Hundreds of Residents Answer the 'Call of Duty'

Tuesday marked the release of the long-awaited conclusion to Call of Duty's Modern Warfare trilogy, as gamers of young and old packed the sidewalks outside local video game retailers for an epic midnight release.

"I heard so much about the game and it sounded really cool," said Matt Blackenstein, who, along with his brother Evan and his mother Lisa, arrived to the Ralph's Corner at 6:30 p.m. in order to be the first in line for the midnight release.  "I played 'Black Ops' and that was a lot of fun, but everything I've read online about 'Modern Warfare 3' sounds awesome."

Behind the Blackenstein's, a line comprised of hundreds of people wrapped around the strip-mall – well past where Clemens and SuperFresh used to stand. 

While many were eager to have the game in-hand, some of the people who tagged along for the midnight released failed to understand the logic behind the wait.

"Why can't you buy the game tomorrow?" asked Ashley, of Harleysville, who decided to keep her boyfriend company. "Why can't you buy it next week? I don't understand."

Across town, the on Broad Street was having a more subdued release, though the competition was high thanks to a "Call of Duty" tournament which led up to midnight.

"It's the multiplayer," said Chris, an assistant manager at Play N Trade, explaining the appeal of "Call of Duty."

"It's definitely a really social aspect," he said. "I have a friend who doesn't even play the campaign – he just jumps right in to multiplayer.  It's a really good time where you can chat with your friends, play as a team, or play against one another."

This year's release coincided with the elections, so many of the area students already had the day off.

"This worked out perfect," said a young boy, who didn't want to give his name out of fear that his mother would find out he snuck out for the release.  "We don't have school tomorrow, so I can play the game all day!"

For the adults, there would be no cancelation of the work day, but that just meant that many were due to use some much-needed sick time.  Many of the men and women in line stated that they had either requested to have off or planned to call out in the morning.

By 1 a.m. on Tuesday, the line outside of had noticeably thinned, but there were still a good deal of people – who hadn't preordered the game – looking to snatch up the remaining copies before the store sold out.

If you missed out on the release, don't fret. Chris at Play N Trade said they would have extra copies on hand for those who couldn't make it out at midnight.