"Halo 3," the conclusion to the hit videogame trilogy, was released to fans eagerly awaiting the chance to play the game.

Thousands of stores across the country, including EB Games in Knoxville's West Town Mall opened their doors at midnight to sell the game.

Hundreds of "Halo" fans packed the food court at the mall for a party hosted by EB Games to celebrate the launch of the hotly anticipated title for the Microsoft XBox 360.

A DJ was on hand, spinning tunes from 9 p.m. right up until the game was released to the anxious crowd.  Two high-definition televisions were also set up, offering gamers a chance to play "Halo 2."

The line was more reminiscent of a "Harry Potter" or "Star Wars" release than a videogame release.

As the line grew bigger, the manager of the store split the line into three seperate lines for the three different versions of the game.

The game is available in a regular version, which retails for $59.99; a limited edition, which features an extra disc of bonus content, and retails for $69.99; and a legendary edition, jam-packed with extras, including a replica of Master Chief's, "Halo's" main character, helmet.  The legendary edition, which sold out before the release of the game, would have set you back $129.99.

At 12:01 am, the game was finally handed out to those who had paid in advance. Gamers quickly dashed back home, many to the UT campus, to play what many have called the most anticipated game ever.

Microsoft expects the launch of "Halo 3" to be the single biggest release in entertainment history. In 2004, sales of "Halo 2" reached $125 million, selling over two million copies within the first 24 hours of release.  "Halo 2" has since gone on to sell over nine million copies.

"Halo 3" will have to beat the opening weekend total of "Spiderman 3," which grossed over $150 million, to attain the title of biggest entertainment release of all time.

The "Halo" series transcends videogaming. The level of excitement and hype around the release of this game is more akin to a major Hollywood blockbuster than a videogame. The amount of marketing tie-ins for "Halo 3" is also something new to the world of videogaming. Companies such as Burger King, Best Buy and 7-11 are promoting "Halo 3." Mountain Dew even created a new flavor called Game Fuel specifically for the release of the game.

A rapid cult following has built up around the "Halo" franchise.  As of May 9, 2007, over five million players had logged onto XBox Live, Microsoft's online gaming service, to play "Halo 2," spending more than five billion hours playing. In the 24 hours following the release of "Halo 3," over one million individual gamers had logged onto XBox Live, playing over four million matches.

Scenes like the one at West Town Mall were duplicated around the world as "Halo 3" launched. In New York, several celebrities, including Ludacris, were on hand for the official release. Massive events also took place in Miami, Los Angeles and Seattle.

"Halo 3" is available now for the Microsoft XBox 360.