The Sonic the Hedgehog franchise has continued to go from strength to strength with each release, with the recent Sonic the Hedgehog 3 being met with positive responses from moviegoers and critics alike. The franchise continues to deliver box office results too, leading to audiences demanding a fourth installment.

While visiting their dad, one gamer stumbled across an unopened PlayStation 2 bundle that came packaged with a copy of LEGO Batman: The Videogame and a DVD of the movie Justice League: The New Frontier. As the best-selling video game console of all time, the PS2 has been featured in various bundles, with this recently discovered LEGO Batman: The Videogame one catching the interest of the PlayStation community online.

Additional information, if that helps: I have experience with Unity and Godot. I started my main game using Unity, but switched to Godot after the announcement of Unitys runtime fee. I then left Godot due to running into its limitations as an engine, and now Im trying to create a custom game engine to power my game. Im using C++ and DirectX 11, but knowledge from any graphics API is welcome. My goals for my engine are for it to be simple, optimized, lightweight and cost-effective.D

Players of Infinity Nikki can put together dazzling and adorable outfits with the click of a few buttons. The dress-up game allows players to tinker with clothes endlessly, without all the fussing and money that can come with buying and trying on outfits in the real world. But the real-world barriers to fashion havent stopped some of the games fans. Since its release in December, Infinity Nikki has inspired fans to recreate outfit pieces to wear as everyday fashion items or as cosplay.Developed by Papergames and InFold Games, Infinity Nikki is an open-world adventure game where you play as the fashion stylist Nikki. The game launched roughly a month ago and already contains hundreds of options for shoes, tops, dresses, and accessories. Some of the looks like the Whispers of Waves dress and accessories are pretty glamorous and look fit for a Disney princess, but other options stand out as unique fashion items that a real person could wear in their day-to-day life.TikTok user Lifengling has done an incredible job recreating several items from the game. Infinity Nikki contains an outfit called Bye-Bye Dust that features a super fuzzy and fluffy baby doll dress with a large paw print sewn onto it. Lifengling edited a montage of the dress creation, and it somehow looks even better in real life. When you watch the TikTok, the varying textures of the dress pop a lot more and you can see the different fabrics used a lot better than in the game. @_lifengling Finally I have a sewing outfit #infinitynikki #infinitynikkigame #sewing #sew lifengling The same designer also recreated the shirt from the Bright Days outfit in the game. Its a cropped top with knit flower details. It uses a green and yellow color palette and has a super light, summery look to it. You can watch Lifengling create it below. @_lifengling If you like infinity nikkithis is for you#sewing #infinitynikki lifengling In addition to more everyday outfits, Infinity Nikki has also inspired detailed cosplay of its fashion. In these cases, cosplayers have remade entire outfits from head to toe, while also doing their makeup and hair to emulate the look of Nikki and others from the game. Below you can see TikTok user SwaggyCucumber remake the look of the goddess Ena with her flowing dress and intricate metal mask. @swaggy_cucumber Ena from Infinity Nikki is SO gorgeous! Have you guys tried the game yet? #infinitynikki #ena #cosplay #goddess original sound Sleep Token Its a delight to see. While some of the fashion in Infinity Nikki might not be practical, its varied and whimsical styles can speak to a variety of preferences in fashion. So, at least for me personally, I am looking forward to seeing how the game continues to interact with real-life fashion.

