Reduced Price Game Guides: Thread Nine

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First off, let me welcome you all to the new guide thread. Second, I'd like to ask you all to please keep conversations not pertaining to guide drops or which ones you've grabbed to a minimum to avoid cluttering the thread. It's not that I don't enjoy the chit chat, but that it may stop others from locating information on the newest drops.

That being said, let me thank Cheapy for creating this site, without which I would've spent probably 10 times what I HAVE spent on games and guides. Moreover, let me thank each and every one of my fellow CAGs for continuing to contribute to making this site a great place to find out about sales and clearances of the items we as gamers use most. Without a great community, NONE of this would be possible.

Furthermore, I would like to thank our Wiki editors HeatDolphin and Rocko for updating the Wiki. Great job.

Now, with that out of the way(and before I get to rambling), let's get on to making this new thread.

Useful Information(and links):

Game Guide Trading Clearinghouse(old one, locked now):
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102021

Game Guide Trade Thread(KEEP ALL TRADE REQUESTS HERE OR IN PM'S)
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=175548

PLEASE keep ALL trade requests in there or PM's. Thank you.

Reduced Price Guide Discussion Thread(KEEP ALL DISCUSSION NOT RELATED TO GUIDE DROPS HERE!!!)
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=169252

Guide Lists(master drop lists and recent drops):

Master Drop List(by store, alphabetically):
http://wiki.cheapassgamer.com/index.php/Category:Strategy_Guides_%28master_lists%29

Recent Guide Drops(by date,also check the second post in this thread):
http://wiki.cheapassgamer.com/index.php/Category:Strategy_Guides_%28recent_drops%29

What is the purpose of this thread?

The purpose of this thread is to let our fellow CAGs know when a guide has dropped to a low price(it's NOT ALWAYS A PENNY), so they can go out and grab guides for themselves and for trading with other CAGs.

Anytime you have guide drops to report, post them here. Please specify at which store you found them and which guides you found and list them in alphabetical order. Thank you.

What are penny guides?

Penny guides are guides which have been on the market for a while and the publisher(or store chain) decide that the remaining stock of these guides have little to no chance of selling, so they issue an order to pull them from the shelves and destroy them. At that time, they are also marked as .01 in their inventory system, except in the case of BBV, which marks them .01 only AFTER pulling them.

Most stores have an agreement with the publisher that states that if they destroy the remaining stock of those items, they will receive a credit for their value from the publisher. This is why many stores are usually annoyed when we CAGs come in and buy the guides AT the penny price, since otherwise they would've received a full credit for those items.

According to an employee at a local BB, they also have a recycling program for the pennied stock, so as to not clutter landfill space with the guides. As to how true it is, I cannot confirm, but I would hope that the paper is at least recycled instead of just dumpstered.

Prior Reduced price game guide threads:

Guide Three:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50515&highlight=guide
Guide Four:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1496376
Guide Five:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85976
Guide Six:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=116918
Guide Seven:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131717
Guide Seven and a half:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142400
Guide Eight:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=167157

Finally, below is a list of website links, each of which goes to their respective guide page. Whenever possible, I will update the links with better ones(if available).

Amazon
Barnes&Noble
BestBuy
BookPool
CircuitCity
Gamestop
Overstock
StrategyGuides.net
ToysRUs

Thanks to floormat, Guinavere and anyone else who has created and maintained the guide thread before, as well as to all of those who find out either advance information on drops or provide a list of which ones dropped when we do have a drop.

The post below this one contains a list going back at LEAST six months of the more current guide drops, which stores they occured at and which ones dropped. Note that sometimes(Oblivion guide, Quake Wars: Enemy Territory)there are multiple versions of a guide, be it that there are Prima versions, Brady versions and the occasional Nintendo and Doublejump guides.

Please specify WHICH version has dropped when mentioning possible guide drops. Thank you.


 
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[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']The Ninja Gaiden 2 wall scrolls dropped, not the guide to the best of our knowledge. However, I didn't list that as having dropped because it's not a guide perse.

