Warning: it’s very addictive.

Enjoy!

Input devices
Sure, you could make do with your existing keyboard and mouse, but why compromise on your gaming experience? Specialized gaming keyboards and mice can help you take your game to the next level, especially if you’re a fan of titles with complicated user interfaces that require extensive hotkey mapping. The Logitech G19 and Corsair Vengeance K90 gaming keyboards are both great options for serious gamers. The Logitech G19 features a color LCD panel and custom-color illuminated characters while the Corsair Vengeance K90′s Cherry MX Red mechanical key switches are coveted by gamers.

Designed for MMO players, the Razer Naga gaming mouse sports 17 fully programmable buttons and three interchangeable side grips for improved comfort and control. If you’re looking for both powerful control and wireless freedom, the Logitech G700 gaming mouse might be your best bet. It has 13 programmable controls for performing single actions and complex macros.

Audio
Your games might look great, but how do they sound? For the serious PC gamer, a decent audio setup is essential.

If you’re looking for a great gaming headset, the Creative Sound Blaster Tactic3D Wrath is an excellent choice. Featuring THX TruStudio Pro technology for superior audio effects like surround sound, as well as dedicated equalizer controls and a battery life of eight hours, the Tactic3D Wrath is ideal for gamers who take their audio seriously. This headset also features a built-in microphone, which is perfect for socializing with your guild in online games.

Alternatively, if you want to experience crystal-clear audio without a headset, the Bose Companion 2 Series II Multimedia Speaker System is hard to beat. These speakers utilize Bose’s proprietary TrueSpace technology designed specifically to optimize PC audio, in addition to dual device input, a stylish magnetic enclosure and automatic tonal balancing for excellent audio quality.

What are your favorite PC gaming accessories?

1. NES USB Controller

This plug-n-play USB controller looks just like the classic NES controller! It features an eight-way directional pad and four digital buttons. It works with both PC and Mac for plenty of old school gaming fun!

2. Atari 10-in-1 TV Games

With the Atari 10-in-1 TV Games System, you have a completely self-contained gaming system. Take 10 classic video games with you wherever you go – all you have to do is hook it up to your TV. Games include Centipede, Pong, Asteroids, Missile Command, Real Sports Volleyball and more!

3. 1 GB Mix Tape Memory Stick

Remember the days before digital music and MP3 players? If you do then you probably made compilations of all your favorite music to share with your friends and loved ones on good old fashioned blank cassette tapes. With this 1GB Mix Tape Memory Stick, you can store up to 900 minutes of quality digital music – perfect for creating your own unique compilation of songs for friends.

4. iHome Portable FM Stereo Boombox for iPhone/iPod

This re-imagining of the classic stereo boombox easily fits any iPhone or docking iPod model without inserts. It has an FM radio, class “D” amplifier coupled to 4″ carbon composite woofers and 1″ dome tweeters, 5 band graphic equalizer with LCD display and a remote control.

5. Pyle PRT15I Retro Home Telephone for iPhone/Android/Blackberry

When Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone he would’ve never imaged how far his creation would have come. The Pyle PRT15I is a telephone designed with the styling of the early 20th century with the future in mind. The handcrafted wooden body and brushed copper accents give this piece an authentic feel. This phone may look like an antique rotary but it’s been updated to work with the latest mobile smartphones on the market today!

6.  Retro Vintage Turntable System

Combine classic record playing with today’s audio files with this Retro Vintage Turntable System! Tune into FM/AM radio or use it to play CDs, MP3s, cassettes and vinyl records. This turntable will definitely catch your eye and can easily become the center piece in any room.

Photo credit: Sony

DualShock 4 controller
While it looks similar in design to the previous controller, the new DualShock 4 controller packs some new features, such as a touch pad, share button, PlayStation 4 eye camera, built-in speaker and a colored light bar.

Digital distribution
One of the biggest shifts gamers can expect with the PlayStation 4 is the platform’s new digital distribution service. Similar to the PS Vita, all titles available on the PlayStation 4 will be available as digital downloads. If you’re a fan of fancy packaging and deluxe box sets, you needn’t worry, however, as many of the top titles available for the PlayStation 4 will also be sold as boxed versions.

Cloud-based gaming
Another innovation fans can expect from the PlayStation 4 is the platform’s integrated cloud gaming functionality. This not only means gamers will be able to open up their games to the public, which will be ideal for fans of multiplayer titles, but the system’s online store will monitor users’ gaming habits and make tailored recommendations on similar titles that fans may like. While this could be a great way to discover new games, it could also serve as a targeted advertising platform that may be an annoyance to some gamers.

