Like so many rounds in a Brute Shot, Halo 3 is set to blow gamers’ minds with its midnight release tonight.

Area retailers like Best Buy, GameStop, Wal-Mart and Target are set to receive a wave of gamers as the clock strikes 12:01 a.m. tomorrow when Halo 3 officially goes on sale to the public.

“I’ve been trying to figure out how I can get off work Tuesday so I can stay up all night and keep playing,” said J.P. Barker, a 21-year-old Washburn student majoring in computer information sciences.

Barker, who describes himself as an avid Halo fan, said he has read all the Halo novels, written by Eric Nylund, and said he was at the midnight release for Halo 2 in November 2004.

The third installment in the massively popular series created by the minds at Bungie Studios, Halo 3 has yet to be released and already it is poised to become a massive hit.

According to MSNBC.com, the second installment of the game sold more than 500,000 units within 24 hours of the release date, with sales in excess of $125 million. Well-known for its massively popular online multiplayer game-play, Halo 2 held the No. 1 spot on the list of most played games on Xbox Live, Microsoft’s online gaming network. The game held that spot until May 26, 2007, when it was beat out by Gears of War and Crackdown. However, as a trial version of the Halo 3 Beta was released to a small pool of players, that could have had an effect on the number for Halo 2.

For those not familiar with the game, Halo puts the player in the spot of a 7-foot-tall human cyborg known only by his military rank, Master Chief. Classified as a first person shooter, the game pits users in a “you against the world” scenario, where they must plow through an assault force of several alien races who have banded together, known as the Covenant.

“The best way to tell somebody about Halo is to say ‘hey, come play,'” said Barker. “Because if you’re not playing, you’re not understanding the depth of what you can do.”

Mike Ditch Jr., executive director of the campus activity board, said that CAB plans to continue to host several game nights this school year featuring, among other games, Halo 3.

“I know when I play I don’t want to play by myself,” said Ditch. “It’s not very much fun.”

That’s why CAB hosts these game nights, said Ditch. It gives students the opportunity to get out of their rooms and enjoy the competitive atmosphere that comes along with shooting and fragging 15 of your friends.

The next CAB game night Oct. 5 will also feature Guitar Hero and Madden 2008. Ditch said that in the last year CAB didn’t have as great of a showing when the game nights just focused on Halo, so this would give those who were looking to play other games a chance to get out and have some fun.

As for Barker, he said he plans to be down at GameStop on Wanamaker when the clock strikes midnight tonight. Having reserved his copy since June, he said he’s more than ready for the release of this much-anticipated game.

“The weather’s going to be a lot different than the last one, so I think it’ll be a lot more jovial,” said Barker.

BULLET NOTES

• Halo 3 will be released Sept. 25 at midnight. Area retailers like Best Buy, Gamestop, Wal-Mart and Target will be starting sales at 12:01 a.m.

• According to MSNBC.com, Halo 2 sold more than 500,000 units within 24 hours of the release date.

• Sales of Halo 2 during the first 24 hours grossed an excess of $125 million.

• As of March 6, 2007, Halo 2 was the top rated Xbox Live title on the Xbox 360, beating out other first-person shooters like Gears of War and Call of Duty 2 and 3.

• Halo 3 for Xbox 360 is also compatible with high definition, giving the game a greater amount of detail than the previous Halo titles.