If anyone gets a chance, you could probably snag some copies of the cd soundtrack that came with the pre-order case for Mercenaries 2, since the game came out officially on August 31st, as well as the other cases/bonuses for other games that have come out already.[/quote]Thanks for the clarification. After re-reading the posters message, I see that he just caught someone trying to hide a guide. My goof.

I can confirm at least 5 Ninja Gaiden Wall scrolls at the BB @ Brandermill (Richmond, VA) on an endcap towards the restrooms; ringing up for a penny. They also have Beowulf :360: for $10.
 
[quote name='Antic']I haven't seen a register open at all since I've started shopping there for deals. They're physically there, but it's always just someone only at the Customer Service sort of part of CC.

I don't even know how they stay open honestly. There are more associates on the floor than there are customers usually.[/quote]

I assume they make enough with the few customers making huge purchases, I only see people around the tvs and cameras, the game section is usually empty.
 
S'up guys - been away on an Alaskan cruise for the past week with teh wifez0rz ;) Glad to see I didn't miss anything epic at Best Buy.

Did manage to stop by an EB Games in Victoria, Canada and they had a TON of old guides. I'm talking Pikmin 2, Mario & Luigi, .hack, and a bunch more... unfortunately they weren't pennied out. I take it Canada practices their business differently?
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']If anyone gets a chance, you could probably snag some copies of the cd soundtrack that came with the pre-order case for Mercenaries 2, since the game came out officially on August 31st, as well as the other cases/bonuses for other games that have come out already.[/quote]

Is this at BB?
 
Finally found Oblivion (slightly worse for wear) and the EA book at BB. The only Oblivion I've seen up to now has been the GOTY.
 
[quote name='neocisco']Is this at BB?[/quote] Yeah. They had a whole big section of these cases that contain all manner of pre-order bonuses inside them(like the Fallout 3 bottle opener from Nukola). Of course, they also have a barcode on the back that they scan that normally would come up as $5 for the deposit for the game.

This is similar to the Turok beanie bonus that pennied a while back.

I don't know for certain IF they pennied it yet or not, but I know that once the games come out, they junk out the pre-order cases usually.
 
[quote name='Josef']The Ninja Gaiden Wall Grafix rang up for $0.99 for me on Tuesday. Anyone else have this problem?[/quote]

I got one today and it rang up $0.01.
 
[quote name='Josef']The Ninja Gaiden Wall Grafix rang up for $0.99 for me on Tuesday. Anyone else have this problem?[/quote] *raises hand*
 
[quote name='slowdive21']Checked Fallout 3 and Brothers in Arms? preorder bonuses and they rang up $5 and $10. The 40 or so NG wall scrolls were gone.[/quote]

Fallout 3 isnt out yet.. why would that be clearanced out? neither is brothers in arms
 
[quote name='Ice2Dragon']maybe its cuz as youve indicated in other posts that you "take all of them that are pennied" and make it incredibly obvious that you visit CAG.. they probably know who u are and wont sell it to u.

You made your own bed for buying in bulk.. I never take more than one guide at a time, for respect for myself and others.

Regardless of how old you are, its better for you to learn this lesson now and learn from it lol :([/quote] You're probably right. I'll wait a couple months before trying CC again. >_<

I never say I visit CAG, just say I found it on the internet or from a friend who heard about it on the internet.
 
[quote name='darkslime']You're probably right. I'll wait a couple months before trying CC again. >_<

I never say I visit CAG, just say I found it on the internet or from a friend who heard about it on the internet.[/quote]

dont say that. if you have to strike up a conversation with them about how u knew, then odds are its bad.

never talk to robots.

I always bring my gf with me and we talk to ourselves, or I talk on the cell phone if Im alone so that way they cant ask questions. If you act like a jerk on the phone and yell at holler, they just ring it up and dont ask questions.

But I NEVER bring more than 2 guides max with me. It makes it way too obvious and draws attention @_@
 
[quote name='Josef']The Ninja Gaiden Wall Grafix rang up for $0.99 for me on Tuesday. Anyone else have this problem?[/quote]

Yea, I grabbed three @ $0.99 for a couple buddies of mine, but I figured it was justifiable after all the penny guides I've picked up over time.
 