More muscle
If you know your way around a PC, you may be excited to learn that the PlayStation 4 will boast an AMD accelerated processing unit (APU) comprised of eight CPU cores. These chips will form the basis of Sony’s new “Jaguar” architecture, which will replace the outdated “Bobcat” architecture of Sony’s less-powerful APUs. However, what will impress any hardcore gamer is the fact that the new Jaguar APU will feature a whopping 8GB of GDDR5 memory, meaning processing speed is definitely where the PlayStation 4 will shine. Although some PC gamers may turn their nose up at these specifications, which are quite easily outperformed by top-end gaming rigs, this hardware is a major step forward for a console.

The PlayStation 4 is expected to be released this holiday. Will you be picking one up? Why or why not?

Three day passes for the show are already sold out but we got our hands on two sets of passes for two, which we’ll be giving out on Twitter. For a chance to win, just follow @Newegg and retweet the following:

Win 2 free passes to #PAXEast in Boston! Follow @Newegg and RT by 2/22 for a chance to win! #NeweggatPAX http://bit.ly/Z3KPE7

Your tweet must be made by Friday, February 22 at 11:59pm PT to be eligible. Two lucky winners will be selected at random and notified next week by direct message on Twitter.

Good luck and we hope to see you there!

However, gamers were well-prepared for the apocalypse. Countless titles are set in devastated landscapes. The trend will continue next year when “The Last of Us” is officially released- assuming the world doesn’t end before then. While players are waiting with bated breath for that game, here’s a look back at some of the best games that took place after doomsday.

Fallout
It’s hard to top the “Fallout” series when it comes to post-apocalyptic games. The franchise, which has been running since 1997, has seen new installments continually soar above die-hard fans’ great expectations. The games feature larger worlds than most comparable titles and give players a genuine sense of struggling to survive in a barren wasteland.

Left 4 Dead
While “Left 4 Dead” might not match the storytelling in “Fallout,” the game is equally harrowing when it comes to survival. The co-op title requires players to work together to find a safe haven in a zombie-ridden Pennsylvania. The team-based gameplay is something of a rarity in this genre of games. Usually, gamers are pitted against each other with their digital lives on the line.

Darksiders
Unlike the above two options, “Darksiders” doesn’t put you into the shoes of human survivors. Instead, you play as War – one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse – who is out to prove that he didn’t eradicate all life on Earth. At its release, “Darksiders” was a breath of fresh air when it came to doomsday games and ignored most of the familiar tropes associated with the genre.

Borderlands
Publisher Gearbox brought unique gameplay and characters to the post-apocalyptic world with “Borderlands.” The game includes elements from role-playing titles and first-person shooters to create a truly unique experience. “Borderlands” has received multiple expansion packs that add new quests, challenges and puzzles.

The apocalypse will always be a popular setting for video games. Publishers can create breathtaking worlds with deadly obstacles that can’t exist in the everyday world. What post-doomsday games do you love most?

Some titles aren’t geared toward children, however, so it’s important to pay attention to the ratings and intended audience for all of your gifts. If you’re looking to buy a child a video game this holiday season, here are some of 2012′s best family-friendly options.

For the Wii U owner
“Wii Sports” was little more than a technical demonstration of the Wii’s motion controls, but the title quickly became the console’s breakout hit. “Nintendo Land” was developed in the same vein for the Wii U and has proven to be an immensely fun game to play by yourself or with a group of friends.

Unlike its Wii predecessor, “Nintendo Land” includes settings and features from popular games like “Super Mario Brothers” and “Metroid.” The mini-games encourage players to use the Wii U’s GamePad and multiple screens while playing.

For PS3 fans
An early knock against the PlayStation 3 was its lack of exclusive titles. That has changed in recent years as games like “Infamous” and “Uncharted” have been lauded as some of the best. “LittleBigPlanet” is a PS3-only franchise that has earned stellar reviews for its fun, family-friendly puzzles and quests.

The series expanded this year with “LittleBigPlanet Karting,” a racing game that bears some similarities to Nintendo’s “Mario Kart” line. Unlike comparable titles, the game features custom options that allow gamers to create their own racers and cars. Parents should note that there is online connectivity, so they should monitor their children when connecting with other players.

For Xbox 360 loyalists
LEGO has expanded its video game line and adapted popular franchises such as “Indiana Jones” and “Batman.” In 2012, the toy manufacturer took a trip to Middle Earth with “LEGO Lord of the Rings.” The title presents a simplified, kid-friendly version of J.R.R. Tolkien’s acclaimed novels with inspiration from the fan-favorite movies.

Unlike some video games, the installments in LEGO’s series focus more on puzzles than battles. A lot of the violence in “Lord of the Rings” is replaced with light humor, so parents don’t have to worry about their kids playing something unpleasant.

