Why Do We Replay Certain Games?
Final Fantasy TacticsIn looking at the games I frequently play over and over throughout the years, I've noticed there doesn't appear to be one single recurring reason.
So what is it exactly? Why do we find ourselves playing through some games and not others? Why do we finish some and go, "oh man, I'm playing this again immediately!" (and then it never happens), and finish others and say, "that was cool but I'll probably never touch this again" (and then play it ten more times)...? What's the determining factor? Is there one? Obviously, one could argue that nostalgia plays a very large role; we often want to relive our lost years, a time when everything seemed simpler, when our entertainment seemed purer and more fulfilling. Of course, our mind subconsciously blocks out any of the negatives for the sole purpose of deifying that precious memory, but we're aware of that, right?
So nostalgia factors in, as does the quality of the game. We don't play garbage over and over. But wait...I distinctly recall playing 3D Baseball for endless hours - even did a 162-game season twice - and that game was hardly the class of the PlayStation era. Plus, I've played a few RPGs that really weren't all that great and yet, there I go, running through 'em again (Granstream Saga and Thousand Arms, anyone?). So obviously, personal preference plays a major role, as one might expect. Oh, but hold on a moment...what sort of preference? Preference for the genre or a particular atmosphere? The only GTA I'll go back to play from time to time is Vice City and it's because I'm a big fan of the '80s setting.
Still, what's the deal with Hot Shots Golf? I don't play golf; I don't watch golf; I play no other golf games; the series itself isn't drop-dead fantastic, and yet, I'll play and adore every last HSG...and keep playing 'em over time. So maybe we need a sub-genre called "personal playability," i.e., there's just something about a game that pleases you, and while it's difficult to pinpoint the source, it continues to attract us like a magnet. Lastly, we've got those addictive - almost annoyingly addictive - little games that can grab hold and never let go; it's why we can all play Tetris today and still have fun. Man, this is all way more complicated than I thought. Then again, maybe it's just me. That's very, very possible.
So, why do you think you replay the games you do? Why are certain games in your permanent replay rotation? Have you really thought about the "whys?" Or am I just over-analyzing for no reason?
11/26/2010 Ben Dutka
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Comments (51 posts)
matt99
Friday, November 26, 2010 @ 9:37:43 PM
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1 up, 0 down
NoSmokingBandit
Friday, November 26, 2010 @ 9:37:50 PM
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I think the reason is that Psychonauts does everything well and in a way that works together so cohesively. I could find a game with better platforming, better puzzles, a better story, etc... but i'm not going to find a game that puts it all together in such a perfectly polished package.
So if i play a game that is just great platforming i feel like i'm missing a puzzle aspect. So i'll go play a great puzzle game, but then i feel like i'm missing a great story. On and on and on. But a rare game comes along that give us everything at once and you really dont need anything else to be entertained.
For example, right now i'm playing GT5 (and loving every single second of it), but i feel the need to play something with a bit of a story or narrative. So i'm going to find some kind of RPG to play on my psp to keep the balance.
But then there are games like the original Gran Turismo that does one thing and does it so incredibly well. At times i dont want a game that does everything, i want to do one thing and i want the game that is best at it.
So there are games that mesh everything together in a way that the grand total is much more than the sum of its parts (Uncharted 2, anyone?), and games that only do one thing but are nail it so perfectly that nothing can come close. Everything else is really just filler until we grow tired and go back to our favorites.
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Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Friday, November 26, 2010 @ 9:48:53 PM
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NoSmokingBandit
Friday, November 26, 2010 @ 9:54:06 PM
If not PS2 copies go for about $15 from what i've seen, which is high for a used ps2 game, but still worth every penny.
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SmokeyPSD
Saturday, November 27, 2010 @ 12:21:14 AM
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BTNwarrior
Friday, November 26, 2010 @ 9:45:10 PM
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BikerSaint
Friday, November 26, 2010 @ 10:18:30 PM
It's $9.99, w/ 30 page manual(PDF)
Plus, bonus content included FREE....
3 H.D. wallpapers
14 avatars
49 artworks
Works on Window-XP, Vista, & Windows 7.
http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/psychonauts
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Oxvial
Friday, November 26, 2010 @ 9:45:52 PM
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Oh well gonna save some bucks for the 3DS, 2.5D Castlevania game.
Last edited by Oxvial on 11/26/2010 9:46:04 PM
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Scarecrow
Saturday, November 27, 2010 @ 1:40:44 AM
I mean sure you 2D/2.5D would be great but that does not take away from how good LOS is. Underrated game...
