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http://imgur.com/a/gx6Zn

Screenshots there unless they get taken down, although they're all over the usual places now. Stunningly, it actually looks like they gave the graphics department a good budget to work with this time. Still entirely possible the game will blow chunks, of course!

I leave you with a single tidbit of idle speculation: not only does that planetoid look very familiar, so does the outline of the structure being built around it...

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On January 18, several websites around the internet will be organizing a blackout in protest of SOPA/PIPA. What are these acronyms that you somehow don't know about? Basically two bills in Congress which will give the government power to censor the web. If you live in America and are old enough to vote, write/call your reps demanding they oppose this bill. Remember which ones support it come election day. Don't know who your rep is? Go here:

https://wfc2.wiredforchange.com/o/9042/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=8173

PROTIP: Letters sent via mail and phone calls have way more impact on politicians than email/online petitions.

Live outside America, the Greatest Nation on Earth™? Don't get too comfortable. This could affect you as well! Contact your respective governments through whatever channels available to you and let them know you oppose this censorship of the web!

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Supposed to be out tomorrow for five bucks on iOS, Android, XBLA, and PSN (in europe) at least. In case any of you haven't been keeping up, this is not one of Backbone's bloated hack jobs; Sega licensed The Taxman's devtools (that he originally made for fangames, but then took them commercial) and hired him to build Sonic CD from scratch. The result appears nigh dead-on accurate to the original, plus slick extras and both soundtracks! A proper demonstration here:

http://www.4shared.com/video/C5cXpSr1/sonic_cd_xbla_preview.html

There was a legal problem of some sort with the lyrics in the japanese vocal themes, so those are instrumental only. Notice also that the special stages are smoother than ever with UFOs that don't use faked sprite scaling... which i'm not sure I agree with, but ok. (I do hope he removes that self-plug in the startup sequence; when you have a menu option called "STAFF CREDITS" how much ego stroking do you need?) I hear that the BGM for both soundtracks now loop too, though whether the loops are any good appears, well, highly debatable.

At any rate, it's probably a polished release for a goddamn change and I think I want it. $5 is stunning coming from the company that belched out vomit like Sonic 4 Ep 1 for $15. Who's biting?

Also, Kazuyuki Hoshino and the world's most bored narrarator flip through old concept sketches from CD's development while he hopes you'll keep an eye out for details that aren't even in the freaking game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEZkrXaBkl0

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The forums have been upgraded to the latest version of SMF. We also have a new skin and we are BACK IN BLACK. I must apologize, I was on crack when I installed the orange+gray skin. I have also installed Linux Mint on the server which, as far as i can tell, will be more compatible with the game servers I plan on installing soon.

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UPDATE: http://www.bombergames.net/sorr_project/ <-- Out now! Go f'n get it! Also, here is a practice mod for the SORMaker.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jwicgPNjLk <-- Yamato boss fight in its' entirety (SPOILERS)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNHEEh56Coo <-- Demonstration of Wii version (which will be released along with the PC one released later, unfortunately, due to some crash glitches that need to be ironed out)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGrfbCysqkA <-- Sonic 2 mod made in SORMaker (utility that comes with SorR)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LszQ0kDd0rI <-- Battle mode

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uArGRWtg_g <-- Accuracy comparison to the originals

And more tidbits from various stages of development at Bomberlink's youtube channel, and of course the stuff at the website.

I have not anticipated any video game with as much fervor as I have this one in years. (This might have something to do with banning myself from playing any SoR games for over a year and a half now because of this game, but details details.) This is looking to be something very special, folks. It's been taking them agonizingly long to fine tune it for release, in part because they don't want to have to update it again, but the end appears to be in sight; word from the forums is that the only major tasks remaining are one missing enemy and some programming loose ends.

Oh and did I mention it will have online play? (cut, sadly) And that you can play any fan-made mods in SORMaker online too? http://www.bombergames.net/sorr_project/?p=207 <-- oh yeah. And about a million other features, modes, and content to jack the replay value sky high.

(and obviously you can just go play v4 now, but don't, it's crawling with bugs and this update will blow it away)