I've seen and heard a lot of gamers are going to skip the latest installment of Call of Duty Black Ops II, set for a midnight release in just a couple of hours. For a series that has broken sales records each year a new title has shipped for the past couple of episodes dating back to the original Modern Warfare, is this the year the series finally fails to do that? Obviously we won't know for a day or two, but it will be interesting to see how the events transpire. Especially since just last week we were reading about how the video game sales slid for the 11^th straight month and in October alone they dropped by 25%. (More on that here.)

I for one will be contributing to the success / failure of the game as once again I find myself preparing to head out the door long after all of my co-workers are snug in their beds. Well, the non-gamer co-workers that is. I wonder if you can count the success of the year in terms of video game releases by the number of midnight launches you attend...this makes three for me...or is it four?

I don't know what it is about Call of Duty that keeps me coming back. I've practically given up on the multiplayer and the single player campaigns seem to get shorter and more outlandish, but I do. Actually I do know and I have two blogs waiting to publish on the topic. One is on Medal of Honor Warfigher and the other is on Spec Ops: The Line. I guess what it is that keeps me coming back is I just like military shooters. In fact, I admit this in my MoH blog...I am biased. I've always enjoyed shooters since my early days of gaming and growing up with Wolfenstein and Doom, and now that I'm in the military, I just enjoy them. I don't expect everyone to of course. And despite what some say, there is no denying it is a popular genre; and there is no denying Call of Duty is a popular game. Facts are facts...it sells and people play it. This can be proven, or should I say...is proven. I guess that gives me hope that Black Ops II and my journey out into the cold dark night are not a waste of time and money.

The last time I ventured out this late was for the midnight release of Halo 4. Overall I'm pleased with the game, even if the launch was uneventful. Given tonight is a weeknight coming off of a long weekend, I'm sure this one will be mostly uneventful for me too. If you read my blog about the events of that night, then you know I basically took a lot of notes and a timeline of the events, and shared that in the blog. Tonight will be no different...be back in a little while and see you then.

Captain's Log Stardate 11/12/2012 - Our destination is the local Game Stop located at Harbor View East district currently being occupied by a band of renegades and vagabonds calling themselves gamers.

11:00 PM - Departed home base a little later than I normally like to for midnight releases, but since the Halo 4 release was lackluster and there wasn't a lot going on, I didn't think I'd miss much by going later. This would prove to be true. The temperature was much warmer, a mild 64 degrees. Perfect weather for standing in line listening to likeminded individuals mill about, talking about video games.

11:15 PM - Arrived on station. There are only about 20 people hanging out, including one who has commandeered a shopping cart and has decided to use it as a chair. We (kids + me) go right in and pre-pay to speed things along when midnight rolls around. As I feared but expected, there are no big events like previous Call of Duty midnight releases. Let me jot that down as a potential topic for a future blog.

(The only gamer t-shirt I saw tonight...and it was being worn by my son)

11:23 PM - Overheard... "Gamers are really short." I look around and notice...wow, gamers are really short. I mean, a number of the people waiting are teenagers, but I barely hit the 6' mark and I feel like a giant compared to many of the gamers that are standing in line. Hmm...maybe in addition to causing violence, do video games stunt your growth? I'm kidding of course. I've known plenty of tall gamers, but just an observation of the evening.

11:30 PM - Okay...so I'm bored and decided to count how many people are in this line, 30 minutes prior to the game being released to the public. I count roughly 60 males, ranging in age, size, shape and color...and only 7 females. I think most of the females are here with someone but there is a girl in line behind us by herself...and I think my son is checking her out. Watch out boy, I think she could take you...

11:35 PM - Overheard... "All I'm going to do this week is eat, sleep, work and play Black Ops II. I don't think I can pencil you in man." I chuckle. Tangos before bros, I suppose.

11:40 PM - So, I'm a bit surprised. I thought this midnight release was going to have a far less turnout than Halo 4, but here it is 20 minutes before midnight and the line is starting to grow. I'm guessing it's at about 100 people right now.

11:45 PM - The guy in front of me is "that guy" - is upset there is nothing exciting going on...specifically, no DJ and no free t-shirts. Goes on a rant about "should have just went to Wal Mart...there was no line there." I start to respond and he walks off when I'm in mid-sentence, but I don't mind...

11:50 PM - Hey guys...guys... I know there are lots of people not liking Call of Duty anymore, but this line has gotten much longer...we're forming up now getting ready for the door to open and there are about 200 people in line. Definitely longer than Halo 4. I haven't seen the line this long at a midnight release at this Game Stop since Modern Warfare 2.

11:55 PM - A Game Stop employee is giving a way Black Ops II lanyards and posters. Of course I grab one of each. I'm all about the free stuff. It's a good thing the line is about to go as somebody without a cellphone to occupy their time decided to set off his car alarm, then stop it, then start it, then stop it...over and over. It's pretty annoying and I think this crowd might show their displeasure if they find out who is doing it.

(What most of us are doing while waiting...except for me, I'm taking notes and pictures)

12:00 PM - Line is moving. People are happy.

12:12 PM - Game in hand and we're on our way. The clerk mentions something about Nuketown. Meh. I'll figure it out when I get home. Final count looked to be 200-250 people in line. Might not seem like a lot, but it is considering this is a small town and there are multiple Game Stops.

12:30 PM - Fired the game up, and would you look at that. Another game I picked up at midnight on the day of the release, load the game up and have to wait for it to install a patch before I can play. This one is a bit longer than the Halo 4 patch...but still only takes a few minutes to download and install.

12:30 AM - I watch my daughter play a few rounds of multiplayer action. The game is beautiful and looks to offer a decent arsenal of weapons and some diverse maps. The biggest complaint I (and others) had with the multiplayer is the problem with you shooting someone multiple times and they still manage to shoot through and kill you first. Well, that seems to make a return. My daughter got 3 hit markers with a sniper rifle...nice clean shots...but still didn't kill the guy. It appears a fully automatic machine gun with a big clip is going to be your best friend. Haven't observed any ridiculous knifings from across the map just yet. I'll play the single player campaign in the coming days and will post an update down the road. For right now though, it's stable, looks fairly good...and my guess is...on track to break some records...again.

For what it's worth, my daughter is enjoying it...says it's better than the original one...and when pressed for a score, rates it a 7 or 8, compared to Halo 4 which she rates a 9. She likes dual wielding the KAP 40, but thinks they're overpowered and will be nerfed in no time. Everything else seems mostly balanced from what I've seen.

Okay folks, back to work tomorrow and I need to get to bed. If you got the game, I hope you're enjoying it. If you're on the fence about it, I'd recommend trying the demo or perhaps renting it from the Redbox. And if you're absolutely refusing to play it, you might be passing up on the next video game industry's blockbuster hit of the year.