We may earn a commission from links on this page.The internet is changing rapidly, and adult entertainment is no exception: Porn sites operating in 17 U.S. states must now verify that their users are adults with a government-issued ID or some other suitable method of proving their identitywhich is not necessarily something you want to do every time you visit an adult site. In response, Pornhub, as well as other sites under parent company Aylo, have gone dark in each state in protest. As such, many users across these states are now searching for the best VPNs (virtual private networks) to install on their devices so they can still access the site.As of Jan. 1, three statesFlorida, Tennessee, and South Carolinanow require sites like Pornhub to ensure visitors are adults. They join a list of states that includes Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah, Texas, and Virginiaall of which have lost access to Pornhub and Aylo sites. Georgia will join this list in July, once its similar law is enacted. Louisiana is the only state with one of these laws Aylo works with, utilizing the state's digital license program, "LA Wallet," to verify users. If you attempt to load the site in one of the other 17 states, however, you'll see, in part, something like this message: "[Age verification] bills have failed to protect minors, by driving users from those few websites which comply, to the hundreds of thousands of websites with far fewer safety measures in place, which do not comply."These laws are not going without challenge. Pornhub sued Texas, for example, but blocked the site in the state once the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the law. For its part, Pornhub says the Texas ruling will, "impinge on the rights of adults to access protected speech" and that age verification generally, "is not an effective solution for protecting users online." The company wants to see age verification handled at the device level. As for the federal appeals court, it pointed to the age verification needed to buy old-fashioned, printed porn: Not applying the same rules to online content "implies that the invention of the Internet somehow reduced the scope of the state's ability to protect children," wrote Circuit Judge Jerry Smith in the ruling. The Supreme Court will hear the case later this month.How to watch Pornhub if it's blocked in your stateWhatever your position on age verification laws, remember that the best VPNs can connect your computer to a server in a different part of the worldmaking it look like you're located somewhere other than where you actually are.That's just the start, though, when it comes to the benefits of installing a VPN. These software tools hide your browsing activity from governments, law enforcement agencies, and whoever is providing your internet. Generally, VPNs make it harder for companies to track you, and give you more security and privacy (though not total anonymity) online.With that in mind, Lifehacker has covered the best free VPNs, the best paid VPNs, and the best free VPNs for Android in the past, but I'd like to highlight a couple of recommendations hereif you want more suggestions for your internet browsing needs (adult site-related or not), follow those links above.The best free VPN: Proton VPN Proton VPN doesn't put any bandwidth restrictions on free accounts. Credit: Proton We've written in glowing terms before about how good the free Proton VPN is, and it's a great pick if you don't want to spend anything. Its appeal starts with Proton itself: It's committed to privacy, was started by scientists in Switzerland, and is siloed from the big tech names (like Google, Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft). It's a name you can trust.There are also surprisingly few restrictions for a free VPN. The two main limitations are you can only connect from one device, and you don't get to choose which country's servers you connect to. That's itit's not painfully slow, like a lot of free VPNs. If you do need more flexibility in your VPN connections and features, there are paid upgrades available too.Add in the ease of use you get with Proton VPN, the support for a broad range of devices, and the reliability you get from servers around the world, and it's difficult to beat in terms of a free VPN. Sign up here for a Proton account, if you don't already have one.The best paid VPN: NordVPN You can connect to more than 60 different countries with NordVPN. Credit: NordVPN You've got a lot of excellent options to pick from when it comes to paid VPNs, and there's no app that's far and away above the othersbut we're going to highlight NordVPN here, which we recently compared to ExpressVPN. It's fast, it's flexible, and the software it offers across multiple platforms is more polished and intuitive than with a lot of its rivals.You get lots of features with NordVPN, from split tunneling to DNS customizations to support for the super-private Onion network. While you can easily use the software with just a couple of clicks (or taps), there are numerous advanced features available if you want to dig a bit deeperyou can even have a dedicated IP address (though it costs extra).Pricing for NordVPN starts at $11.95 a month, but you can get some pretty significant discounts if you pay for a year (or two years) up front. That's enough to get you up to six simultaneous connections, and you can sign up here to register and download the apps.

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.If you're still cleaning your floors with a mop and bucket or just have an older model of Swiffer, the start of the new year could be a great time to upgrade. From now until Jan. 25, the Swiffer PowerMop is $10 at two major retailers, bringing the price to right below $20. Where to get a Swiffer PowerMop on saleThe Swiffer PowerMop, the newest addition to Swiffer's line of floor-cleaning devices, is $10 off right now through Amazon and Target; on Amazon, you'll want to check the box that says "Apply $10 coupon." It's also eligible for a $10 coupon at Target if you're part of the free Target Circle membership. Swiffer PowerMop kit $29.94 at Amazon Get Deal Get Deal $29.94 at Amazon The kit comes with one PowerMop, two pad refills, and a floor-cleaning solution, plus two batteries to make the device function. About the Swiffer PowerMopI've been using a PowerMop for a few months now and while I'm on the record saying I still prefer the older WetJet, I certainly don't dislike this machine. In fact, my biggest issue with it when I first got it was that there wasn't as much variety among the cleaning solutions as I could find for the WetJet, but as I suspected, Swiffer has continued to roll out more options there. Currently, you can get PowerMop refill bottles in four different scents (one of which is specifically designed for hardwood floors), as well as mopping pad refills in two varieties, either for general use or wood flooring. No, that doesn't yet compete with the sheer volume of refill options available for the WetJet, but that makes sense: The WetJet has been around for almost a quarter of a century now and the PowerMop is still relatively new to the market. The pads on a PowerMop are a lot different than the ones you might be used to from other Swiffer products. They have fluffy tendrils that act more like a real mop whereas the WetJet and regular Swiffer have flatter pads. The newer fluffy pads haven't prevented me from getting my PowerMop head under furniture, but they do come with a little bit of a learning curve. If you have hard floors that get really dirty, though, they can be super helpful. The PowerMop is best used as a replacement for a traditional mop that takes up a lot of space. It's a similar size, weight, and maneuverability to the WetJet, but a significant improvement over the heft and volume of a standard mop. If you want to go into the new year with cleaner floors and a more organized cleaning closet, this upgrade for less than $20 right now is a safe move.