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WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, November 26, 2010 @ 10:01:01 PM
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As far as replaying certain games ad infinitum it really is hard to pinpoint why. Maybe it is something unique about each game we do that with. For me, it depends largely on my mood, nostalgia, and just where I am in life.
Every winter I get in a mood to hunker down, stay in, and play Zelda Ocarina of Time while the snow falls and let it take me back to the day it released.
I've played Dante's Inferno a half dozen times because every time I see something new, or connect something to the Epic Poem in a new way.
Final Fantasies 7-10 beg for attention because each had so many great moments which are linked in their own abstract way to real life situations.
There are many factors I guess, but the best part of being a collector and not a trader is that when you get that call, the game is still right where you left it :)
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johnld
Friday, November 26, 2010 @ 10:19:11 PM
I want to replay my final fantasy games mainly because i want to see all the cutscenes again. i liked that ffX had a cutscene viewer, why the hell did they take that feature out anyway? they're basically known for their cutscene quality. anyway, even the viewer wont stop me from playing the games over again. i want to see the cutscenes in final fantasy 13 because, lets face it, the quality is top notch. however, theres no way in hell am i going to replay the whole game over again. not going through that kill tube again. dont get me wrong, i like FF13 as a game but not as a final fantasy series entry. the fact that they actually included and auto-battle feature shows how they're straying from typical final fantasy experience.
right now i'm 69% from platinum and i dont feel like going back to playing the game again. it just seems like the rest of the things i need to do is just a chore. I already put so much time into maxing out each party member and just felt disappointed with the results. being taken out easily or being unable to take out certain enemies any easier than when i was of lower lever is irritating. i know people said spend time getting better equipment but the items needed for this are rarely dropped, i mean really rare. i think i took out that giant turtle more than 300 times and barely got 50 platinum ingots (sells for a lot) and 4 trapehedrons (ultimate weapon upgrade) and upgrades arent cheap at all. that also when i used all the items to increase drop rates for items.
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BikerSaint
Friday, November 26, 2010 @ 10:24:26 PM
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hehateme
Friday, November 26, 2010 @ 10:27:02 PM
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there was nothing more fun to me than to level up binge for hours and hours
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Scarecrow
Saturday, November 27, 2010 @ 1:42:25 AM
It has to be everything, from his personality to the character/environment designs to the gameplay.
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Highlander
Friday, November 26, 2010 @ 10:40:22 PM
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I've gone back and replayed every Ratchet game and I think that is because those games are simply sheer fun.
I play Hot Shots Gold and a few other games off and on, and again, it's because they are fun.
Soul Calibur I can play over and over, but it *is* an arcade game after all....
I've replayed Xenosaga Episode one several times, and replayed Episodes 2 and 3 a couple of times too. I replay those because theya re fun, I like the system, I love the story, and actually feel a little emotional attachment to the characters. In other words It makes me feel good to play those games again.
GT I can play forever, and Burnout Paradise is always good for a blast if you're in that mood. I actually did a speed run through Burnout Paradise to see how quickly I could complete the game (around about 24 hours of play time)
Uncharted 1 and 2 are games I have repleayed, I played them both to Platinum, but have actually played them through again for the heck of it. I like Drake and the otehr characters, they are fun, but Uncharted is like Ratchet in that the game play is simply entertaining and fun. Yes it can be hard, but it retains the fun element.
Games I've stopped playing are games that become a chore, or I don't enjoy. I stopped playing Civ thanks to Civ 4 which is just too much of a chore. Sim City 3000 ended my enjoyment of that series too. The same is true of any game, once it becomes a chore it's pretty much over for me.
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SmokeyPSD
Saturday, November 27, 2010 @ 12:19:01 AM
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CHAOS THEORY X
Friday, November 26, 2010 @ 10:40:26 PM
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Last edited by CHAOS THEORY X on 11/26/2010 10:42:46 PM
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sunspider13
Friday, November 26, 2010 @ 11:13:42 PM
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___________
Friday, November 26, 2010 @ 10:46:44 PM
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i always try to replay every game i buy if i can, obviously thats hard when there games like fallout new vegas and when theres so many games releasing.
but in the drought next year ill definitely be going back and replaying enslaved, CLOS which im only about 1/4 through.
fallout new vegas i might go back to, IF they fixed all the god dam bugs!
value for money too, pointless spending 120 bucks on a game and only playing it once.
not to mention allot of games these days have alternate endings, or weapons you can only get going through a specific path.
infamous for example.
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Temjin001
Saturday, November 27, 2010 @ 12:06:41 AM
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I think it can be as un-recognizeable as the way the game causes our neural transmitters to operate. Games invoke different intensities of thinking at varying duration. Some games are less stressful and more enjoyable than others which may produce a more optimal balance of critical thinking that serve as a catalyst to endorphin release. Anyway, just a theory.
