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As I entered Game Crazy, the smell of cold pizza and sweaty palms hit me like it only has once before; at the midnight release of Halo 3. I quickly realized the stench was coming from the thirty or so people being squeezed into the confined area of the store. The people there were strangely pale and wore mostly black with thrash metal bands on their t-shirts. Many hadn't shaven in days and looked as if they hadn't bathed in just as long. These were the serious Gears fanatics, waiting hours on end for midnight to be upon us. I, Adam Dodson, was among them.

On November 6th, many people left work early to get in line at the nearest GameStop, Play N Trade or Game Crazy so they could be one of the first to experience the game. People could be seen wearing Gears of War T-shirts, watching the trailers, downloading content from Xbox live, and reading the new novellization.

Millions of gamers pre-ordered the title so they could get their copy as soon as legally possible. One in particular, who had been waiting in line for over seven hours, had taken the entire next week off of work so nothing would interfere with him playing the game. The hours went by with people playing demos in the store or talking excitedly about all the new ways to defeat any and all opponents in Gears of War 2.

"Bigger, better, and more [badaxe]" were the words used to describe the Xbox 360 exclusive, Gears of War 2 from game's own lead designer Cliff Blezinski. The game was announced for the Xbox 360 in February 2008 and had fans waiting in eager anticipation for November 7th, the release date we know as "Re-Emergence Day."

The title is a sequel to the original 2006 hit, following the story of soldiers Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago. Fourteen years before the events of this game (the original "Emergence Day"), the subterranean creatures know as Locusts emerged from their underground hiding place and launched a massive attack on the human race. Humanity fought a losing battle for years as their numbers dwindled to a few million survivors. Now, it is your job to strike back at the locusts and defend the last remaining human city, Jacinto.

At 11:59 PM, the anticipation in the air was almost as thick as the stagnant odor in which the store was consumed. The clock struck midnight and the first in line was given his copy of Gears of War 2. The man immediately jogged/ran out of the store and into his car to go home so he could continue the epic legacy of the first game. The line moved agonizingly slow as I waited my turn to purchase the game. Finally, the wait was over and I received my copy. As I walked out of the store many people stared longingly at the cover which featured a combination chainsaw-assault rifle that we like to call the Lancer.

As you can imagine, the following hours were filled with curb stomping and chain sawing my way through countless enemies. Even if you didn't get a chance to make it to the midnight release, don't be discouraged. This is a game worth buying at any time of the day; midnight releases just happen to make it a bit more memorable.