So, the craze for driving games is back, and is it just catching up with a few hardcore gaming freaks? Perhaps not! Check out the following top list and see what’s hot in the driving/racing gamers’ community right now, especially if you own the PlayStation3 gaming console.

5. SEGA Rally Revo
How in the world, and I mean, how can we forget offroad racing? Getting dirty with cars has never been so much fun. Almost 16 out of 33 cars have to be unlocked, but that’s where the fun begins. But is that all? Well, we thought real hard to come up with a fake reason to put this game here on the list, but we found a good, genuine one – It reminds you of the good ol’ SEGA arcade days, and it’s just FUN.

4. Forumula One Championship Edition
Drive, Race, Simulate. Developed and published by Sony Computer Entertainment, this is yet another hot PS3-exclusive (Wasn’t that obvious? Duhh!) With an improved artificial intelligence system making the game more realistic than ever before and a progressive gameplay, Formula One Championship Edition is our new favorite.

3. Ridge Racer 7
Over two years old, yet so new, Ridge Racer 7 is exclusively available to PS3 owners. Choose a car from the wide range (around 40), land on one of the 22 courses, and drift your car around hairpin turns, feel the excitement and win the race. Wow, such excitement! Couple it with superb graphics, Dolby Digital audio and you’re bound to stick with it for months.

2. Motorstorm: Pacific Rift
Bikes, Mud Pluggers, Buggies, ATVs, Racing Trucks, Rally Cars, and… Monster Trucks! Besides, the game now moves from the brown worlds to a more colorful, island environment. 16 tracks and 51 vehicles from 8 vehicle classes will give you so much variety; you’ll want us to keep it at the Top 2 spot for some more time. Need we say more?

1. Burnout Paradise
Released in January 2008 for the PS3 and still topping this chart is Criterion Games’ biggest hit thus far. Published in association with Electronic Arts, Criterion’s Burnout Paradise has been a heavy hitter with the racing ‘jerks.’ Drive or ride, crash or speed by, follow the route or create your own – Burnout Paradise gives you over 250 miles of open world, known as “Paradise City.” But, what makes this one a winner? Turn to Criterion, and you’ll find that they’re working on giving you more of it, with over 7 packs out after the game’s initial launch.

Got any games of your choice to add to this list?

Below are the most popular (in terms of number of players) PC games out there.

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King

The unique art styles, new-user-friendliness, and those little touches that are developer Blizzard’s hallmark help to explain why World of Warcraft (WoW) has nearly 12 million subscribers.  In fact, this latest expansion holds the record for fastest-selling PC game of all time.  But what does “Lich King” add to a game that’s already so crazy addictive?  Well, there’s the new Death Knight, the game’s first hero class–a sort of combination Necromancer/Warrior. The level cap has been raised to 80, and more overall customization is possible.  Oh, then there’s Arthas, the Lich King himself, one of the most powerful entities in the Warcraft universe…and you’ve got to stop him.

Warhammer: Dawn of War II

Warhammer’s dark, violent, richly-realized gameworld has amassed an impressive following since its introduction to the PC gaming community in 2005, so the appearance of this latest expansion is no great surprise. However, Relic Entertainment’s newest release is no mere sequel–it’s a complete rework of the Warhammer franchise.  Gone is the base building, while RPG elements, such as unit leveling, have been added.  Additionally, there is a revamped single-player campaign, and the fully-destructible environments serve the game play well. One thing that (fortunately) hasn’t changed is the frenetic action and fast-paced co-op play that made Warhammer so much fun in the first place.

The Sims 2

There are so many expansions for this venerable series sequel (and the original game) that it is pointless to list just one entry, but suffice it to say, the Sims games and their add-ons remain ridiculously popular. Released 1½ years ago, The Sims 2 nevertheless stays successful and relevant with a well-placed succession of expansions, the most recent of which is “The Sims 2: Apartment Life”.  This expansion allows your Sims to socialize as never before, and adds new content while not fooling excessively with the tried-and-true Sims formula.