While I usually don't play most games to complete every aspect of them, I do find myself drawn to favorites where the game simply compels me to play it more often than others. I also find spending more time with a game serves as indicator to me as to how enjoyable the experience is. For example, while I've completed the main portion of Ratchet: CiT, I've been compelled by the memory of how enjoyable the game was so now I've gone back to it to complete more of what the package has to offer--My Blaster Runs Hot! =D I really recommend the game to any self respecting gamer. It was one of the better games released last year.
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Ricochet
Saturday, November 27, 2010 @ 12:07:20 AM
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Danny007
Saturday, November 27, 2010 @ 12:08:38 AM
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LittleBigMidget
Saturday, November 27, 2010 @ 12:12:35 AM
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A. I want all the trophies
B. I am a collector and if the game is really that awesome I try to 100% getting all unlockables.
C. I replay a game for nostalgia (WOOT WOOT for Super Mario 64 and Ocanria of Time)
or D., The game is just that damn good, so good that I replay it just for the experience again.
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main_event05
Saturday, November 27, 2010 @ 12:12:50 AM
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i.e. when life has me stressed i play PS Classics cause they remind me of when things we're simpler. That's the main reason for me. But as far as just picking a a game i've beat once or twice and playing it over just for the hell of it, i'll never know.
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SmokeyPSD
Saturday, November 27, 2010 @ 12:16:39 AM
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sirbob6
Saturday, November 27, 2010 @ 1:36:06 AM
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Another reason I replay is because I am a bit of loot whore. I need to find everything and level it up to the max. My personal favorite would be Ratchet and Clank. During the second playthough I usually finish getting all of the gold bolts and leveling up the weapons to the max level. This will take a while to do but it is so fun and the maxed out weapons and the Insomniac area are excellent. Another one would be MGS4. There is always one more thing to unlock when you finish, one more gun you missed, one more easter egg to find. I am on finished my 5th play though about a month ago and I plan to restart as soon as I finish plat DA:O.
Now I will not replay a extensive RPG or a game that I have invested 100+ hours in. This is primarily because I do not have the heart to go back and grind my way back up over a course of dozens of hours for little reward besides some sense of accomplishment.
Ultimately it comes down to what a person enjoys.
Last edited by sirbob6 on 11/27/2010 1:37:05 AM
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Scarecrow
Saturday, November 27, 2010 @ 1:48:04 AM
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But I think many factors come into play when replaying a game so many times.
I think the strongest being the atmosphere, if it's an atmosphere you like you'll go back to it many many times.
Compare the environments in San Andreas to the ones in Vice City. Doesn't the environment AND mood play a big factor in why you actually go back to the game?
You can't tell me Mario's simple yet subliminal world doesn't bring you back? The black torpedoes, the "dense" forests in Super Mario World....
In rpgs it's the Besaids....the Midgars...the very warm towns in Thousand Arms, etc.
I think the environments/places a game takes place in is a BIG, or the biggest factor in why we actually..............go back to them, literally.
---
Even in Gran Turismo, I know Grand Valley, Super Speedway, Trial Mountain, and other legendary tracks will be there. I actually think FIRST about the race track than the car when memories of the game come to me.
Last edited by Scarecrow on 11/27/2010 1:49:40 AM
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SixSpeedKing
Saturday, November 27, 2010 @ 2:36:07 AM
A very big part of wanting to replay a game, at least for me, is the immersivness/environments of it and how it makes me feel while playing it. If it evokes a lot of emotion and I am very connected/immersed then I will want to play the game over and over again. Even if there are no different endings or new things to see etc.
I guess you could say its all about the experience of it.
Last edited by SixSpeedKing on 11/27/2010 2:37:13 AM
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HighOnFire
Saturday, November 27, 2010 @ 5:42:55 AM
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A2K78
Saturday, November 27, 2010 @ 1:59:21 AM
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Take the Aero Dancing games, despite their relative shortness the very fact the experience constantly changes when doing air-to-air and air-to-surface missions is enough to bring me back. The end result is the fact that I have logged nearly 200hrs of gameplay time. The same goes for MFSX..the massive amount of free content that constantly get put is enough to make it impossible to put down.
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SILVERAMMO
Saturday, November 27, 2010 @ 2:31:27 AM
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ChronowerX_GT
Saturday, November 27, 2010 @ 6:43:30 AM
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I've also done the same with every GTA game although they're always good and there's far more to do so it's not so strange that you can spend hours on end playing them.
But Fallout 3, great game. I want to play it again but just haven't got that urge to. Instead I'll pick up and play mirrors edge or something like that. Mirrors Edge is still a great game but really isn't in the same class as Fallout.