To clarify, even if the Mercenaries 2 preorder box with the soundtrack included still rings up at $5 I'll still pay for it if someone can find one for me. They're gone from my local store.
 
wow I was at a Circuit City tonight that had stacks of the DMC 4 and Halo 3 guides and boy were they Assholes about them.

I was not greedy I only grabbed one DMC and halo 3 guide along with a game I was getting and the cashier told me he had to check with a manager about the guides.

So the manager comes over and said where did you get these guides from and were they marked on the shelf at $0.01. I said no I just picked them up randomly because I have the games and he said he would be fired and anyone else that sold them at that price would be fired.

He said these guides were marked a penny because they were originally bundled with the game.. I said no they were sealed like this on the shelf and he said then I must of opened the other seal and put the games on the shelf.. (Um ok)

So after a minute of sending the cashier over to see if these made up bundles were tampered with the cashier came over with all the DMC and Halo guides and said no these are not bundles and this is the way they are on the shelf.. so the manager got all mad and said I will over ride the price and charge the cover price of $19.99 for them if I wanted them.

So I said no if they rang up at a different price that is what I should be charged for them so if you want to change the price then im not interested in them and he got mad and said "do you think all we have time for here is to put items back that customers dont want anymore" ?

So with that I had a game in hand and said I dont think I want this anymore and put that on the counter and said thank you and have a good night to the cashier and walked...

I dont understand the power trip these retail store managers like to try and pull its crazy...

So im 50/50 about giving ol' corp. a call and let them know what the store manager at "X" location was trying to acuse me of and his little hissy line he had to spit out at me.

I will stick with Bestbuys for penny guides for now on seeing I never have issues with them and they seem happy to get rid of them... one associate at a Bestbuy told me one time at least someones buying them even at a penny because of the net people hardly buy them anymore lol.
 
[quote name='Derrick1979']wow I was at a Circuit City tonight that had stacks of the DMC 4 and Halo 3 guides and boy were they Assholes about them.

I was not greedy I only grabbed one DMC and halo 3 guide along with a game I was getting and the cashier told me he had to check with a manager about the guides.

So the manager comes over and said where did you get these guides from and were they marked on the shelf at $0.01. I said no I just picked them up randomly because I have the games and he said he would be fired and anyone else that sold them at that price would be fired.

He said these guides were marked a penny because they were originally bundled with the game.. I said no they were sealed like this on the shelf and he said then I must of opened the other seal and put the games on the shelf.. (Um ok)

So after a minute of sending the cashier over to see if these made up bundles were tampered with the cashier came over with all the DMC and Halo guides and said no these are not bundles and this is the way they are on the shelf.. so the manager got all mad and said I will over ride the price and charge the cover price of $19.99 for them if I wanted them.

So I said no if they rang up at a different price that is what I should be charged for them so if you want to change the price then im not interested in them and he got mad and said "do you think all we have time for here is to put items back that customers dont want anymore" ?

So with that I had a game in hand and said I dont think I want this anymore and put that on the counter and said thank you and have a good night to the cashier and walked...

I dont understand the power trip these retail store managers like to try and pull its crazy...

So im 50/50 about giving ol' corp. a call and let them know what the store manager at "X" location was trying to acuse me of and his little hissy line he had to spit out at me.

I will stick with Bestbuys for penny guides for now on seeing I never have issues with them and they seem happy to get rid of them... one associate at a Bestbuy told me one time at least someones buying them even at a penny because of the net people hardly buy them anymore lol.[/quote] Definitely call corporate about that asshole. Just try again tomorrow, on a different shift and you can probably score them.
 
[quote name='Derrick1979']wow I was at a Circuit City tonight that had stacks of the DMC 4 and Halo 3 guides and boy were they Assholes about them.

I was not greedy I only grabbed one DMC and halo 3 guide along with a game I was getting and the cashier told me he had to check with a manager about the guides.

So the manager comes over and said where did you get these guides from and were they marked on the shelf at $0.01. I said no I just picked them up randomly because I have the games and he said he would be fired and anyone else that sold them at that price would be fired.

