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Awesome Games Done Quick's charity video game marathon starts Sunday

Kick off the new year by watching pro gamers obliterate your favorite titles.

Looking for a fun, exciting and altruistic way to kick off the new year? Try watching people beat a ton of classic video games at record speed for charity. Awesome Games Done Quick 2017 kick off on January 8th -- a week long speedrunning marathon that raises funds for charities like Doctors Without Borders and the Prevent Cancer Foundation.

The week starts on Sunday morning with Ape Escape 2 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, and doesn't stop until the the team finishes Undertale with the "true pacifist ending" almost a week later -- but along the way speedrunners will finish three more Zelda games, 9 Mario titles (including Mario Paint!) as well as games from the Dark Souls, Contra, Star Wars, Sonic the Hedgehog and Final Fantasy franchises. There are enough fan favourites to please anybody, but the group snuck in a few surprises: this year's schedule includes obscure japanese titles, indie games and even a couple of weird bootleg games. Ever hear of "Donkey Kong 5: The Journey of Over Time and Space?" We hadn't either.

So take a day off, unwind and start off 2017 by enjoying amazing gameplay for a good cause. You can watch the whole show right here, or on the Games Done Quick Twitch channel.

Watch live video from GamesDoneQuick on www.twitch.tv