Two-time Golden Globe winner Jim Carrey can now add another award to his resume… for his role in a film about a talking hedgehog.

Announced on the Critics Choice Awards website, Jim Carrey took home a ‘Critics Choice Super Award’ for his role as Dr. Robotnik in the 2020 Sonic the Hedgehog movie.  Formed in 1995, the Critics Choice Association (which is still one of the largest collections of film critics in North America) has been providing annual ‘Super Awards’.  These awards honor films and performances in genres that are typically overlooked by the Academy, such as Superhero, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Horror, & Action.

I think this is such a cool idea.  There are some really great performances in plenty of films each year, and awards like these allow more actors to be recognized.

If you’ve seen the Sonic movie, you have to admit, Carrey was one of the best parts.  It might have just been classic Carrey, but he was still very entertaining.  What was initially thought to become a disaster in the history of video game movies after that first trailer released, Sonic the Hedgehog would end up grossing over $300 million worldwide at the box office.   My family and I saw it in theaters and have watched it at least a dozen times at home since we purchased the digital edition.  With a sequel now greenlit, Sonic and Sega fans have plenty to look forward to in the future.

I’m just so glad they went with the redesigned Sonic.  The first trailer with the original design they were going to use gave me nightmares for a week.  I don’t think I would have slept again for the rest of my life if I had to stare at this thing for an hour and a half.

When it comes to the N64, GoldenEye 007 and Super Mario 64 are some of the best games on the console.  You could even argue that they’re some of the best games ever made.  What do you get when you combine the two?  You get something so great, I wish that original developer Rare would have just included it as a bonus level on Goldeneye’s N64 cartridge.

Developed by StupidMarioBros1Fan, this “Goldeneye with Mario Characters” mod (which originally released back in 2018) features a new Super Mario 64 Peach’s Castle level, recreated within GoldenEye.  It contains the classic GoldenEye gameplay and sound effects, and even includes mission objectives and a Bowser boss fight.  YouTuber Graslu00 who mainly focuses on Goldeneye and other N64-era games showcases the level in the video above and helped create and test it as well.

I just think it’s hilarious to see the Koopa’s walking around with weapons.  Even the thought of Mario carrying out the mission of saving the princess “James Bond” style cracks me up.

If you want to play it for yourself you can download the mod here.  This mod will replace every character in Goldeneye with Mario characters, and even changes the original dialogue to reference characters like Peach and Bowser.  This new level is a fantastic addition, but if you really want to relive the entirety of GoldenEye 007 in a whole new light, this mod is definitely the way to do it.

Now if only someone would add dual flamethrowers.

In major video game news, the Star Wars IP is going to a game developer far, far away from its prior relationship with EA. OK, not that far away, but Disney has energized the gaming world this week with the announcement of rebranding their gaming division as Lucasfilm games and now they’ve announced a new open-source world Star Wars game is being developed with Ubisoft.

Ubisoft, the company behind the incredible Assassin’s Creed franchise, broke the news on Wednesday. Lucasfilm Games made huge news on Tuesday by announcing a new Indiana Jones game in production with Bethesda.

We’re thrilled to announce we are working with @Ubisoft and @UbiMassive to develop a brand-new, story-driven, open-world Star Wars adventure!

Learn more about the future of @LucasfilmGames in the Star Wars galaxy and beyond: https://t.co/uO1K1pivl2 pic.twitter.com/wRDccZvi3o

— Lucasfilm Games (@LucasfilmGames) January 13, 2021

There’s no word on the story or era yet for the new Star Wars game, but it is huge news as it seems like Lucasfilm is making a big investment into gaming and the appeal of telling stories through that medium.

“We know that fans of Star Wars value the feeling of immersion—of being transported into the Star Wars galaxy and moving through richly-detailed environments,” Lucasfilm Games VP Douglas Reilly told StarWars.com. “It’s fun to imagine what the team at Massive can do within Star Wars by bringing their innovative spirit and their commitment to quality.”

While there are still two years left of EA’s exclusivity over SW games, the departure from EA is surprising. It opens up a world of possibility and different gaming genres, not unlike Disney’s current plan to invest heavily in a whole new batch of Star Wars shows and movies.

It should also be noted that EA didn’t do a bad job with Star Wars games. Jedi: Fallen Order was an OUTSTANDING game, and Squadrons was pretty solid too.

We’ve seen what shows like The Mandalorian can do when they explore different corners of the Star Wars Universe, so there’s an enormous amount of storytelling possibility for video game developers, and some genuinely exciting games will soon be on the horizon.

Great!  Now I have to explain to my wife why we need another Switch in the house.