He said these guides were marked a penny because they were originally bundled with the game.. I said no they were sealed like this on the shelf and he said then I must of opened the other seal and put the games on the shelf.. (Um ok)

So after a minute of sending the cashier over to see if these made up bundles were tampered with the cashier came over with all the DMC and Halo guides and said no these are not bundles and this is the way they are on the shelf.. so the manager got all mad and said I will over ride the price and charge the cover price of $19.99 for them if I wanted them.

So I said no if they rang up at a different price that is what I should be charged for them so if you want to change the price then im not interested in them and he got mad and said "do you think all we have time for here is to put items back that customers dont want anymore" ?

So with that I had a game in hand and said I dont think I want this anymore and put that on the counter and said thank you and have a good night to the cashier and walked...

I dont understand the power trip these retail store managers like to try and pull its crazy...

So im 50/50 about giving ol' corp. a call and let them know what the store manager at "X" location was trying to acuse me of and his little hissy line he had to spit out at me.

I will stick with Bestbuys for penny guides for now on seeing I never have issues with them and they seem happy to get rid of them... one associate at a Bestbuy told me one time at least someones buying them even at a penny because of the net people hardly buy them anymore lol.[/quote]

100 bucks says that the manager and staff took the guides and theyre gone by now.
 
so if i ranomly walk into best buy tomorrow and buy a HALO 3 guide... it should ring up as a penny, regardless of location?

sorry guys im really new to the "penny guides"
 
[quote name='dkreegz515']so if i ranomly walk into best buy tomorrow and buy a HALO 3 guide... it should ring up as a penny, regardless of location?

sorry guys im really new to the "penny guides"[/quote]

... wow

did you read what store has what clearanced??

BB doesnt have it.. CC does....
 
[quote name='Ice2Dragon']... wow

did you read what store has what clearanced??

BB doesnt have it.. CC does....[/quote]

Don't worry about it, I'm sure they'll figure out that the second post has recent drop info in it sooner or later. You know, the second post has been included in at least a few penny guide threads, but so few seem to check it and just ask what dropped where. It's kinda frustrating at times to have to keep repeating where to find the info.
 
Not everyone starts from the first page, first post though, so adding that would only annoy one person: ME. Why? Because we've gone over that there's a mini current Wiki in the second post many times over and I shouldn't have to edit the first post to alert many who may just be trying to get into grabbing guides about it, since they should be starting from the first post and reading through the thread.

Unfortunately, everyone's setup for the threads is different, so while it'd take me almost no time to skim through the 25 pages I see(50 posts per page), some may have 10 or 20 as their standard and they may want to sit there and read everything. Of course that would alert them that the second post has the 'current drops' in it and I wouldn't have to be repeating myself over and over and over and over.

This is also why I told anyone who provides drop info to put it in RED letters, so I can just skip all of the other posts and only get the info I need to maintain the thread. It helps save time.

But if there comes a time when we are able to put a pop up or something to alert other CAG's to the location of important info, then I'll be ready with a big flashing neon colored sign that says : Recent drop info in the second post
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']Not everyone starts from the first page, first post though, so adding that would only annoy one person: ME. Why? Because we've gone over that there's a mini current Wiki in the second post many times over and I shouldn't have to edit the first post to alert many who may just be trying to get into grabbing guides about it, since they should be starting from the first post and reading through the thread.

Unfortunately, everyone's setup for the threads is different, so while it'd take me almost no time to skim through the 25 pages I see(50 posts per page), some may have 10 or 20 as their standard and they may want to sit there and read everything. Of course that would alert them that the second post has the 'current drops' in it and I wouldn't have to be repeating myself over and over and over and over.

This is also why I told anyone who provides drop info to put it in RED letters, so I can just skip all of the other posts and only get the info I need to maintain the thread. It helps save time.

But if there comes a time when we are able to put a pop up or something to alert other CAG's to the location of important info, then I'll be ready with a big flashing neon colored sign that says : Recent drop info in the second post[/quote]

Even with all that, someone still once a day would come in asking which stores have what pennied out. Its insane to think that ten seconds of reading could save time and bandwith from a wasted post :(
 
Unfortunately, unless we have a copy of the current dropped list on each page, I think that question will continue to be asked.

