Richard Garriott has always lived in a slightly different world than the rest of us.

Brittania Manor II (Photos courtesy Robin McCall Company)He's the creator of the revolutionary Ultima role-playing series. He's an astronaut. And he lives in one of the coolest houses in Texas.

Or used to live there, at least.

Garriott's epic digs can now be yours — if you've got a spare $4 million lying around.

Britannia Manor II, a 5,000 square foot home in Austin that overlooks 3,000 acres of protected land, was designed by Garriott -- and, as you might expect from a legendary game maker, it comes with some very unique features.

Diablo III (Blizzard)Haven't visited Azeroth in a while? It might be time for an online vacation.

At the company's annual Blizzcon event in Anaheim, CA, ace game developer Blizzard announced that anyone who signs up for an annual subscription to World of WarCraft will score one heckuva treasure: the full digital version of their next game, eagerly anticipated action-role-playing sequel Diablo III.

Like, for free.

Forget Kinect. Scientists have now found a way to literally make you the controller in video games.

A study on human-computer interfaces at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Emerging Technology Conference this week included visual evidence of test subjects controlling games via electrodes attached to the surface of their brains -- completely redefining the term "head shot."

The players, who (it's worth noting) were initially wired up for treatment of illnesses such as epilepsy, were given the chance to play the shooter classic Doom. The position of the targeting reticule was controlled with an external controller, but the command to fire came directly from a patient's thoughts.

Nokia MorphFive years ago, the features of today's smart phones seemed the stuff of science fiction. Functions like voice-activated controls, high-definition cameras and video calls were largely considered geek daydreams, but the breathtaking evolution of the devices has turned them into reality seemingly overnight.

That's what makes the future so exciting for smart phones. No dream is too big. The better question, now, is when some kooky new feature will become reality. And in a lot of cases, it might not be too long.

Some of the features and functions of future smart phones are pretty obvious -- longer battery life, 4G connectivity, more immersive games, etc. -- but there are bigger, broader plans out there. Here are five that have caught our eye.

What happens when the greatest explorer in film history meets the greatest explorer in contemporary gaming? Geeky things.

Great geeky things.

Could this be the biggest video game release week of the year?

It's got to be up there. Although by far the week's top release is long-awaited superhero stunner Batman: Arkham City, that's by no means the only game competing for the contents of your wallet. There's plenty more out there -- especially if you're looking for something a little more family-friendly than the Dark Knight's dark doings.

Read on for all the details.

After remaining eerily quiet for months on when gamers outside of Japan would get their hands on the PlayStation Vita, Sony has finally come clean.

PS Vita (Sony)The next-generation handheld gaming system will go on sale in the U.S., Europe, Canada and Latin America on Feb. 22 of next year, just over two months after it goes on sale in Sony's home country.

Sony's betting big on the system and seems to have learned some lessons from the troubled launch of Nintendo's 3DS. The Vita will have an array of titles from gaming's biggest franchises backing it up in the launch window, including Uncharted, Assassin's Creed and Call of Duty. Sony stopped short of announcing which titles would launch concurrently with the Vita.

Richie KnucklezIf Earth is ever attacked by waves of slow-marching aliens, Richie Knucklez might be humanity's greatest hope.

While he's been playing Space Invaders since he was 11 years old, the Flemington, NJ arcade owner had the best game of his life earlier this month. The best game, in fact, of anyone's life.

On Oct. 7, Knucklez posted a new world record score of 110,510 on the arcade classic, absolutely obliterating the old record of 55,160, which stood for eight years.