While these are three of 2012′s most popular family-friendly games, they only represent a small portion of this year’s releases. What titles are you planning on buying for your kids this holiday season?

“Call of Duty: Black Ops 2″ and “Halo 4″ are already on track to become two of the best-selling games this year, and possibly of all time. Microsoft reported that the latest installment of the “Halo” franchise earned over $220 million on its release day. Meanwhile, “Call of Duty: Black Ops 2″ follows a game that shattered sales records only a few years ago.

While Microsoft and Activision, the titles’ publishers, are interested in how the sales battle plays out, gamers simply want to know which game is the best.

Story
Few fans would said they buy “Halo” or “Call of Duty” for a detailed story, but the campaigns are still part of the games. However, in Halo 4, some gamers felt the single-player mode is a bit simple, and almost feels more like target practice for multiplayer mode.

In “Black Ops 2”, the game actually allows players to have a bigger impact on the game by allowing them to make choices that affect the conclusion.

Graphics
Gamers expect hyper-detailed worlds and characters, which is exactly what both sequels deliver. “Halo 4″ puts gamers on alien planets with deadly enemies that look almost realistic. “Call of Duty: Black Ops 2″ drops players into a futuristic war zone that is a theoretically accurate representation of destroyed cities.

Multiplayer
When fans play first-person action titles, they spend most of their time online fighting against and alongside friends and strangers. The team behind “Black Ops 2″ may have included too many web features in the game they produced. The mini-games, zombies and battle modes can be fun, but some reviews indicate that the game could have benefited from focusing on fewer concepts.

“Halo 4″ borrows some of features from “Call of Duty” and seeks to improve on them. Gamers now have access to new weapons and perks for reaching certain accomplishments. There are also “Spartan Ops,” which are essentially small campaigns players can complete with the help of an online team.

While both titles have loyal fans that will champion one game over the other, do you think “Call of Duty: Black Ops 2″ or “Halo 4″ was the better first-person action game? Why or why not?

As the audience follows along on Ralph’s journey, they will notice that he comes across a myriad of real game characters that most gamers are familiar with, such as:

Credit: Disney

• Altered Beast: Neff
• BurgerTime: Peter Pepper
• Cyborg Justice: Cyborg
• Dance Dance Revolution: Yuni
• Diablo: Diablo
• Dig Dug: Dig Dug, a Fygar, a Pooka
• Eye of the Beholder: Beholder
• Frogger: Frogger
• House of the Dead: Cyril the Zombie
• Joust: Knight, Ostrich
• Kingdom Hearts: Sora
• Mortal Kombat: Kano, Smoke
• Pac-Man: Blinky, Clyde, Inky, Pac-Man, Pinky
• Paperboy: Paperboy
• Pong: Paddle 1, Paddle 2
• Primal Rage: Sauron
• Q*bert: Coily, Q*bert, Slick, Sam, Ugg
• Qix: The Qix
• Shining Force: Mishaela
• Sonic the Hedgehog: Dr. Robotnik, Sonic, Tails
• Street Fighter: Blanka, Cammy, Chun-Li, Ken, M. Bison, Ryu, Vega, Zangief
• Super Mario Bros.: Bowser, Princess Daisy, Princess Peach
• Super Monkey Ball: AiAi
• Tapper: Bartender

Have you watched Wreck-It Ralph yet? Which video game characters did you spot in the movie?

If you do decide to pick up a Wii at this lower price, be sure to remember to pick up some popular games to try out!

Just Dance
Instead of holding the controller in both hands like a normal game, you must hold the controller in the right hand at all times. Play with up to four people, and follow the choreography shown on the screen. Just Dance 3 features both current pop songs as well as old dance songs for you and your friends to enjoy.

Mario Kart
This go-kart style racing game can provide hours of fun for people of all ages. Pick your favorite character, car and race track, and you’re ready to go. Start your engines and race to pick up special items that can help you hit the finish line quicker, and cause your opponent to squeal out, literally.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Out of 39 different choices, choose one character to play as. Many popular and instantly recognizable characters include Mario, Pikachu, Kirby and more. Choose any setting ranging from a spacious castle to the top of a fighter plane. Pick up items and try to knock your opponents out of the screen and eventually, out of the game.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Skyward Sword is a role-playing game. You play as Link, the protagonist who is trying to save his friend Zelda. Equipped with a sword and shield, you  make your way through various mini quests and time periods in order to find your friend. This game was well-received overall, and received high scores from various publications.

Something else to keep in mind is that the Wii U will also be backwards compatible, meaning it will be able to run Wii games such as the ones listed above.

Which Wii games would you recommend to your friends?