Video game lovers around the nation are going to have a long night.

Halo 3, the last in a trilogy of Microsoft's most popular online game, will be released at midnight tonight. It could be the nation's most anticipated video game, and some electronics stores are staying open late to meet demands.

"I believe it is one of our biggest sellers of all time," said Travis Chambers, manager of GameStop in Del Mar. "I've heard people referring to it as the Star Wars of the video industry because there's such a following around it."

Torrey Pines High School student Austin Pogue, 15, said he definitely will be one of the players picking up the game tonight, and he expects to play it as soon as he gets home.

"I have two tests the next day, but it's worth it," he said. "It's Halo 3."

Kyle Gaines, manager of EB Games in Westfield North County in Escondido, said about 300 of his customers have reserved copies of Halo 3, which will be available at midnight to those with reservations. Gaines said he expects people to be working until about 2 a.m. Tuesday morning.

"This is probably the biggest game ever," said Gaines, who has his own Halo 3 on reserve.

The series launched in 2001 with Halo: Combat Evolved, a first-person shooter game, meaning the player sees the point of view of the main character.

The video game is set in a futuristic universe that centers around Master Chief Petty Officer, one of the last survivors of a military project. His companion is an artificial-intelligence being, Cortana, and together they and other humans battle the alien race the Covenant.

"I think the biggest thing that attracted everybody was that it was one of the first first-person shooters that had a good storyline," Gaines said about the appeal of the game.

Halo 2 ends with Master Chief coming back to Earth and telling Cortana, "Let's finish the fight."

"They really left number 2 wide open for number 3," Gaines said about where the storyline will go next.

Halo 2, released in 2004, brought in $125 million in its first day. While Halo 3 is the last in a trilogy, the company is working on two related games, including Halo Wars, an action-strategy game due early next year. The industry predicts Halo 3 could sell 3 million copies in 12 days.

Chambers said his store will close around 9 p.m. and begin serving only people who have a balance to pay off on their reserved games. He said he knows of at least one customer who said he would be there when the doors open at 10 a.m. today to be the first to get Halo 3 at midnight.

Chambers said one of the appeals of Halo is how easy it can be played online. While other games have complicated steps that involve looking for other players, Halo 2 was just a matter of plugging in and playing, he said.

Torrey Pines student Austin said he especially likes the social aspect of the online version of the game.

"I really like how it gets you connected with a lot of gamers throughout the United States," he said.

Chambers said he is not sure how many of the games have been reserved at GameStop, but he expects a large shipment today.

"I feel sorry for the UPS guy," he said.

Contact staff writer Gary Warth at (760) 740-5410 or gwarth@nctimes.com.