The Force Unleashed Has Arrived

The whole reason for standing around for 2 hours. Pictures from my iPhone.

At 10pm yesterday I ventured down to the GameStop at the Wabash Landing in West Lafayette, IN. I pulled into the parking lot to a mini-crowd of about 10 people already waiting in line outside the store. Surprising, to say the least. The game was to be released at midnight.

I had previously stopped at the GameStop a mere 5 hours earlier to find out more about the release event, specifically about the exclusive Stormtrooper Commander action figure. The GameStop employee told me they had 20 to give away to the first 20 people in attendance with preorders. I got out of my car and stood in line behind 8 guys and 2 Clone Troopers. Yeah, people in costumes. But these weren't your normal costumers. They were nothing like the 501st. They wore black Under Armour and sweat pants. Their armor was taped on paper plates. They did, however, sport the Clone Trooper voice changer helmet. Of course, they refered to themselves as "stormtroopers". Negative.

A "stormtrooper". Yeah, they were drunk and/or high.

GameStop left us in the store at about 10:15pm. There's much more to look at inside, it is a video game store afterall. They had Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope playing on TVs. I'm assuming they picked those two because in between them is when The Force Unleashed actually takes place. They had The Force Unleashed on the PlayStation 3 and people played it the entire time we were in there.

The crowd around 11:15pm.

I hovered around the counter for most of the time I was inside. At about 10:30pm they randomly handed out the reason I was there: the exclusive figure. I was the first to get it and then the first to fully check out. I had a receipt with #1 on it, meaning I got the game first. That was great because I could get it and leave; no waiting for me!

I'm #1. Yay!

Over the course of the next 1.5 hours I tried to waste time by calling my parents , watching the movies and the game, and wandering around the store. Around 11:15pm more and more people started to show up. By 11:45pm there were close to 30-35 people in the store. It was finally midnight and they gave us the game. I came home and went right to bed. Hopefully I can play some tonight. I also bought Spore earlier in the day and played a bit before I went down to the launch. It seems to be pretty addicting. I already did the cell stage and am half way through the creature stage. It has my attention now, we'll see how long that lasts.

The loot. Game, receipt, figure.

UPDATE: The GameStop exclusive Stormtrooper Commander figure, which was free with the preorder, is selling on eBay for $25-$30. Some people are asking as much as $50-$55 as "Buy It Now" prices. This is why I made it a point to get one!