The way it is now, we're about 261 posts from the imaginary 'cap' that many threads used to be locked at and a new version started. This is, in part, due to all of the superfluous posts. I've asked numerous times for many of those to be deleted, so we can forgo having to make a new thread every 2 months, while further clogging up the server with the older versions that made it to that plateau in no time at all.

However, I've been contributing to the idle chit chat as well, so I stopped even bothering to ask about having more than half the posts deleted.
 
[quote name='darkslime']We should just start a new thread IMO.

This is getting super clogged.[/QUOTE]

I agree, but it will just be the same story with a new thread.

There are way too many posts with people telling us what they got at a particular store. As in, "just got back from Best Buy and I got 5 of this guide, 3 of this guide, and 2 of this other guide."

If you pick-up a guide at a store and it's not a new guide to add to the list, then there's no point posting as it just clogs the thread.

If you absolutely HAVE to tell us what you bought, then use the discussion thread. Personally, if it's something that's already been mentioned as being pennied, then I really couldn't care less what you got. I mean, I think it's cool, and all, but it's just not relevant.

The Halo 3 guides at CC are a prime example. A couple people got it for a penny and 37 people had to come on and "confirm" that it was a penny at CC. Totally unnecessary. I know we had this argument before, and every once and a while, if somebody has an interesting story to report from buying guides, then that's one thing, but we don't need everybody coming in to tell us what they bought.
 
I had Orange Box guide checked at BB a couple days ago, and it's down to $5. It's not a penny, but maybe this initial price-cut is a sign of penniage sooon.
 
[quote name='KABUKISTAR']I had Orange Box guide checked at BB a couple days ago, and it's down to $5. It's not a penny, but maybe this initial price-cut is a sign of penniage sooon.[/QUOTE]

It dropped to $4.99 at the beginning of August/late-July.
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']Unfortunately, unless we have a copy of the current dropped list on each page, I think that question will continue to be asked.[/quote]
Good Idea! lol You should just post the drop list in your sig. that way everyone will see it everytime you post! lmao
 
[quote name='darkslime']We should just start a new thread IMO.

This is getting super clogged.[/quote]

Just wondering why this thread exists?

(Forgive me if this has been discussed and explained before in the history of CAG - I haven't seen it addressed recently.)

There isn't a "Reduced Price Games" thread or a "Reduced Price Game Accessories" thread. If there were, CAG would have very few threads, and those threads would be ridiculously large. Instead, there is a typically a new thread for every new deal on a particular game or accessory.

What would be the issue with having threads like:
"Halo 3 Guide 1 cent @ CC"
"Burnout Paradise Guide 1 cent @ Best Buy"

It seems to me that usually there are around a half-dozen to a dozen drops (usually pennied) per month. That doesn't seem like a lot of new threads to add, in place of these uber-threads. A search for "guide" in the thread title would pull up a list of drop threads that would likely cover all the recent drops (assuming CAG doesn't consider "guide" too short to search on - a frustration that I hoped CAG 2.0 would address - but that's a separate issue).

If people want to post things like "I picked this up today. Yay me!", well, they already do that in other per-item deal threads and it doesn't seem to be a big deal - probably because threads dedicated to one deal on one item are a lot shorter.
 
[quote name='gantt']Just wondering why this thread exists?

(Forgive me if this has been discussed and explained before in the history of CAG - I haven't seen it addressed recently.)

There isn't a "Reduced Price Games" thread or a "Reduced Price Game Accessories" thread. If there were, CAG would have very few threads, and those threads would be ridiculously large. Instead, there is a typically a new thread for every new deal on a particular game or accessory.

What would be the issue with having threads like:
"Halo 3 Guide 1 cent @ CC"
"Burnout Paradise Guide 1 cent @ Best Buy"

It seems to me that usually there are around a half-dozen to a dozen drops (usually pennied) per month. That doesn't seem like a lot of new threads to add, in place of these uber-threads. A search for "guide" in the thread title would pull up a list of drop threads that would likely cover all the recent drops (assuming CAG doesn't consider "guide" too short to search on - a frustration that I hoped CAG 2.0 would address - but that's a separate issue).

