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.

Watch your favorite TV shows when you want to – in your living room, or on-the-go.

We’ve all been there – we have to make the difficult decision to choose between a TV show or work. Or a TV show or a function. Or a TV show or a social event. In most cases, the choice is obvious – and TV is put on hold. If you’re regularly choosing TV over these alternatives, I’ll be glad to prepare a lecture on how there’s more to life than just sitting on a couch.

Either way, it’s a tough decision – so why make it? I learned over this summer how to keep control over TV while still enjoying TV more than I ever did before.

It all started with a show called Entourage (God bless Ari Gold). I’d heard a lot of good things about it, so I decided to give it a try. The only problem? I didn’t know when it aired, and I didn’t want to pay for a season DVD. I could easily have borrowed them from a friend, but I decided to try exploring my options. I opened a world of media that I had never known about before. And the best part – I never had to watch a single frame on a computer screen, but on a nice TV screen (not that big actually, just 32-inches – but bigger than a computer screen nonetheless).

Here, I already assume you’ve got your TV shows on your computer. The method you decide to acquire them with is entirely up to you – buy (or borrow) a season DVD and rip it, illegally download your TV shows season by season (this is extremely popular), or purchase them off iTunes (or other websites). Either way, after we’ve got the TV shows on our computers, the issue is how to bring them to our TV. Who wants to watch it on a small screen anyway?

1. Computer

A lot of people have old rigs lying around – if you do, then congratulations. All you need to do is buy a TV tuner card (typically $50) and install it in your unused computer. Then, simply transfer the files from your computer to your TV – I simply dragged and dropped them to my external hard drive, then plugged it into my PS3 and played it like that. You will also want playback software – nowadays, VLC is light and covers a huge spectrum of file formats. If it’s media center software you want, I hear some good things about MediaPortal (and it’s free!).

More info: http://lifehacker.com/298408/turn-your-windows-pc-into-a-media-center-powerhouse-on-the-cheap

2. With a PS3 or Xbox 360

I’d already mentioned this, and it’s doubly simple with a PS3 or Xbox 360. A lot of people use these simply as gaming consoles and nothing more; little do they know that these little consoles double as excellent media hubs! I am very pleased with the PS3’s playback interface, as I find it very streamlined. Again, simply drag and drop the files from your computer to your external hard drive, then copy them onto the PS3 or Xbox 360 hard drive (PS3 users, the triangle button comes in handy). Easy as pie.

PS3: http://www.us.playstation.com/

Xbox 360: http://www.xbox.com/en-CA/?fbid=u8aEteIsElN

Another method using a PS3 or Xbox 360 would be to stream the media from your computer to your console (this can also work with a Wii and Orb software). I used Vuze to stream my media to my PS3 – but I wasn’t pleased with the result. My home’s Internet has excellent download speed, but mediocre upload speed, which lead to very laggy and unresponsive playback, with load times and all. I was much happier with the cruder method.

3. With a PVR

This is probably the easiest, but the most traditional and restrictive route; nowadays, tons of cable companies offer customers free PVRs and such for service – so take advantage and get one! PVR’s can tape shows off cable (this is a blessing, as you won’t need to acquire any media files – but unfortunately, you can’t put any on either) and save them onto the PVR’s hard drive, then play them back later on. Undoubtedly, you will probably have heard of this method already.

Of all these methods, I prefer the second one most – the $400 PS3 or $300 Xbox 360 are both excellent investments in entertainment, and open up not only a huge world of gaming, but also excellent media opportunities.

On-the-go

4. Slingbox

This solution has boomed in popularity since I first heard about it a couple of years ago. Slingbox basically streams your media files from your computer to another computer or another device that has a connection to the Internet. I believe that a major issue (as with all streaming) would be the limited upload speed of home Internet, but Slingbox has worked for some people (why would it be selling like hotcakes if it didn’t?).

More info: http://www.slingmedia.com/

5. Digital Media Player/iPod

A lot of us commute to work or school, and the time is wasted staring out the window. Why not do some homework, catch up on sleep…or watch a TV show? Simply download Videora iPod Converter (or your respective converter for your digital media player) and convert the files to iPod format, and drag and drop them into your iPod via iTunes. Ta-da, you can now watch your favourite TV shows on the go.

I hope that these instructions serve you well, and if you have any questions or concerns then fire away!

