Midnight in Holmdel: Gamers Lined Up to Grab "Gears of War 3"

George Davis, 21, of Hazlet spent nine hours on the sidewalk outside GameStop in Holmdel Monday to be first in line for the midnight release of  "Gears of War 3" a sci-fi military shooter game for Xbox 360.

"Its bloody, brutal and crazy," said Davis, laughing and joking with friends on a temperate evening. Davis crossed three days off from his work calendar as a valet parking lot attendant and dishwasher to throw himself into the game day and night, which he plays competitively against online opponents. 

His friend, Tommy Lewis, 19, an ice cream store attendant from Port Monmouth pronounced the game as "brutal and manly." With friend Tim Tepper, 19, a college student studying history from Port Monmouth, they had dreams of playing Gears of War professionally for prize money. In August, they said they attended a MLG Raleigh Pro Circuit Competition in Raleigh, North Carolina with thousands of other gamers who played for cash.  

GameStop Manager Justin McHugh emerged from the store around 11:55 p.m. to hand out Gears of War related promotional freebies to the ones who waited longest. Of the 70 or so noisy, but well-behaved, fans waiting in line to pick up the $59.99 basic game, only two were women.

With agreement from the crowd near the door, he pulled the only young child waiting, Noah Inocencio, 9, of Keansburg, into the store first with his father, Robert to get the first copy. The father and son team said they planned to pull an all-nighter together. 

In Gears of War, the player assumes the role of Marcus Fenix, a hardened soldier who aims to save the humans of planet Sera from the enemy, called the Locust Horde. 

"All my staff plays this stuff," said McHugh, earlier on Monday. "They're excited about the launch, but I think they are a little more excited about the night ending and going home and playing their own game."

McHugh loves the game too, but because he's the manager, he is scheduled to back behind the cash register on Tuesday at 10 a.m. "Tomorrow will be just as busy, but we won't have the concentrated line out the door." There will be extra copies for sale to those without reservations, he said. 

The game appeals to a broad audience, who can play it alone or in multiplayer online scenarios. It gained popularity when the first version was released with Gamebox 360 bundle five years ago. It is rated M, for mature, and suggested for audiences 17 and older. In addition to the basic game, the developers have also produced two collector’s editions with bonuses to enhance the game, one for $79.99 and another for $149.99. 

Gears of War 3 is one of several hot titles that will be released between now and the end of the 2011. Battlefield 3 will be sold on October 25, and then there's Call of Duty on November 8. 

The last time that sequel was released, the line formed at GameStop and continued all the way to Kohl's, said McHugh.