition, there is no need for a separate manual controller. You can control your Xbox 360 by addressing it with the prefix ‘Xbox’, or you can use your hands to navigate the menus. The hands free approach is what makes the Kinect one of the most appealing devices on today’s market.

For example, say you are watching a movie on your 360 and the phone rings. Instead of hunting around for the controller to pause the movie before you answer the phone, you can simply say “Xbox pause”, and Kinect will recognize your command and pause itself accordingly, allowing you to answer the phone. Once you are finished, you can say, “Xbox resume” and pick up your movie as you were.

2. The Kinect needs at least 8 feet of space.

Because it is a motion sensing device, you will need plenty of space in order for the camera to detect you. The cameras within the device need to see your entire body, so standing back around six feet is necessary. This means you need at least eight feet of space in front of the device in order to operate properly.

3. The Kinect is compatible with the older Xbox 360.

If you have an original Xbox 360, you will still be able to use the Kinect. However, you will need to purchase an adapter to plug the device into the back of the machine, as it uses a proprietary connection instead of a USB connection.

4. The Kinect can detect multiple people using the device.

Many people ask whether the sensor can handle more than one person on the screen. In fact, the Kinect features jump in/jump out technology, which means a person who wants to join in can merely jump into the view of the sensor in order to start playing. Once they are finished, they can jump out without the need for the original player to stop or restart the game.

5. The Kinect can detect people who are sitting down.

When the device was first debuted as Project Natal, many reporters and media types reported having trouble with the device detecting sitting people. This is because of the way the wire frame algorithm for the Kinect was rigged, placing the hip point below the leg point when people are sitting. This has now been changed with the release of the Kinect, so it does not have problems detecting individuals.

Britney Baker reviews prepaid cellphones for PrepaidCellphones.net. Her latest review looked at Tracfone.

Amazon, y’all already had me at $39 free shipping.

photo credit: Brian Forbes

I’m not going to hide it, I’m something of a self-improvement junkie. For the worse, I decided. I’ve become so into self-improvement that it’s getting in the way of…well…my self-improvement. I find these books enticing because they offer hope, a solution to do things so much faster or happier. But either way, I’ve read a bunch of self-improvement books — a lot from my library, and the rest I ordered from Amazon.

If you haven’t ordered from Amazon before, it’s really something you need to try; prices are much cheaper than a retail store like Chapters would be (although Chapters’ website tries to match Amazon’s prices…weird how that price doesn’t translate to a similar one in store).

photo credit: xmacex

I’ll never look back though; sure, I still drop into Chapters and pick up magazines on occasion — and browse through new kinds of books. (I really like exploring new genres on bookshelves, call me old-fashioned.) However, the convenience of ordering the same book for cheaper and having your package shipped free to your door is just too alluring! The free shipping does take probably around two weeks to get to your door, but I personally think that the savings are still worth it.

(Plus Amazon has a wider collection overall because it sells second-hand, but that’s opening an entire different can of worms because those don’t come with free shipping…I already feel the confusion brewing so I’ll stop there; I do realize I didn’t explain myself too clearly — perhaps another day.)

You might have just bought (or are looking into buying) those swirly Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs. (Shame on you if you haven’t already! Just kidding, of course.) They are supposed to last around ten times longer than an ordinary incandescent lightbulb, and because they don’t use heat to produce light, they are all the more efficient.

photo credit: Velo Steve

This is good for the environment. This is good for your wallet. And it means you don’t have to go through the work of throwing out as many bulbs! But, you may notice them dying, or having some bizarre quirks. Here are some tips to make them as normal as possible.

After you first install your CFL bulb, make sure you keep it on for at least twenty minutes. I would explain it, but I’m afraid that I wouldn’t be technically correct, and I hate geeks pointing these trivial things out: leaving it on for twenty minutes allows the ions in the gas to charge fully. This means that subsequently, you won’t have to wait to have the lightbulb charge to full power.

Secondly, on-off cycles kill CFL bulbs — so leave them on for at least fifteen minutes! This might seem counter-intuitive, but they’re super-efficient anyway — keeping them on for another extra ten minutes won’t cost you as much as replacing the bulb! (These bulbs are quite heavy on the wallet initially, but they do pay themselves off — if you can make them last.)

So make them last! Enjoy your CFL bulbs.

Just stumbled across this link on the Interwebz today, as I was taking a prolonged study break. Augmented Reality is still relatively new to the world, but there have already been a myriad of applications — tagging restaurants and other services, but now — gaming.

The following video shows two guys playing Rock Em Sock Em Robots on their restaurant table through their mobile devices. While they look kind of goofy, I think that this new method of gaming is going to encourage mainstream gamers to get more social. (While also sparking outrage from hardcore gamers, probably.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXtq1qBMLIw&feature=player_embedded#!

Check it out, tell me what you think! All this Augmented Reality stuff gets quite disturbing though…pretty soon it might seem normal to wear glasses and see the world only through a pair rather than using our natural eyes. (I mean glasses as in AR glasses, not normal people glasses — I sometimes forget that I wear glasses, haha. Proof of technology being ubiquitous?)