Empire: Total War

The Total War series famously combines the best of classical table-top turn-based strategy with involving, challenging hands-on battles.  The sheer breathtaking scope and spectacle of these battles are a touchstone of these games, and that is unchanged here.  The 18th-century setting was a wish come true for Total War fans, and the much-anticipated 3D naval combat is well-implemented.  Several small augmentations and refinements over the previous releases, such as improved systems on the Campaign Map, make this a notable addition to a distinguished franchise.

Spore

The only title on the list which is neither an expansion nor a sequel, “Spore” may also be a strong contender for most unique PC game currently out there.  Created by those who brought you The Sims, Spore allows you to formulate your own lifeform from scratch, while blending strategy and RPG elements which meld nicely with the cartoonish setting.  A series of progressively more complicated development phases bring your creation all the way from the microbe level to the scope of an entire space colony.  Along the way, your creature will evolve and adapt according to your whims.  Enriched by an extensive online community, the potential for user-created content is significant.

One of the best applications on Xbox Live is the ability to watch and download movies. The console can do more than just play games, like all the other next-generation consoles do. There are several ways to play movies and download them through Xbox Live. All you need, firstly, is an active Xbox Live account. The service has affiliated itself with several websites and partners to ensure that you’re able to stream the latest movies and even some classics to your console. The main venues through which you can download Xbox Live movies are through the Live Marketplace and through Netflix.

The Xbox Live Marketplace works by customers buying movies and the like with points. Marketplace points can be purchased with a credit card at most retail stores or other outlets, and these are used in the Marketplace to buy movies and new games on Live Arcade. To buy movies, simply log in to the marketplace website from your Xbox 360 and go to the movies section. From here you can download movies for approximately 300-400 Xbox Live points, depending on the movie. There are many different genres available. Mainly, what seems to be top on the list are independently made films.

Netflix has also collaborated with Microsoft so customers of both companies can stream Netflix movies directly over their Xbox Live account. The process works by connecting the console to the Internet, accessing the Netflix website and then you can play Xbox movies directly from Netflix. The process takes as little as 30 seconds for the video to start streaming. To do it, all you need is an active Netflix account as well as an Xbox Live account that’s been upgraded to gold status. Also, you can watch TV shows this way as well. These are the two most prominent methods of getting movies to play on your Xbox 360, but more are sure to come in the future.

For fans of the major leagues, the winter can be a drag. With the season over and months to go before the next one begins, baseball fans often find themselves longing for the warmer days at the ballparks. Thankfully, there are a number of Xbox 360 baseball games available to help make the cold weeks go by a little faster. Here is a list of the top three annual offerings:

Major League Baseball 2K9 – The standard in simulation baseball games, the 2K series has long been the best at providing a realistic feeling game to its customers. By focusing on making batting, pitching, fielding, and stealing bases as genuine as possible, the series caters well to hardcore fans of the sport looking to recreate the magic of the season.

Furthermore, modes such as season and franchise allow the player to take control of a single team, from concession stands to trades, to simulate running a team firsthand. Clearly, Major League Baseball 2K9 offers many hours of entertainment to the avid baseball fan.

MLB Front Office Manager - Sick of playing repetitive games on the field and want larger control of the management end of baseball? MLB Front Office Manager may just be the game for you. By allowing gamers to step into the shows of a front-office head honcho, the game allows for a peek into the real-life ins and outs of creating a baseball team.

From drafting and raising prospects to hiring coaches, this game has it all. And although there is no direct baseball play, MLB Front Office Manager does manage to offer a new take on the sports genre that many will find interesting.

MLB Stickball – Unlike other Xbox 360 baseball games, MLB Stickball is not recommended for fanatics for the game. With overly simplified controls and cartoony graphics, this game panders to a younger generation. If you want to play a game that both you and your kids can enjoy, this is definitely the right choice. Otherwise, stick to the games mentioned above.

So there you have it, three Xbox 360 baseball games that offer very different experiences. Choose which one appeals the most to your own situation and try to get through December. And remember, spring is always just right around the corner.