As my GameSpy newsletter got delivered (I’ve been subscribed for a couple of years now, actually), I glazed over it just the slightest bit. Scrolling past the GTA IV hype, something piqued my interest. Was that the guy from Assassin’s Creed, or was it just me? I clicked the hyperlink which led me here. I found myself instantly wishing:

• I had an Xbox 360.
• I had a Playstation 3.
• I had a more powerful PC.

From what I’ve made out of the videos so far, Prototype is centered around a single protagonist who has had experiments performed on him by the military, which ended up mutating him and transforming him. He can grow spikes from pretty much anywhere on his body, can generate armour, and is pretty bulletproof. I haven’t even got started about the best parts of the game yet.

The environments: from what I’ve seen, Prototype is something like a modern-day Assassin’s Creed. It’s got the guy in the hood (tip of the tongue, forgot his name), it’s got the melee attacks, and it’s got the really next-generation city interaction where you can kill/absorb pretty much anyone in order to get those goals accomplished. The city is basically a replication of New York City with 110 of their most significant buildings – definitely more than enough for me.

Of course, just watching it won’t sell it. A few more things need to happen:

• It needs to break through with a better storyline and less repetitive gameplay than what I’ll now refer to as its ancestor, Assassin’s Creed.
• It has better marketing than Assassin’s creed, which was already pretty hyped.
• It gets ported to the Wii. For me, if not for the other people who will buy it.

Words can’t describe as well as a video, so watch it. Anyway, that’s enough out of me for one day. I’m going to sit back, relax, and see how this folds out. Hopefully it does get ported, but I’m going to doubt that. Since when does a little blogger like me get listened to?

[youtube gQoMELyEYFQ nolink]

Apparently, since the life span of HD-DVD seems to have nearly run out, Microsoft has decided to make its way to the winning side and incorporate Blu-Ray with the Xbox 360 – in forms of both a player add-on similar to the HD-DVD add-on (so even the users of the current Xbox 360 can purchase this and watch Blu-Ray movies I believe), and a revised Xbox 360 with a Blu-Ray reader integrated into it. Gutsy, right?

You bet. Not only does Microsoft risk its ego in appealing to Sony for a Blu-Ray license, it also spatters its reputation by admitting that the opposing side had better technology. I think it’s repulsive to jump off the sinking ship when you’ve supported it for so long, but also admirable to continue evolving its console. Besides, it doesn’t seem like they’ve got much of a choice anymore – Toshiba’s already jumped off the ship itself (so much for the captain going down with the ship), just unofficially. Either way, this past week has been a huge one for the whole industry and the outcome of the format wars.

I can’t say this doesn’t affect me, as a friend of mine had wagered that HD-DVD would come out as the winner and has been a diehard supporter (although he did purchase a PS3 for the sake of being able to play Blu-ray movies, for the sake of insurance). In fact, this whole month has been pretty Microsoft-y, with the whole Yahoo! situation, Danger Inc. and now the fall of HD-DVD. Interesting.

Breaking news just now, the Format War is (almost) over. Toshiba has allegedly backed out on its own creation, HD-DVD, leaving Sony and the Blu-Ray format the last man standing, triumphant even through the thick and the thin. What’s the matter? Why did Toshiba exit the battlefield? And how did Sony plan such a strategy, to ensure its victory? Just a few points to consider:

• Even though Toshiba might have won the war, Sony’s Blu-Ray discs would still have been used for Playstation 3 games – giving it some insurance.
• Speaking of the Playstation 3, it sure is one hell of a gaming console, but doubled as a Blu-ray player – meaning not only was it a great bang for a buck, it also enabled hardcore gamers to experience the Blu-ray definition on the side.
• Toshiba’s gaming counterpart, Microsoft, really did not take much of a role into pushing HD-DVD out there, whereas Sony did relatively well in promoting their own format.
• The initial disappointment with the Playstation 3 resulted in a stalemate in the format wars. However, as the popularity of the Playstation 3 grew, the popularity of Blu-ray grew right along with it.
• The Blu-ray disc looked much stronger on paper – and even though that doesn’t exactly ensure a victory, it sure gives it the edge when comparing storage capacities and bandwidth.

Source: http://digital-lifestyles.info/copy_images/blu-ray-japan-sales-lg.jpg

It’s safe to say that you can go out and purchase a Blu-ray player or a PS3 now. If you ask me, what really pushed Toshiba over the edge would either be Warner Bros. abandoning it, Wal-Mart abandoning it, or NetFlix abandoning it (er, it’s not very likely, but NetFlix does have some influence right?). Or Best Buy abandoning it. Either way, we all saw the walls crumble in recent news.