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JackC8
Saturday, November 27, 2010 @ 8:14:14 AM
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A great variety of gameplay, environments, and strategies that the player needs to use. That all adds up to an experience that can be replayed many times and never gets old.
Good characters and an involving story. I feel like I want to spend time with the people and I care about what happens to them. I want to complete the missions because it matters - they're important.
Good atmosphere. No matter if it's a pastoral setting or a terrifying horror game, I need to be drawn into it and feel like I'm actually there.
Creativity - presenting the player with something unique and original makes for a memorable experience, and when something's memorable, I want to experience it again.
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DemonNeno
Saturday, November 27, 2010 @ 8:25:25 AM
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In the end, I feel like the originality of a games fun factor will bring me back to it the most. Since there are always plenty of games to try for the first time, some that deserve replaying never make the cut.
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Gone
Saturday, November 27, 2010 @ 8:51:38 AM
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When I drove off in that red Mercedes SLS AMG, I was pissed because they didn't want to give it to me for free, after all the hard work I do.
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beharris9
Saturday, November 27, 2010 @ 7:26:59 PM
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Alienange
Saturday, November 27, 2010 @ 10:38:41 AM
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Thing is, I love certain game mechanics. I LOVE the Bethesda RPGs. Sneaking and scavenging like that? There's nothing like it. I'd go back to Fallout 3 for sure but now NV is out so why bother? I'll get my fix on the new one. Same for Assassin's Creed and Rockstar offerings.
So yeah, I think it's like you say. We enjoy a "particular atmosphere" and it brings us back. Whether it be to the exact same game or the sequel.
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Fane1024
Saturday, November 27, 2010 @ 3:55:16 PM
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BikerSaint
Saturday, November 27, 2010 @ 10:19:54 PM
I see you said you've got huge library, so how how many game do you have?
As a games collector, I always like to hear that others also have a good(and big) collection of games too.
If I remember right, I think Orvis & LittleBig Midget also said they're gaming collectors too, although I haven't a clue to how big or many games they have, or for what systems.
I just bought another six 360/PS3 games last night so now I'm up to 85 for my 360 & 76 games for my PS3.
Grand total for all the collections in my library is now at 1755(with at least a few more to be added every week).
BTW, if interested, I do have about 10 doubles for the PS1, Ps2, & original xbox that I'd willing to trade for other titles I don't already have.
Last edited by BikerSaint on 11/27/2010 10:27:26 PM
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Mornelithe
Saturday, November 27, 2010 @ 12:00:02 PM
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Games like HSG, I play that fairly regularly also Ben, it's just a fun game, occupies time, and it's easy to put down. Unlike say, WoW where you get into it for an hour and you're glued there for the next 10 days.
Then there's games like Uncharted, where....beating it once just wasn't enough. Beating it twice, wasn't enough, beating it 5 times (technically platinum'd twice. Once pre-trophy, once post-trophy) however, was just right. It's just a fantastic game, that there was so much about I enjoyed, I couldn't just let the ending credits be the last of it =)
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THEVERDIN
Saturday, November 27, 2010 @ 12:47:00 PM
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AcHiLLiA
Saturday, November 27, 2010 @ 1:55:18 PM
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COD: UO for PC, no doubt one hell of a game.
Now just remaster it for the new gen. systems and I'll be more happy.
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LightShow
Saturday, November 27, 2010 @ 5:03:35 PM
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these days, after i beat a game (10X%) i just look forward to the next one. I doubt theyre making any more jak games (bawls) so i'm left to enjoy what made me love them all in the first place.
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beharris9
Saturday, November 27, 2010 @ 7:24:45 PM
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Lawless SXE
Saturday, November 27, 2010 @ 7:28:16 PM
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Peace.
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Robochic
Sunday, November 28, 2010 @ 10:12:18 AM
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spiderboi
Sunday, November 28, 2010 @ 11:42:53 AM
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For older games, I like to play FFVII, FFVIII and FFIX from time to time as they are the most geniuine (IMO) RPG experience for me. Nothing beats those games. I would like to replay my PS2 games if it hadn't died on me (I just defeated young ocelot and fell into the cave when it died). But yeah, games that make you experience the game rather than just play it (effectively immersing you into its reality) are those worth playing.
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Gravelight
Monday, November 29, 2010 @ 1:04:33 AM
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Gravelight
Monday, November 29, 2010 @ 1:04:36 AM
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Last edited by Gravelight on 11/29/2010 1:05:03 AM
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NoOneSpecial
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Friday, November 26, 2010 @ 9:27:01 PM