Nintendo announced today that a new Mario-themed Nintendo Switch will be available to purchase on February 12th, 2021.  This is also the same day that the highly anticipated Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury releases.  Coincidence?  I think not!

The #NintendoSwitch – Mario Red & Blue Edition system has a distinct red-and-blue color scheme in honor of Mario’s iconic outfit. Available beginning 2/12, it comes with a red & blue carrying case to help protect your system as you travel through those Warp Pipes! #SuperMario35 pic.twitter.com/Ke2bCBtPCf

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) January 12, 2021

The system will cost $299.99 USD (the same price as the current regular version) and features a color scheme that resembles the plumber’s classic outfit.  It will include red Joy-Con controllers with blue straps, a blue Joy-Con grip, a red Nintendo Switch dock, and a red Nintendo Switch system.  It even comes with a stylized Mario Red & Blue Edition Carrying Case and a screen protector (for when your kid accidentally drops it down the stairs).

If you’ve been holding off on purchasing a Switch, this could be a great place to start.  There aren’t any fancy designs on the dock like the Animal Crossing one, but its bright colors are a nice alternative to the originals black and gray.  Like anything Nintendo related though, I’m sure the demand is going to be insane for this one.

This is pretty exciting news for fans Indiana Jones fans!

Bethesda (the publisher behind massive hits like Elder Scrolls & Fallout) announced today that their next big project is a new Indiana Jones game.  It will “tell a wholly original, standalone tale set at the height of the career of the famed adventurer.”  You can check out the brief teaser trailer below.

pic.twitter.com/XSaIwjgiOF

— Bethesda (@bethesda) January 12, 2021

Releasing under the new Lucasfilm Games label, Bethesda boss Todd Howard will serve as executive producer, and Wolfenstein: The New Order’s MachineGames will act as developer.

No details were announced regarding a release date or what consoles it will be coming to, but if you’d want anyone adapting a classic franchise such as Indiana Jones into a video game, it’d be these guys.  On Bethesda’s website, a post including the teaser mentions that Todd Howard “is a lifelong Indy fan, and has been trying for over a decade to make this game,” according to Pete Hines, SVP of Global Marketing. “He’s beyond excited to work with the award-winning MachineGames team, a perfect fit for Indy.”

The last Indiana Jones game we got was Lego Indiana Jones 2, which released back in 2009.  I think we’re about due for a proper Indy adventure.

I just hope for his sake, there are no snakes in this one.

Each year, it’s great to see all the elaborately decorated houses and well-designed light shows that pop-up over the holidays.  Some folks go out of their way to spread Christmas cheer, and Dallas couple Mike and Katie Milam decided to veer off and have a bit of fun trying something different.  They turned the front of their house into a Super Mario Bros. 3 spectacle.

THIS is how you decorate a house for the holidays! I had to stop, take a picture and share this beauty from Dallas. pic.twitter.com/KfEncfkLNL

— Larry Collins (@LarryNBC5) December 15, 2020

While the house looks like it has transformed into a vintage TV from the 1980s with Super Mario Bros. 3 playing on it, you have to marvel at the detail.  It looks like an actual game of Super Mario Bros. 3, complete with the Nintendo system and two controllers sitting on the lawn beside it.  If that wasn’t enough, there’s also a letter on the lawn sent to Santa in 1989 from a child named Amy, asking for Super Mario Bros. 3 for Christmas.

NBC’s Larry Collins, who took the photos, spoke with the couple who they said they’ve received a great response from the community.  “The response has been exactly what we wanted. People honking their horns, hanging out the window waving at us,” Katie said. “We hope that people that come by with their kids in the car can tell them and it trigger childhood memory conversations and ‘I remember when I played Super Mario,’”

Well, it definitely worked on me.  I love seeing stuff like this.  I have fond memories of playing Super Mario Bros. 3 and all kinds of other NES games on a TV just like that at my Grandma and Grandpa’s house when I was little.  Their TV definitely wasn’t as big as a house though.

In this day and age, we have laptops, cellphones, Nintendo Switch’s and all sorts of other devices for our portable gaming needs.  If those weren’t enough though and you’ve caught yourself looking at your PS4 or PS5 console thinking “You know what?  I’d like to carry that around in a sleek-looking briefcase”, Japanese engineer DX Terraria has got your very specific request covered.

On Twitter, DX Terraria shared images of the first portable PlayStation 4 built by himself.  It’s fully functional, can be used anywhere, and has a screen and battery life of up to an hour.

起動の様子 pic.twitter.com/x455jCxwNR

— DX Terraria (@DxTerraria) December 31, 2020

Over at 9GAG, the original pictures (which include questions and answers about the system) were posted with English translations for us to follow along with.

