It's grossed nearly $2 billion worldwide and sold more copies than The Purpose-Driven Life, To Kill A Mockingbird, and even The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The Halo video-game series is back (tomorrow, officially) with the midnight release tonight of Halo: Reach. It's a prequel to a trilogy that's part of the gamer canon, and the final installment from our own legendary local studio Bungie—so that means you can expect late-night lines and nerdly revelry tonight anywhere video games are sold.

Bungie (along with Microsoft) is hosting two big launch parties for fans: one in Times Square (at the Best Buy Theater), and one here at EMP. Elsewhere in the world, a Spartan is apparently circling Trafalgar Square in a jetpack:

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The free Seattle event runs from 6 to 10pm, with almost 50 stations for people to play Reach pre-release. There will also be copious swag (and the opportunity to have said swag signed), a panel and Q&A with folks from Bungie (probably between 6 and 7), and a couple of tournaments afterwards (you'll get a ticket when you come in for a chance to compete).

Our Nathan Fillion-filia wasn't enough to keep us going through last year's snoozy ODST, but Reach is starting to sound like the lastest, bestest Halo. (Plus, hey, it's even got Marlo from The Wire!)

The Stranger Testing Department is Rob Lightner and Paul Hughes.