If people want to post things like "I picked this up today. Yay me!", well, they already do that in other per-item deal threads and it doesn't seem to be a big deal - probably because threads dedicated to one deal on one item are a lot shorter.[/quote]

One thread subscription = all your info.
 
[quote name='shiningslade']Good Idea! lol You should just post the drop list in your sig. that way everyone will see it everytime you post! lmao[/quote]

That would be both funny, convenient for many and just annoying after a while though. It would clog up the thread MORE than the Seinfeld-esque posts.

On topic, I went to get the 4 PES 2008 guides that the local BB had and they came up .03 each? WTF!?!?!?! I picked up Burnout Paradise guides and they came up .01 each last week when I got them. I swear, there must be someone smoking a fatty while they're inputting price change info for the chain in the main computers @ BB central lately, since the Burnout guides came up the usual .01 for me, but now they're coming up .39 for other people?

Oh and unfortunately Neo, my local BB trashed all of the Mercs 2 pre-order things already. Sorry. :cry:
 
[quote name='Pookymeister']One thread subscription = all your info.[/quote]

I'll give you $1 if you can sum it up even more.:lol:

[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']Oh and unfortunately Neo, my local BB trashed all of the Mercs 2 pre-order things already. Sorry. :cry:[/quote]

darth_vader_nooo1.jpeg
 
[quote name='Pookymeister']One thread subscription = all your info.[/quote]

The same argument could be made for consolidating all the threads in "Video Game Deals" into a single thread. Perhaps you could just subscribe to the Video Game Deals forum?

It's not all *my* info. It's all the info about the guides I care about, plus a bunch of info about guides and other crap I don't care about. E.g., I have zero interest in Ninja Gaiden Wall Grafix.
 
I never bothered to try game crazy and someone cleaned them up. Stacks and fucking stacks of guides from their drops at bookman's today. There had to be at least 200. 0_0

I picked up a xenosaga III guide for $3. Worth anything?
 
[quote name='gantt']The same argument could be made for consolidating all the threads in "Video Game Deals" into a single thread. Perhaps you could just subscribe to the Video Game Deals forum?

It's not all *my* info. It's all the info about the guides I care about, plus a bunch of info about guides and other crap I don't care about. E.g., I have zero interest in Ninja Gaiden Wall Grafix.[/QUOTE]

I certainly agree with you on the NG wall grafix. I have NO idea why not only that it's mentioned in this thread, but that there are SO many posts regarding it, since it has nothing to do with guides.

On the other hand, most guide drops occur simultaneously, so if we did it your way, then on a day where 5 or 6 guides drop to a penny, you would have to make 5 or 6 separate threads. It's just more convenient this way and it's not only possible but likely that I'd miss a guide or 2 that dropped if not for one, consolidated thread.

But, again, this thread has become 50% guide drops and 50% socializing, so I agree with you to a large extent. The only posts in this thread should be guide drops and when people check on guides and report their findings, dropped or not. It doesn't matter, anyway, no matter what I say or you say, there's still going to be people who post "I just picked up 2 Dark Sector guides from BB for a penny each!".....who cares?.....
 
Saw a Super Mario Galaxy Hardcover edition today for $14.99. On the site, the regular edition is $5 more.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp;jsessionid=ACOTT3FC3YPM3KC4D3E$$$A?_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&id=pcat17071&type=page&st=mario+galaxy&sc=Global&cp=1&nrp=15&sp=&qp=&list=n&iht=y&usc=All+Categories&ks=960
 
I really think that it would clog up the rest of the forum, if we made seperate threads for each drop. As for filtering through all the dribble in this thread, to pick out drops, I'm totally in favour of the red text for making posts about drops stand out.
If there were some way to get all the posts here in an RSS feed, I would suggest that ever post about a drop have some kind of tag or code (like [newdrop]) in order to make a filtered list of all the posts about drops, skipping past the dribble ;-)
 
How about we make a thread for each drop, not for each guide.

For example, the title of the thread could be;
Best Buy Guide Drop - MM/DD
and inside it could say all of the guides that dropped this time, for example

Burnout Paradise
Condemned 2
PES2008
 
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