According to DX, modifications had to be made to Sony’s original console to fit it into its new metal living quarters.  The briefcase contains everything you need for playing your favorite PlayStation games on the go and is 39 centimeters in length, 28 cm high, 11 cm wide, and the entire thing weighs 6.4 kilograms (basically the size of a PS5).

The cost of production is around 50,000 yen ($485.58 USD), and while he does mention that he won’t be selling his technical marvel, if he did decide to, extra fees would push the cost to around 150,000 yen ($1,456.75).

If you thought having a portable PS4 wasn’t already cool enough, DX Terraria posted a photo of the PS5 running on his new PS4 via remote play.  Wherever his travels might take him, as long as he has access to a stable internet connection, he has the best of both current and next-gen gaming worlds.

Now, that is quite the flex.

Ray tracing is all the rage these days.

For those unfamiliar with the term, ray tracing is a technique that makes light in videogames behave like it does in the real world.  It’s one of the key components that make these next-gen game worlds we love to visit so much more realistic.  It’s something usually found on high-end PCs and next-gen consoles like the Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X, so you wouldn’t expect it to run on a console that came out thirty years ago.  With that being said, game developer and software engineer Ben Carter actually managed to get ray tracing to run on his original Super Famicom, and it’s pretty amazing to see in action.

3D games weren’t very common on the SNES, but the ones we did get pushed the console to its limits by using the Super FX chip.  This chip would render advanced 2D and 3D graphics.  Star Fox, Doom, and even Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island came with this chip installed on their game cartridge, which allowed them to pull off some impressive (and blocky) visuals for their time.  Carter followed a similar method by designing a chip that he calls the “SuperRT”, which allows the SNES to perform real-time ray tracing, single-bounce reflections, and directional light shadows.

For an in-depth walkthrough of the SuperRT chip, check out Carter’s video below.

If you’re impatient and just want to see the chip in action right away, this next video is for you.

While the demo on display isn’t of any actual SNES games, it’s cool to see the shadows reacting on the ground off of the shapes in a realistic manner on this primitive console.  I remember when video game characters had shadows that were just a circle underneath them.  With this chip, it could bring so much more depth.  Imagine how great those older SNES games could look.  I feel like this is the start of something special and we’re going to see more older consoles being updated like this.

If possible, I would personally like to request The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time running with ray tracing on an N64 please…or GoldenEye… if that’s not too much to ask.

If you’ve ever wondered what a certain Nintendo all-star might smell like.  You know, the one who spends his days fighting Koopa Troopa’s and warping through the Mushroom Kingdom’s sewage system, this new fragrance from UK retailer GAME, the same people who brought us Christmas dinner in a can,  might be the answer you’re looking for.

GAME is getting into the video game-themed perfume business with its two new unisex scents “Eau de Plumber” and “F.P.S”.

“Eau de Plumber” is a fragrance that “will bring out the ‘wa-hoo’ in you.”  According to the description on GAME’s website, it features “deep earthy notes of toadstool, balanced with high notes of peach and daisy, and mid-tones of grass lands.”

If you’re looking for something a little more intense, GAME’s other fragrance “F.P.S”, comes in a grenade shaped bottle and is described as being “best appreciated from thirty feet away and slightly gunpowdery and is a celebration of the nation’s love of popular FPS games,”

Both 200ml bottles are £19.99 each. “Eau de Plumber” keeps going in and out of stock, and when I searched again for “F.P.S”, I can’t even find it on the website anymore.  You might be out of luck for now, but if it’s something you’re interested in or would make a great gift, definitely keep a lookout.  Currently, they’re only available in the UK, but hopefully, we’ll see them show up elsewhere at some point.

I feel like “Eau De Plumber” could be something The Dad Gaming crew sprays on before one of their big Mario Kart races.  It might not improve their reflexes, but at least they’ll smell fantastic.

In the past, we’ve seen our fair share of strange combinations involving fast-food and video-games.  Burger King released Xbox 360 games with the purchase of a value meal.  McDonald’s released games on the NES and Sega Genesis.  Even KFC got in on the action and gave us “I Love You Colonel Sanders! A Finger Lickin’ Good Dating Simulator” for free on PC.  If that last one wasn’t enough, now KFC is taking the Colonel’s brand a step further by releasing a high-powered video-game console that will also keep your chicken warm.

The console wars are 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓.

Introducing the KFConsole. #PowerYourHunger pic.twitter.com/k7AM6g61Ip

— KFC Gaming (@kfcgaming) December 22, 2020

The KFConsole advertising campaign started back in June, but many didn’t believe it was real (for obvious reasons).  Now, it has become a reality and according to KFC “The console wars are over.”