Most people know that if you have life insurance, you need to name a beneficiarythe person or entity that receives the payout. For most of us, thats the beginning and end of our relationship with the concept, in part because we dont have the sort of wealth we imagine necessitates worrying about where it goes (the median net worth in the U.S. is just $192,900, after all), and in part because people might assume that our spouse or family will just automatically inherit everything.But you should name beneficiaries for more than just life insurance. Designating beneficiaries for your assets and estate offers several real benefits, and if you havent updated those designations in a while you should review and change them sooner rather than later.Advantages of beneficiariesYou might assume that if you die your property and assets will pass automatically to your spouse, children, or closest relative (like a sibling). But thats not necessarily the caseand even if it eventually turns out that way, dying without a will or beneficiaries (called intestate succession) can trigger a lengthy and frustrating probate process controlled by state laws. This can sometimes take years to complete, causing a lot of emotional and financial stress for your loved ones.And even if you have a last will and testament, you should designate beneficiaries for your assets, because beneficiaries supersede your will. If your will states that your asset goes to your spouse, but you listed your brother as the beneficiary, your brother will wind up receiving that asset. The bottom line is that designating beneficiaries gives you control over what happens to your money after you pass, and spares your family and other loved ones a lot of grief.Most of your financial assets should have an up-to-date beneficiary named, including:Life insurance: Probably the most obvious case for most of us. If you receive life insurance as a benefit from your job, you should make sure youve designated a beneficiary.Bank accounts: Your checking and savings accounts can have beneficiaries, and naming one can make the process of accessing them after your death much faster and much easier.Investment & retirement accounts: This includes health savings accounts (HSAs) and 529 accounts.Annuities: Similarly, naming a beneficiary for any annuities youve bought can make the process of transferring it to someone else much easier.When figuring out beneficiaries for your assets, there are two more things to consider:Keep them updated. If you havent reviewed your named beneficiaries recently, conduct a quick audit to make sure your choices still reflect your current relationships and desires (the obvious example here would be an ex-spouse whos still listed as your life insurance beneficiary).Contingent beneficiaries. You should also make sure that every asset has a contingent beneficiary nameda backup in case your primary beneficiary has predeceased you.How to select your beneficiaries Once you realize how important it is to name beneficiaries for all your accounts, the challenge becomes choosing the right person. While this might seem obvious to many of us, there are a few key considerations:Age: Minors cant inherit directly, so naming a child as a beneficiary adds complication instead of removing it. Most life insurance policies and financial accounts wont allow it, and if you manage to do it the asset might wind up in a trust administered by state government until the beneficiary is an adult.Capability. When choosing beneficiaries, think about the persons capability. If theyre going to be placed in charge of a significant financial asset, ask yourself if they have the experience and necessary knowledge to handle it going forward.Circumstances. While naming someone to receive a financial windfall might seem like an obviously good thingbeneficiaries benefit, after alltake a moment to think about the potential negative impact that a sudden jump in net worth might have on someone in terms of tax liability or qualifying for benefits. This is especially important if youre designating several beneficiaries to share an assetdividing it up equally is the easiest thing to do, but might not be the best thing to do if your designated beneficiaries have very different economic realities.Clarity. While most financial accounts require a specific name for beneficiaries, if you have the option of being less specificdont. Naming all my children as beneficiaries, for example, gets complicated if one of your children predeceases you, for example.Insurable interest. Many life insurance policies require that your beneficiary have an insurable interest in youthey must rely on you in some financial sense. Naming a beneficiary that lacks an insurable interest can lead to a host of complications, so make sure your desired beneficiary will pass muster with your insurer.Finally, keep in mind that in many cases you can name a charitable organization as a beneficiary. Since beneficiary designations trump wills, this is an easy way to control who benefits from your estate after you pass.

The retail packaging for the MSI Gaming Trio RTX 5080 appears to have leaked online.

PS Plus's monthly games for January will be available soon, featuring an excellent racing game and a must-play indie hit.

Swisscom acquires Vodafone Italy for 8 billion in latest sell-off by telecoms giant.