KFC is partnering with global hardware manufacturer Cooler Master to develop the console.  On the official website, the description reads:

“The KFConsole has arrived. Forged from the fires of the KFC ovens and built by Cooler Master from the ground up, there has never been a tastier way to experience the latest titles in stunning 4k, 240fps.”

Not only that, but the console looks like a bucket of the famous chicken and has other features, including the patented “Chicken Chamber” which utilizes the systems natural heat and airflow system to keep your chicken warm, VR compatibility, and Ray-Tracing for those extra crisp(y) visuals.  No price or release date has been set, but we can only hope that the KFConsole will arrive sometime in 2021.  It’s also probably going to be harder to get a hold of than a PS5.

Can you imagine how greasy the controller is going to get if you’re munching on KFC while playing?  Definitely going to need lots of wet-naps for those long gaming sessions.

If you’ve always thought pineapple (or worse, kiwi) on pizza should be considered a crime, you’ll be happy to know that the Night City Police Department in CD Projekt Red’s new game Cyberpunk 2077 takes that offense very seriously.  The game exists in a vast city where all sorts of terrible things can happen, but I wasn’t aware pizza topping usage were amongst them.

Players have taken the time to look into some optional missions for NCPD’s “Most Wanted”, and they’ve discovered the worst of the bunch.  An Animal’s gang member named “Mauler” is wanted for “Illegal use of pineapple or pineapple-adjacent products (Pizza Desecration)”.

It is literally a crime in night city to put pineapples on your pizza. from cyberpunkgame

As if this game wasn’t already ridiculous enough with all the hilarious glitches and bugs that have plagued it since it launched on December 10th, I now know I can veer off the main story path and set out on a quest to apprehend a “pizza desecrator”.

Good thing I get bacon, mushroom, and green pepper on mine.  I’d be a model citizen in Night City.

There is no better time for an abundance of good news than the holiday season, and no year that it’s been more desperately needed than 2020. From neighbors helping neighbors to strangers helping strangers, we’re here for it all.

When COVID hit, 14-year-old Aiden Yielding’s incredible dad Chuck was no longer able to attend his chemotherapy appointments with him. Aiden is battling leukemia, and his dad has been there for him every step of the way. Despite being unable to be in the room with Aiden during his treatments, Chuck refused to let his son go through his treatments alone. Instead, he wears absurdly bright clothes and does goofy dances outside of his son’s hospital room to let him know he’s not alone.

Chuck’s dedication to supporting his son is heartwarming – so heartwarming in fact, that it got the attention of fellow dad Will Smith. Smith has been hosting an online show called Will From Home, a show he does with Snapchat right from his garage. His goal is to spread joy through doing good deeds, and often brings guests along to make strangers’ days a bit brighter.

After learning about Chuck and Aiden, Smith came up with a plan that gave both father and son something to smile about. Will Smith realized there was nobody better than his friend Jason Derulo to teach Chuck some new dance moves, moves he will undoubtedly show off outside of Aiden’s hospital room window during his next treatment.

As for Aiden, well, he’s a gamer. Since its release, the gaming community has been buzzing about the new PS5. The demand for these brand new gaming systems is incredibly high, with production especially low due to COVID – as a result, getting your hands on one is a struggle, to say the least.

For many of us, gaming is an important escape right now. Battling cancer on top of living in a pandemic world means that gaming has become an increasingly beloved getaway for Aiden. Will Smith is well aware of both Aiden’s love of gaming and the escapism it provides, so he got his new friend the highly-coveted PS5, along with a DualSense wireless controller, and a PSN gift card.

Smith also teamed up with Game Stop Gives to donate a total of $10,000 to a network of children’s hospitals, in honor of just how inspired he was by the father-son duo.

“In honor of the love you guys are putting into this world,” Smith said of his donation. “You’re parenting your child, but you’re parenting all of us. You’re teaching us all how it’s supposed to be.”

Trying to find the perfect place to hide your kid’s gifts can sometimes be difficult.  Trying to get them to do chores around the house, even more so.

My eleven-year-old daughter does this thing where I ask her to do something and she acknowledges me, but then she walks upstairs to her room.  It’s wonderful.  She has also started to get very nosey this year about where my wife and I have hidden her presents.  She slithers across the floor from room to room like The Grinch and has nearly discovered our secret present stash.  Now, just in the nick of time thanks to this Reddit post, myself and parents everywhere can use this Holy Grail of Christmas present hiding spots.

We know the teenage kids will never find it in here. from funny

These clever parents not only managed to snag the very popular PS5 for their teenagers this year, but they’ve got it snug and secure in the absolute last place any kid would dare look.  It’s genius.  I can’t believe it’s been staring me in the face the whole time.  Laundry baskets and washers and dryers could also work.

The possibilities are now limitless to where we can hide their gifts.  Vive la résistance!